Rory McIlroy’s putting guru downgraded

Phil Kenyon, the putting coach who helped fire Rory McIlroy to FedEx Cup glory, has had his status downgraded by The PGA.

Kenyon, director of Swash Putting Ltd – a school of excellence set-up by Harold Swash – is considered the go-to putting specialist on the European Tour and coaches seven of the 12 players who represented Team Europe at the Ryder Cup.

But, it seems a stellar 2016 on his resume, which also included an Open Championship win for Henrik Stenson and an Olympic gold medal for Justin Rose, wasn’t good enough for The PGA’s points system – and he took to Twitter to share his dismay.

He also tweeted Martin Kaymer’s caddie, Craig Connelly, saying it was either ‘attending courses or attending the Ryder Cup’, and he quickly received support from players and coaches, including Ian Poulter, Robert Rock and Denis Pugh.

According to the ‘Guide to Understanding the Structure of PGA Membership & PGA Member Education’, in order to avoid being downgraded from class ‘AA’ status, PGA members must amass 100 points from member education activities over a rolling three-year period, refreshing on October 1 every year.

These include attending courses, getting additional qualifications and engaging in relevant professional development.

The document says that a failure to maintain the 100-point profile at all times will result in the loss of class ‘AA’ status, with members having to make up the number of points the following year in order to be upgraded again.
bunkered.co.uk has contacted The PGA and is awaiting a response.

What are your thoughts on Phil Kenyon, coach to the likes of Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose, having his status downgraded by The PGA? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.

Just had my status downgraded by the @ThePGA. Must not have attended enough courses this year. Sorry been a bit busy……

— Phil Kenyon (@SwashPutting) 8 ноября 2016 г.

Thanks for the helping me with my putting though… Think I might have a chat with Sandy at the @ThePGA dinner in December. https://t.co/qyKZIspeYY

— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) 8 ноября 2016 г.

@SwashPutting @ThePGA what a joke !

— RobertRockAcademy (@RobRockAcademy) 8 ноября 2016 г.

Wrong simply wrong ? https://t.co/2Wp6JvPHrx

— Denis Pugh (@Dpugh54) 8 ноября 2016 г.