Rory McIlroy has a worrisome problem he needs to fix

Rory McIlroy is off to a brutal start to the 2024 PGA Tour season, at least by his standards. 

The Northern Irishman finished 66th in the 80-man AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in his season debut, and he hasn't finished better than T21 in three starts since. 

That's even more surprising when you consider McIlroy won on the DP World Tour in January and should've won the week before until he choked the tournament away down the stretch.

McIlroy is still the best driver of the golf ball in the world. He ranks first on the PGA Tour this season in strokes gained off the tee, first in total driving and second in driving distance. You'd think that would be enough for him to contend with the emphasis on distance in today's game, but his iron play has been so poor that it hasn't mattered. 

The World No. 2 has lost strokes on approach in three of his four starts this season. He ranked 75th in strokes gained on approach at Pebble Beach, which led to his worst finish since his missed cut at the Masters last year.

Here's how McIlroy ranks in a few key approach stats this season:

Strokes gained on approach: 152nd
Greens in regulation percentage: 124th
Approaches from 125-150 yards: 157th
Approaches from 50-125 yards: 132nd

Approach play is the biggest indicator of success on the PGA Tour. You need to hit a ton of greens and give yourself the most makeable birdie chances to win. That's why Scottie Scheffler consistently finishes inside the top 10. It's why Tiger Woods dominated professional golf for so long. 

McIlroy has always been a superb iron player, but he won't sniff a victory in his current form. After his T21 finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the 34-year-old expressed his frustration with his declining approach game. 

"Another great week off the tee. I feel like I found a good feeling with the putting the last two days as well. It's just the iron play that's let me down," McIlroy told reporters after the final round, per The Mirror. "It's sort of been the same story for the last few weeks, struggling with a left miss with the irons.

"It's hard because the longer clubs, the woods, feel so good but the irons don't feel that good. I feel like I'm having to put two differing swings on the woods and the irons at the minute, which is a struggle. But everything else feels pretty good, so if I can get the irons tightened up, I feel like I will be in a good spot."

With the Masters only a month away, McIlroy needs to turn around his iron play — and fast.