Sorry, Rory, you must get your eyes back on your golf

Whichever way you look at it, Rory McIroy has had a very disappointing season.

He started the year as No.1 on the World Rankings, full of expectations, high in confidence and with a huge, long-term contract with Nike.

Things went wrong from his opening event in Abu Dhabi, where he looked ill-prepared, played poorly and missed the cut. He never recovered.

You may think being presently No. 4 in the World isn’t too bad but it’s not a true reflection of current form.

Rankings are based on a two-year cycle, and if Rory doesn’t start winning tournaments soon, he’ll really take a tumble.

He failed to make FedEx Final Event this weekend in East Lake Atlanta, in which the top 30 players on the PGA Tour compete. That’s because, significantly, he’s only 39th on the US money list.

This is the most accurate reflection of form and his $1.8m is a long way behind leader Tiger Woods’ $8.4m.

In golf, the stats tell you everything and Rory has had a horrid year.

He’s 54th on the European Race to Dubai (the top 60 qualify for the final event which he won last year) and he’s only had five top tens all year.

He admits that he got his schedule wrong. I think every club golfer in the country could have told him that!

He’s simply not been on a golf course often enough. Playing 16 events on the PGA Tour and only four on the European Tour may be OK when things are going your way. But if it starts to go wrong, you must make changes.

He doesn’t need more time on the practice ground or in the gym. He’ll only find the answer on the course with a scorecard and pencil.

Ernie Els provides the perfect example. If he feels he’s not tournament-sharp, he quickly adds more events to his schedule.

Rory has clearly had distractions. You see him on TV adverts or he turns up on the tennis circuit supporting his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki. He seems to spend a lot of time away from tournaments.

Much has been made of the effect of the change to his clubs manufacturer he made at the start of the year. My view is that his problems have nothing to do with his clubs.

He’s still the eighth longest driver on the tour, so there can’t be much wrong with them.

My main hope is that he doesn’t start blaming those closest to him for his problems.

He’s had the same coach, Michael Bannon from Northern Ireland, all his life and his caddy, JP Fitzgerald, has been with him a long time.

It becomes a vicious circle when you start chopping and changing every time you lose.

I hope he sits down with his father, Gerry, who has always been a biggest influence on him, and they come up with a plan that will get him out on the golf course more.

I don’t see Rory’s decline as terminal.

I see it more as a wake-up call and I’m confident he will recover form for the 2014 Ryder Cup season.

I can’t express how moved I was by all the get-well messages I received after my recent health scare. I’m extremely touched and want to thank everybody who showed so much concern.

There are too many to mention but I was particularly delighted to receive a text from Sir Alex Ferguson. He’s still recovering from his own hip operation and actually apologised for not getting in touch sooner! His message meant a lot to me.

I consider myself to be extremely lucky. My view is that I’ve dodged the bullet on this occasion.

It wasn’t a heart attack, but a cardiac arrest my arteries and heart muscle are fine. My heart just went out of rhythm, causing me to collapse. I’ve had a defibrillator implanted and I get the stitches out tomorrow. I’m on the mend!