Rory McIlroy locks himself in studio as he's told problem that's 'not easy' to solve

has spent the last three weeks locked in a studio to perfect his golf swing. The Northern Irishman is desperate to end a decade-long wait for another major championship victory.

Despite coming incredibly close this year, McIlroy has not won one of golf's four majors since his 2014 PGA Championship triumph. To end his barren run, the 35-year-old has been focusing on marginal gains.

McIlroy has been adapting his swing in a studio ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. It has allowed him to focus entirely on his body movements without the distraction of the ball's flight.

"It's something just to make my golf swing more efficient, and then if it is more efficient, then it means it's not going to break down as much under pressure," McIlroy said.

Highly-rated swing coach Pete Cowen, who has previously worked with McIlroy, once warned that there can be too much time for stars to overthink between shots on a golf course.

"Everybody watches him hitting balls on the range and I said 'well, that's alright, all your focus is there on the range,'" Cowen told during the summer.

"You've got no time between shots and then when you get on the course the blinkers start opening up. You've got five or ten minutes between each shot and that's when the brain starts thinking of other things. It's not easy to switch back on and hit the shot."

Meanwhile, McIlroy believes Donald Trump's election as the 47th President of the United States can help close an agreement between the PGA Tour and Saudi-backed LIV Golf. Trump's victory over Kamala Harris comes days after he boasted that he would only need "the best part of 15 minutes to get that deal done".

"We'll see," McIlroy said when asked about golf fan Trump's election. "He might be able to. He's got Elon Musk, who I think is the smartest man in the world, beside him.

"We might be able to do something if we can get Musk involved, too. I think from the outside looking in, it's probably a little less complicated than it actually is.

"Trump has a great relationship with Saudi Arabia. He's got a great relationship with golf. He's a lover of golf. So, maybe. Who knows? But I think as the president of the United States, he's probably got bigger things to focus on than golf."