He also won the Vardon Trophy and Byron Nelson Award for a third time. In 2022, McIlroy won the Vardon Trophy and Byron Nelson Award for a fourth time. Technique, additional mentors and coaches McIlroy employs the interlocking grip on full shots. He has worked with various professional golfers since he was young, including Darren Clarke, Nick Faldo, and Graeme McDowell. McDowell frequently plays practice rounds at Tour events with McIlroy. McIlroy obtained putting assistance and instruction from Dave Stockton, a retired PGA Tour player who works as a putting instructor. He was first managed by Englishman Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, a former European Tour player who founded International Sports Management (ISM). McIlroy left ISM in 2011, with McIlroy joining Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management. Michael Bannon has been working with McIlroy since the players childhood, going full-time with McIlroy in 2012. Controversies In March 2015, McIlroy threw a club into the water at the WGC-Cadillac Championship after hitting his ball into the water on the par-5 eighth hole during the second round at Doral. McIlroy subsequently apologised for throwing the club saying: "It felt good at the time but now I regret it. Frustration got the better of me." On the eve of the Open Championship in 2016, McIlroy said he would not watch the golf tournament at the Olympic Games and would focus on the sports like swimming and track & field having previously withdrawn from representing Ireland in the games due to the threat of the Zika virus in Brazil. Following the tournament, McIlroy went on to admit his surprise at how successful it had been, and that he had been wrong to dismiss it. In May 2019, McIlroy outlined his intention to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games, representing Ireland. On the eve of Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January 2023, McIlroy found himself at the center of controversy with Patrick Reed. While practicing on the range at the Emirates Golf Club, LIV Golf Tour player Reed seemingly approached the Northern Irishman, but ended up tossing a golf tee in his general direction when McIlroy apparently failed to acknowledge the American. McIlroy has been a vocal critic of the breakaway LIV Golf Tour, of which Patrick Reed was one of the first joinees. While LIV Golf players are barred from competing on the PGA Tour, many erstwhile PGA Tour regulars are playing on the DP World Tour (European