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Rory McIlroy's ex-agent has claimed the Northern Irishman is in the headlines for the wrong reasons as much as Sir Keir Starmer. Andrew "Chubby" Chandler managed McIlroy from his professional debut in 2007 until their parting in October 2011, when the golf star left his International Sports Management (ISM) agency.

Chandler is confident McIlroy can attain double digits in major wins, but he must occasionally retreat from the limelight. The five-time major winner became a leading voice against LIV Golf, when the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund backed rebel tour started altering the landscape of the sport. Moreover, McIlroy was also in the public eye when he announced he and his wife Eric Stoll were going to divorce, only to then U-turn on the decision. However, Chandler believes McIlroy's frequent brushes with the media can have an effect on his performances on the course.

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Speaking to BOYLE Sports, Chandler said: "Rory talks too much, but he's an absolute gift for the media. If he gets a microphone in his hands, he's a liability in terms of saying anything. He's more of a liability than the Prime Minister. For a while, he was unbelievable. Everything he said, he had to go back and apologise for a month later, including his marriage. Rory just needs to calm down a bit - he thought he was saving the game at one stage but he just talked too much.

"He started to pause and reconsider what he was saying but I don't know what his motivation was originally. But I suppose when you're Rory McIlroy and you constantly have a microphone in front of you, it's very difficult to refuse it. So I understand. You're just telling him to calm down a bit."

Following his Masters triumph to secure the grand slam last year, McIlroy confessed he found it difficult to maintain his drive in the subsequent months. He rediscovered his rhythm with a superb victory at the Irish Open before enjoying collective success at the Ryder Cup in New York towards the end of the season.

McIlroy has displayed flashes of quality in 2026 but a concerning back problem has cast doubt over his appearance at The Players Championship this week. Chandler anticipates the current world number two will increase his haul of five majors - potentially even doubling that figure.

"Rory should play a bit more freely. It shouldn't be life and death. My guess is that he'll win another five majors. I don't think he'll get to 15 majors, but I think he'll get to 10," said Chandler.

"At the end of the day, one of the things you've got to factor in is how many majors Scottie Scheffler is going to get. Rory is 36 so if he's got six really good years left in him, that's 24 chances to win more majors. You would think Scottie is going to win at least six of them.

"So, the analogy is that players like Ernie Els and, for that matter, Lee Westwood, struggled to win majors when Tiger Woods was in his prime because he won so many of them. It's a similar situation now; it's easy to say Rory might win a certain number of majors, but if he's consistently going head-to-head with Scottie Scheffler, he won't win as many."