Rory McIlroy has revealed that he axed manager Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler because he thought he was taking his career in the wrong direction.

Since splitting with Chandler in October last year, Rory has won three times and risen to second in the world rankings.

"I felt like the path I was going down wasn't the path I wanted to go down," McIlroy told www.irishgolfdesk.com.

McIlroy has also said that he regrets relinquishing his PGA Tour card in 2010, as well as not attending the Players Championship at Sawgrass under the influence of Chandler and International Sports Management stablemate Lee Westwood.

"That's another example of being involved with Chubby and ISM and maybe being led down the wrong path, it was something I sort of felt like I had to do," McIlroy said of Sawgrass.

"I've always been one who wanted to play on the PGA Tour. Not playing Sawgrass was one of the decisions I look back on and regret a little bit."

McIlroy is now managed by Dublin-based Horizon Sports Management.