A new voice has helped find the old Rory McIlroy

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. -- The pudgy face is gone. So too is the curly hair sticking out from beneath an odd-looking cap. Now, the look is more mature, one of a husband and father, someone whose priorities have evolved.

After all these years, Rory McIlroy returns to the same place, but he arrives very different. Nine years ago, he came to the Ocean Course and romped to an 8-stroke victory at the PGA Championship for his second major title. He won four majors in a four-year span, including two in a row -- the Open Championship and PGA Championship -- in 2014.

Since then, his performances in golf's biggest events have not been what he hoped, not what others expected.

But McIlroy, 32, returns to the…