Rory McIlroy has no plans to change his caddie or coach as he seeks the "spark" missing from his game at The Players Championship.

McIlroy admitted he was somewhat dejected after a final round of 76 in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Sunday and spoke about "maybe looking to go in a different direction".

But that does not look set to prompt the four-time major winner into switching from caddie Harry Diamond or long-time coach Michael Bannon.

"I certainly didn't mean like a change of personnel per se," McIlroy told a pre-tournament press conference. "I think more a change in philosophy or maybe what I'm trying to work on, maybe going in a slightly different direction.

"Swing-wise I think there's some things that I'm working on that haven't quite bedded in or I'm struggling to grasp what I'm trying to do, so that's sort of what I meant, talking about going in a different direction."

McIlroy won at Sawgrass in 2019 but remains the defending champion after last year's edition was cancelled after the opening round due to the worsening coronavirus pandemic.

"I guess it's nice I get another bite at the cherry," added McIlroy, who shot a first round of 72 to trail Japan's Hideki Matsuyama by nine shots.

"Last year was obviously very surreal, difficult.

"If I felt for anyone last year because of all this, it was Hideki. That was obviously a hell of an opening round. I birdied my last three holes to shoot even par, so it could have been a lot worse, as well." 

The Canadian Open is another tournament where McIlroy is the defending champion but he won't be able to defend his title, with coronavirus forcing the cancellation of this year's event.

McIlroy won the title in 2019 with a brilliant final round of 61, but last year's tournament was also cancelled as a result of the pandemic.

The 2021 edition had been due to be held from 10-13 June, the week before the US Open.

"Even with an extensive health and safety plan in place, we faced a number of significant logistical challenges that led us to this decision," PGA Tour president Tyler Dennis said.

"While we are disappointed to cancel Canada's National Championship, we are thankful to our partners RBC and Golf Canada - along with our Canadian fans - for their unwavering support and cooperation throughout this process.

"We look forward to the RBC Canadian Open returning to our schedule next year."

The PGA Tour will fill the space in the calendar with an official FedEx Cup event in the United States for one year only.