AUGUSTA, Ga. — Simply half-hour after stepping foot contained in the grounds at Augusta Nationwide, Rory McIlroy was already confronted with the all-important query hanging over him each time he tees it up on the Masters.
Can he lastly win a inexperienced jacket and full the Grand Slam?
“No query, he’ll do it sooner or later,” five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods mentioned Tuesday. “Rory’s too gifted, too good. He will be enjoying this occasion for a really very long time. He’ll get it achieved. It is only a matter of when.”
As he performs this occasion for the sixteenth time in his profession, McIlroy shouldn’t be solely lacking a Masters win on his four-time main championship résumé, however he has additionally not received a serious prior to now 10 years.
“It is flattering, it is good to listen to, for my part, one of the best participant to play the sport saying one thing like that,” McIlroy mentioned. “Does that imply that it may occur? Clearly not. However he is been across the recreation lengthy sufficient to know that I at the very least have the potential to do it. I do know I’ve acquired the potential to do it too. It is not as if I have never been a reasonably good participant for the final couple of a long time.”
The conundrum that McIlroy continues to search out himself in is that this: He has performed one of the best golf of his profession lately, however the leads to main championships have not produced a win. He is a greater golfer now than he was when he received his 4 majors through the stretch of 2011 to 2014, however a spot among the many recreation’s finest at Augusta evades him regardless of how a lot he alters or does not change his method.
“I really feel like I’ve achieved it fairly a number of alternative ways, and I assume simply making an attempt to deliver slightly little bit of normalcy into what I form of attempt to do week in, week out,” McIlroy mentioned. “I play 25 weeks a yr, and there is not any level in doing something completely different this week in comparison with different weeks.”
Whereas the overall plan hasn’t modified dramatically for this yr’s Masters, McIlroy’s preparation has included a number of alterations, together with enjoying extra golf. In 2023, McIlroy performed in 5 tournaments earlier than Augusta. This yr, he has performed in eight.
“I wished to play fairly a bit main as much as this simply to really feel like my recreation was sharp or, if it wasn’t sharp, to attempt to get it in one of the best form doable,” McIlroy, who famous that he performed two observe rounds throughout a go to to Augusta final weekend, mentioned. “I feel it has been helpful to play slightly bit extra main up. … I am slightly extra in tune with the place my recreation with and the place my misses are.”
Final yr, McIlroy labored with golf psychologist Bob Rotella within the lead-up to the Masters. This yr, McIlroy has gone to a special useful resource: legendary golf coach Butch Harmon, who as soon as labored with Woods as nicely. With Harmon, McIlroy mentioned, the visits are extra holistic on condition that he is “half psychologist, half swing coach.”
“We sat and had a 45-minute dialog earlier than he even checked out a swing and even earlier than we actually talked about golf in any respect,” McIlroy mentioned. “I all the time joke about you spend 4 hours with Butch and also you go away with two swing suggestions and 30 tales. However you all the time go away hitting the ball higher than once you got here.”
McIlroy known as the go to to Harmon “helpful” and mentioned he noticed it pay dividends final week on the Texas Valero Open, the place his strokes gained on method photographs improved (he ranked third within the stat through the event) and he completed in third place.
Lately, McIlroy’s type at Augusta has been distinctive. Over the previous 10 Masters, he has had seven top-10 finishes but additionally two missed cuts, together with one final yr. Within the course of, McIlroy mentioned he has realized quite a bit, together with not making an attempt to win the event on the primary tee shot every Thursday and making an attempt his finest to not let his confidence in having the ability to hit each shot overcome the must be affected person and grateful.
“If I solid my thoughts again to 18-year-old Rory and I am driving down Magnolia Lane for the primary time, how would I really feel?” McIlroy mentioned. “It is simply all the time making an attempt to return to being grateful and feeling extremely fortunate that you could be part of this event and also you get to compete in it yearly. Fortunately, I’ve improved a bit since my first begin right here, and I really feel like I’ve acquired all of the instruments to do nicely this week. However, once more, to deliver these instruments out, I feel some of the essential issues is to take pleasure in it and scent the — I assume not the roses, the azaleas alongside the way in which.”
