As every year, Rory McIlroy and his ‘quest’ for the Green Jacket capture the most attention on the golf scene. Although years ago, the Northern Irishman fantasized about winning this Major, his failures at the Masters did not give him optimism that he could excel. On the other hand, his form this year evokes different emotions among fans.
Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee and his colleagues analyzed Rory’s performances so far, giving predictions for the Masters. The famous commentator recalled Rory’s story about watching ‘Devil Wears Prada’ the night before the play-off at the Players Championship.
An experienced commentator points out that McIlroy is truly disastrous when it comes to the Majors, especially the Masters.
“To continue this Devil Wears Prada theme going a little bit further, I would say that Augusta National is the Miranda Priestly to Rory McIlroy’s Andrea Sachs,” Chamblee said, as quoted by Golf Digest.
“It is literally his nemesis. It brings out the worst golf in Rory annually that we see. It was his worst golf last year in the majors, his worst the year before, two years before that it was his worst golf. He annually underperforms there. He hits on average about 42 greens. On average, the winner hits about 52. There are things about that golf course that have been very problematic for him.”
Brandel Chamblee talks about mental barriers
Although he had great results in this competition, and was not as bad as Brandel thinks, Chamblee points out that his performances in previous years show that his performances in the first round never inspired optimism that he will write history in this competition. He stresses that there are many obstacles for Rory, but that the mental obstacle is usually the most difficult.
This was best shown years ago, when many expected Rory to be ready for an important step. However, the experienced golfer seems to feel panic and fear, which is not strange, given the pressure he is under from the public and the media.
“You can’t just act like this is any other golf tournament,” Chamblee said.
“It is not like any other golf tournament. For a lot of the golf world, it is the single-most important four days they will have, so it’s not like every other golf tournament. But at the same time, you cannot allow yourself the luxury of looking ahead. Just look at the last six years, what Rory has done in the first round. The winner here averages sixth place after the first round. Rory has shot 71, 72, 73, 76, 75, 73 the last six years to begin the Masters. That’s mostly mental.”
