Rory McIlroy is doing everything he can to be in pole position to win this year’s Masters. The Northern Irishman has had an impressive start to the PGA Tour season, and he sits atop the FedExCup standings after his remarkable win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. The Masters is the only elusive title in McIlroy’s glittering career so far and he’s eager to be in the best shape to finally secure the title.
McIlroy will hope that he can end his ten year wait for a major championship at the Masters as he prepares to make his first appearance at the Texas Children’s Houston Open since 2014. This would be his last PGA Tour start before the major. The 35-year-old has won twice on the PGA Tour for the first time in his career as he followed his victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a win at The Players Championship.
Mcllroy has been trying to find ways to further improve his games as he bids to complete his career Grand Slam.
Staying Focused Amid Masters Buzz
“I just want to get a card in my hand and shoot scores. Hopefully I can get myself in contention and try to win another golf tournament,” McIlroy told reporters ahead of the Houston Open. “It’s not as if I’m playing here this week and thinking about The Masters in two weeks’ time. I’m here, I’m in the present and I’m trying to do my best this week to win this golf tournament.
“I’m obviously playing well and I want to keep playing well. I think every round you play, where you see good things, you’re sort of filling up that confidence bucket a little bit.
Preparation Key To McIlroy’s Masters Chances
McIlroy has recorded an impressive three wins in his last six starts taking him to No. 2 in the Official World Golf Ranking. The 35-year-old is only behind Scottie Scheffler and he knows that only a victory will bolster his chances of overthrowing the American. Hence, McIlroy has left no stone unturned as he wraps up his preparation for The Masters.
The Northern Irishman, one of the favorites to win the title, took a scouting mission to Augusta National on Monday as he continues his preparation to win his fifth major tournament.
“I use those trips just to refamiliarize myself with the place, clubs off tees, looking to see if they changed any greens,” McIlroy explained. “There are four greens that are new this year, that they’ve redone.
“You have a look at those and see if there’s any new hole positions they give you, stuff like that. Apart from that, honestly for me, it’s nice to play a practice round without people around and it sort of takes the pressure off the start of the week for me.
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