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’ll be taking part in this occasion for a really very long time. He’ll get it carried out. 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 significant up to now 10 years.
“It is flattering, it is good to listen to, in my view, the very best participant to play the sport saying one thing like that,” McIlroy mentioned. “Does that imply that it’ll 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 bought the potential to do it too. It isn’t as if I have not been a fairly good participant for the final couple of a long time.”
The conundrum that McIlroy continues to seek out himself in is that this: He has performed the very 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 irrespective of how a lot he alters or would not change his method.
“I really feel like I’ve carried out it fairly just a few alternative ways, and I suppose simply attempting to convey slightly little bit of normalcy into what I kind 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 final plan hasn’t modified dramatically for this yr’s Masters, McIlroy’s preparation has included just a few alterations, together with taking part in 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 the very best form potential,” McIlroy, who famous that he performed two observe rounds throughout a go to to Augusta final weekend, mentioned. “I feel it has been useful 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 distinct useful resource: legendary golf coach Butch Harmon, who as soon as labored with Woods as properly. 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 at all times joke about you spend 4 hours with Butch and also you go away with two swing suggestions and 30 tales. However you at all times go away hitting the ball higher than once you got here.”
McIlroy referred to as the go to to Harmon “useful” and mentioned he noticed it pay dividends final week on the Texas Valero Open, the place his strokes gained on method pictures improved (he ranked third within the stat through the event) and he completed in third place.
In recent times, McIlroy’s type at Augusta has been distinctive. Over the previous 10 Masters, he has had seven top-10 finishes but in addition two missed cuts, together with one final yr. Within the course of, McIlroy mentioned he has realized loads, together with not attempting to win the event on the primary tee shot every Thursday and attempting 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 forged 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 at all times attempting to return to being grateful and feeling extremely fortunate that you may 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 bought all of the instruments to do properly this week. However, once more, to convey these instruments out, I feel one of the vital vital issues is to get pleasure from it and odor the — I suppose not the roses, the azaleas alongside the way in which.”
