Rory McIlroy believes he is in the best shape ever to break his Masters duck and complete the clean sweep of Major titles at Augusta next month.
McIlroy lost out on a place in the final of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship after being edged out by Cameron Young on an extra hole semi-final shoot-out.
But the 33-year-old, who finished runner-up at last year’s Masters, believes he has the game to go one better this year.
McIlroy, who practised at Augusta recently and plans to return there for another round this week, said: “I feel really good.
“I’m a lot more confident going into Augusta than I was last year, and last year was my best-ever finish. The one thing about Augusta is you can’t go in too over confident.
“But I feel like I’m driving the ball better, I’ve got a driver I’m more comfortable with and my putting really progressed as the week went on here.”
McIlroy has enjoyed an impressive record at Augusta despite failing to win the Green Jacket. He has finished in the top 10 on seven of his last nine Masters outings.
Victory in two weeks’ time would make him only the sixth player in history to complete the Major clean sweep alongside Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
Amid finetuning his preparation, McIlroy said: “I always feel the most confident when I feel the most prepared. So for me it’s about making sure I do the right things next week so I know I’m ready to go.”
