Rory McIlroy has revealed that ”two good days” of practice at Augusta National have left him confident he can mount a challenge at next month’s Masters.
The Northern Irishman will again be among the contenders when he tees off in Georgia on 6 April.
The famous green jacket is the only one of golf’s major prizes that still eludes McIlroy, who has recorded seven top-ten finishes at Augusta.
A sparkling final round 64 was not enough to steal victory away from Scottie Scheffler at last year’s event, but McIlroy will hope to press for victory in 2023.
In the wake of a disappointing performance at The Players Championship last week, McIlroy got some early practice in at Augusta National, and was pleased with how he played, although refused to confirm reports that in one of the rounds he only needed a remarkable 19 putts.
“I had two good days,” McIlroy, who formed a four-ball with Shane Lowry and the pair’s fathers, said. “We played 54 holes in two days and it was good.
“I was really happy with where my game was. It was sort of good to see that after struggling at The Players.”
McIlroy missed the cut at TPC Sawgrass earlier in March as Scheffler secured another significant victory.
The four-time major champion struggled particularly off the tee, lamenting his wayward driving after an opening-round 76.
Revealing he has “one eye on Augusta”, McIlroy has made changes to his driver in the hope it will remedy his issues.
“It’s hard because you look at strokes gained off the tee and you would think that I’m driving the ball well, or I have been driving the ball well,” McIlroy said after securing victory on the opening day of the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play
“Then you look at my driving accuracy and it’s down around 50 per cent, which is quite low for me.
“I knew I just needed to change it up a bit and go back to a driver length that I am more comfortable with. I can hit more shots with it and feel a bit more comfortable. It was good to put it in play today and have it perform pretty well.
“Obviously, this part of the season you’ve got one eye on what you are doing now and one eye on Augusta. It is about trying to do both.”
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