Rory McIlroy will head to Augusta this week looking to recapture the form which saw him capture his four major championships.
However, the last of those came back in 2014 at the US PGA, and he still needs a Masters title to complete a career Grand Slam. He came close at August previously, most notably in 2011 when he went into the final round on 12-under par, four strokes clear of the chasing pack.
The Northern Irishman then endured a nightmare on the Sunday, shooting 80. It was the highest round from any final day leader of the tournament, and left him tied for 15th as Charl Schwartzel came through to win.
He responded later that year by winning his maiden major title at the US Open though, and then claimed his first PGA a year later. But it was in 2015 when his career was seriously gathering momentum.
Having captured both The Open and a second PGA title the previous year, McIlroy had finished tied fourth at The Masters when his progress was inadvertently halted. Whilst playing football in County Down, he ruptured left ankle ligaments and missed his Open defence.
“It certainly halted my momentum in the majors,” he said, in an interview with The Guardian. “I did what I did in 2014. I finished fourth in the 2015 Masters where Jordan Spieth played great.
"I made a run at the US Open that year. So for four majors in a row, I won two and was close in the others."
Undoubtedly, his form dipped upon his return, prompting a barren period in comparison to the earlier parts of his career: “That sense of invincibility in the majors, the sense of giving myself chance after chance - I don’t want to say it disappeared but I used to turn up to majors and feel like I had a good chance," he admitted.
"It’s a mindset thing, a confidence thing. Maybe my confidence was just dented a little bit from that episode.” McIlroy, 32, is currently ranked ninth in the world and won't be the favourite to win in Augusta, a notion he believes could work in his favour.
"I could have won other Masters’ with 12 under par but in 2015 Jordan just played much better than everyone else and won by a few," he added. "I always seem to play well when people don’t give me a chance. Lower expectations are a good thing."
McIlroy's preparations for Augusta have not gone swimmingly though, missing the cut at the Valero Texas Open this week. Like Ryder Cup team-mate Ian Poulter, he could only labour to one over par after two rounds.
The Masters gets underway this Thursday, with speculation still rife that 15-time major winner Tiger Woods will complete a remarkable recovery by taking to the first tee. McIlroy himself has described that prospect as "phenomenal."
