AUGUSTA, Ga. — A picture of Rory McIlroy was displayed on a giant screen inside a packed interview room at Augusta National on Tuesday. There was McIlroy, arms raised and jubilance all over his face, after holing out from the bunker on No. 18 at last year’s Masters. The shot culminated a course-tying-record round of 64 and a second-place finish.
“Obviously, the last time this tournament was played, I walked away from the course and the tournament pretty happy with myself, as you can see on the screen over there,” McIlroy said in reference to the moment captured in time.
It wouldn’t be the last time the image was mentioned.
McIlroy had come close — again — to winning the Masters and completing the career Grand Slam. He will try again — for the ninth time — to win the last of the coveted tournaments needed to join Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.
“It’s a major championship. I’ve won four of them. I’ve been knocking on the door for that fifth one for a while,” McIlroy said. “I feel like I am as good, if not better a player, as I was the last time I won a major championship. So, I’m feeling pretty good about it.”
Count Tiger Woods among those who think McIlroy will get his Masters victory. Like, definitely will win it.
“He will, it’s just a matter of time,” Woods said. “Rory has the talent. He has the game. He has all the tools to win here. It’s just a matter of time. A lot of things have to happen to win at this golf course. A lot of things have to go right. I think Rory has shown over the years he’s learned how to play this golf course, and you just have to understand how to play it.
“I think that it’s just a matter of time, whether it’s this year or next or whenever it comes, he will get it done, and he will have a career Grand Slam. It’s just what year it will be; it will definitely happen.”
From the time he burst on the golf scene as a youngster, a Masters victory seemed assured for McIlroy. Now, the 33-year-old is still in search of the missing piece. He cautioned Tuesday that there have been a number of golfers who were said to be naturals to win the Masters and never did. Golfers such as Ernie Els and Greg Norman.
Still, even with his most recent major victory coming in 2014, McIlory is the world’s No. 2-ranked golfer. He finished three strokes behind winner Scottie Scheffler at last year’s Masters, one of seven top-10 finishes here. McIlory’s attention again was directed toward the photo, wondering if there is any carryover from that moment.
“The only thing that I can say is that I proved to myself that I could do it,” McIlory said. “As much as I didn’t really get into contention, there was a part of me on that back nine last year that felt that I had a chance, and to play the way I did and to eagle 13 and to have those feelings, in my mind, anyway, I felt like it was a breakthrough.
“So any time I see an image like that or the video of me and then Collin (Morikawa) doing what he did, as well, sort of just brings back all those good vibes.”
The 23-time PGA Tour winner has made six starts this year, with three top-3 finishes. That includes a third-place finish this year at the WGC Match Play, when he bested the world-No. 1 Scheffler. He has been to Augusta plenty in recent weeks, announcing he had played 81 practice holes before a round with Brooks Koepka on Tuesday.
McIlory was asked whether his near-misses have been physical, mental or emotional.
“I would say the majority of mental or emotional struggles rather than physical,” McIlroy said. “I’ve always felt like I have the physical ability to win this tournament. But it’s being in the right head space to let those physical abilities shine through. …
“It’s sort of just like I’ve got all the ingredients to make the pie. It’s just putting all those ingredients in and setting the oven to the right temperature and letting it all sort of come to fruition. But I know that I’ve got everything there. It’s just a matter of putting it all together.”
