Rory McIlroy has won almost every significant title in the game, but victory in The Masters has remained tantalisingly out of his grasp despite 15 attempts in the Major.
The pressure for McIlroy to win the tournament ramped up after 2014 when he won The Open, leaving him just a win at Augusta National short of one of the biggest achievements in golf, a career Grand Slam.
The Ulsterman has come desperately close over the years, with his runner-up finish in the 2022 tournament arguably the most encouraging of all. That included an incredible chip-in for birdie from a bunker on the 72nd hole that helped him finish three shots behind Scottie Scheffler.
However, those expecting him to finally get over the line this year on a course that suits his game were left disappointed after he missed the cut.
That failure clearly affected McIlroy, who controversially withdrew from the PGA Tour designated event the RBC Heritage that followed as he took some time out to take stock.
Rory McIlroy produced an impressive final round to finish runner-up at the 2022 Masters
However, speaking on Golf.com’s Subpar podcast, the 34-year-old has now addressed his struggles to win the Major, admitting one of the reasons is the pressure he puts on himself.
He said: “I think sometimes because it’s the one I haven’t won, the only thing I think about that week is winning it, and that’s not the way to approach a golf tournament.”
He then admitted that he is guilty of taking too much notice of the leaderboard, and cited that as one of the reasons he came up so far short in April. He continued: “I think sometimes at Augusta I’m too much of a leaderboard-watcher too early. So for example this year, Brooks [Koepka] got off to that really hot start, and he was on the eighth green on Friday morning, and I was on the first green.
“And I think I was even par for the tournament, and I think Brooks had just birdied the eighth to go to 10 under for the tournament, so I’m already 10 shots back and I already feel like I need to chase and I need to do something.”
As well as McIlroy’s runner-up finish in 2022, he can point to a solid enough overall record in The Masters, which has included seven top-10 finishes, and he acknowledged there are been times when he has done well.
He said: “I probably get in my head a little too much around there at times. But there have been other times where I’ve handled it OK and I’ve had good results.”
There is plenty of golf ahead of McIlroy before his next bid for the elusive Green Jacket. Next week, he will be one of the senior players as the Europeans try to reclaim the Ryder Cup, while he has also announced his next DP World Tour start, in November’s DP World Tour Championship, ahead of his Race to Dubai defence.
Rory McIlroy’s Masters Finishes
- 2009 - T20
- 2010 - Cut
- 2011 - T15
- 2012 - T40
- 2013 - T25
- 2014 - T8
- 2015 - 4
- 2016 - T10
- 2017 - T7
- 2018 - T5
- 2019 - T21
- 2020 - T5
- 2021 - Cut
- 2022 - 2
- 2023 - Cut
