In an eerily quick news conference that surpassed even his own Masters run this year, Rory McIlroy unveiled his new Masters strategy. The session came to an end after just seven questions and a quick eleven minutes.
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All of these is a part of his new approach for his tenth try at winning the career Grand Slam at Augusta. He’s been playing in more tournaments in the lead-up, having flown to Vegas for a four-hour lesson with Butch Harmon and competing in the Valero Texas Open last week.
Additionally, last week’s world No. 2 traveled early to Augusta National for two full practice days. He flew home on Monday and wasn’t back on the course until Tuesday lunchtime. Remember the famous quote from Albert Einstein? “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
And it appears that McIlroy has been completely distracted by the Masters. Before a horrific final round 80 in 2011, he was on course to win, and every tournament after that seems to be harder for him, as does the constant concern about his future.
After almost ten years since his previous Major triumph in August 2014, McIlroy is beginning to resemble Colin Montgomerie, who went above and beyond in the latter stages of his career to secure his first Major title. The legendary Scottish golfer would show up weeks ahead of schedule for a US Major, then show up the day before, try out some crazy diets, and then put on the weight again.
The Ryder Cup player finished his career with a Majors record of 0-75 despite his best efforts. Rory McIlroy, a four-time Major champion, is looking to break through his own drought as he approaches his 35th birthday. It served as a reminder to golfers that perseverance pays off, as seen by Sergio Garcia’s tenacity in winning his first Major on the 74th attempt at Augusta.
“This is my 16th start in the Masters, so I feel like I’ve done it quite a few different ways, and I guess just trying to bring a little bit of normalcy into what I sort of try to do week in, week out,” said World No. 2 McIlroy in a statement prior to his 16th Masters.
Golf gurus like Harmon and Sir Nick Faldo have told him to just kick back and play as he always does. Even though McIlroy’s Tuesday speech was short, his remarks had an impact.
He talked about his first Masters experience when he was just eighteen years old, describing how “incredibly lucky” he felt. “Thankfully, I’ve improved a bit since my first start here, and I feel like I’ve got all the tools to do well this week,” he said, feeling more prepared than before.
“But, again, to bring those tools out, I think one of the most important things is to enjoy it and smell the -I guess not the roses, the azaleas along the way.”
He discussed his recent trip to Las Vegas, which wasn’t just about his problems with the short game. “We sat and had a 45-minute conversation before he even looked at a swing or even before we really talked about golf at all,” McIlroy said.