Rory on his Masters destiny: "It's not a foregone conclusion"
John Carr looks on as Rory Mcilroy speaks during a press conference prior to the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, November 10, 2020. Picture: Augusta National
The ghosts of Ernie Els and Greg Norman might lurk in the trees around Amen Corner but Rory McIlroy believes he has the grit to feed off his Masters failures and make his dream come true.
The Holywood star looked certain to win the Masters in 2011 when he took a four-stroke lead into the final round and ballooned to a nightmare 80.
He’s yet to bury that hoodoo but even though three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson (50) believes the Co Down man will win multiple green jackets, McIlroy (31) is only certain he will not to give up on his dream.
Asked if he shared Mickelson’s confidence, he said: “I'd like to think so. But look, nothing's given in this game. I guess there's no better person to sit down and have a chat with than Phil because he broke through here when he was 34 for his first major after knocking on the door for a long time. I'm not quite in that scenario, but I'm looking for my first here.
“So yeah, look, I've always felt like I had the game to do well around here and to play well. It's just a matter of getting out of my own way and letting it happen. But as I said, you have to go out and earn it. You can't just rely on people saying that you're going to win one. Greg Norman never did. Ernie Els never did.
"There are a lot of great people that have played this game that have never won a green jacket. It's not a foregone conclusion, and I know that. I have to go out and earn it and play good golf. I think nowadays, with how many great players there are, I need to play my best golf to have a chance.”
Rory McIlroy plays his stroke from the No. 15 tee as caddie Harry Diamond looks on during Practice Round 3 for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, November 10, 2020.
McIlroy has rarely appeared as relaxed at the Masters and feels confident that he can eliminate the big numbers that have prevented him from contending in recent months.
But he also believes he has what makes people successful in many other walks of life — true grit.
“There's a lot of words that you can associate with grit: persistence, perseverance, stubbornness, doggedness, never really giving up on your dreams,” he said. “I think Bryson has got a lot of that because he does things very differently, and he's not afraid to be different. And that takes courage and perseverance and persistence.”
He added: “I feel as in control as I have been for a while. And that adds to that relaxed feeling. You know that it's in there. It's just a matter of going out and just getting out of my own way and just playing. Play with freedom.”
While he has rarely played with total freedom as the Masters scar tissue has built up, his failures have only fuelled his desire.
“I think my grit's come from my failures, and I don't have to look any further than this place in 2011,” he said. “I learnt a lot from that day. I learnt a lot in terms of what I needed to be and what I didn't need to be.
“You know, I needed to be myself. I didn't need to try to be like anyone else. But I think failure —I try to say this to young guys that are coming through— you can't be afraid of it. You have to embrace the fact that you are going to fail at things, but you should learn from them and then when you go again, you should be better.
“I've had a nice little bit of success in this game, but I have failed a hell of a lot more than I have succeeded in this game. And I have succeeded because I went through those tough patches, and you need to. You need to go through those tough patches to learn. So I feel like that's where I've got my persistence or grit from.”
Mickelson certainly believes that McIlroy will not only complete the career Grand Slam but also win more than one green jacket.
"There is not much advice I can give him," Mickelson said. "That guy is as complete a player as they come - smart, knowledgable and he works hard. So he will win and complete the Grand Slam. He is too great a player not to. And there is nothing I can say to help him.
"He’s had a lot of great opportunities, and he is going to continue to do so. I played with him today, he is playing beautifully, and I would be shocked if he wasn't in contention with a great chance on Sunday. So whether it is this year, whether it is a few months from now or a few years.
"I remember when I was trying to win a major, any major, and I was struggling for many many years. But I always believed it would happen, and eventually, at age 33, it did. He has so many majors already and such a strong game that winning a Masters will happen and when it does, I think he is going to win a few."
As for McIlroy’s biggest rivals, the likes of Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka are riding high on confidence.
DeChambeau is now hitting the ball so far with a 143 mph swing speed — on the par-fives in practice he hit seven-iron to the second, six-iron to the eighth, pitching wedge to the 13th and eight-iron to the 15th as well as a pitching wedge to the 505-yard, par-four 11th — that he sees the course as a par-67.
But he insists his length with count for nothing if he doesn’t pitch and putt well.
“As much as I can gain an advantage off the tee, I still have to putt it well and chip it well and wedge it well and even iron play it well, and that's what I did at the US Open,” said the PGA Tour’s longest hitter, who has not definitively ruled out using a 48-inch driver.
“If I don't putt it well at the (US) Open, if I don't wedge it well, if I don't hit my irons close, I don't win that tournament. So it always comes down to making the putts at the end of the day.”
He added: "I'm trying to look at it as I'm still an underdog to the field. Anybody can win this week, there are a lot of unbelievable players out there. So I will never look at myself as someone that is better than anyone out here until the scores are written in stone afterwards. It's just not what I do, it's not what I will ever do.
"But the attention that I've gained has been awesome. I love it, I think it's fun. But I've got to set myself back and realise anybody can win this week.”
He appears unlikely to use the 48-inch driver he has been experimenting with for weeks but added mischievously that he hadn’t ruled it out after enjoying a promising trial on Monday.
Jon Rahm of Spain plays his stroke from the No. 11 tee during Practice Round 3 for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, November 10, 2020. Picture: Augusta National
"Well, I tested it yesterday for the first time," DeChambeau said. "And we've gone through at least three or four iterations of the shaft, and this is the most promising one yet.”
World No 2 Rahm, who celebrated his 26th birthday yesterday, is bursting with confidence after winning the Memorial and the BMW Championship and finishing second to Patrick Cantlay in the Zozo Championship two weeks ago.
"I can't lie, I'm feeling pretty confident,” said the two-time Irish Open champion who is drawn with DeChambeau and Louis Oosthuizen. "Even my last start… I hit it about as good as I can hit it tee to green really in the tournament, especially on Sunday and the weekend. Hopefully, something special happens this weekend.”
Hatton is all feeling good, even if he has never done better than tied 44th in three starts at Augusta.
“For me, 2020 on the golf course has been a very special year," the Englishman said. "I think coming into a major, this is the best form that I've had and you kind of just have to see how we get on this week.”
Like McIlroy, Koepka and Woods arrive in Augusta very much under the radar in terms of headlines but also 73 under par in the majors since 2016 - 58 strokes better than his nest rival, Dustin Johnson.
“I'm just going about my business doing what I've got to do,” said Koepka, who was impressive in finishing fifth in the Houston Open with a brace of weekend 65’s. “Not worried about what anybody says or what anybody does. Just focused on my own game and from there, just go win.”
As for Woods, whose tie for 37th in the PGA Championship is his best result from six starts this year, the defending champion became emotional reflecting on last year’s epic win — “It just reminded me so much of me and my dad, and to come full circle like that, it stills gives me..you know, a little teary” — but admitted he was searching for form.
“I haven't put all the pieces together, and hopefully that will be this week.”
