McIlroy unfazed by slow starts as McGinley predicts Masters glory for "cagier" Holywood star
Rory McIlroy looks anxiously after a tee shot at Augusta National
Paul McGinley believes Rory McIlroy's Masters performance proves he will eventually succeed in his quest for that elusive green jacket and complete the career grand slam at Augusta National.
The Dubliner sees a cagier, more risk-averse McIlroy since he linked up with mental coach Dr Bob Rotella last year and predicts he will finally prove that Augusta National really does suit his game.
"There's no reason why he can't go on and win the Grand Slam," McGinley said on Golf Channel in the US alongside fellow analyst Brandel Chamblee.
"I think there is a couple of things to look at here. I think now, and it is unquestioned, that this is a golf course that suits him. He likes it and it suits his game.
"We've all talked a lot about this. If Rory was to be stuck needing one more major to win the Grand Slam, you would think this would be the one most aligned with his game.
"His chipping is underrated, and we saw how good that was today. He is brilliant around the greens, and we have seen some improvements in his putting.
"It is unquestioned that he can play this course, and there's no reason why he can't go on and win the Grand Slam."
McIlroy got to within three shots of Scottie Scheffler when he holed his bunker shot at the 18th for only the eighth Sunday 64 in the history of the Masters.
Even though he barely caught Scheffler's attention, the Holywood star was ecstatic about what the round meant for his major career, and McGinley agreed.
"This might kick-start him to have a bit more belief in getting another major win," McGinley said of McIlroy's seven-year and eight months major drought, which means he will beat Peter Thomson's record of seven years when it comes to the gap between a fourth and fifth major win should it ever arrive.
"We all want that and expect it," McGinley said. "He is good enough. There is a lot to be buoyant about with McIlroy's performance here, and hopefully, he is going to take confidence from this because he came close to winning the Masters."
“I am starting to see a more measured way of playing”
McIlroy opened with two 73s and since his fourth major win in 2014, he has started with a sub-par round just nine times in 27 majors and broken 70 just five times (18 pc) compared to 10 rounds in the sixties in his first 25 majors (40 pc), including his debut as an amateur at Carnoustie in 2007.
The four-time major winner (32) insists he's got no plans to change tack after yet another slow start left him too much work to do at the weekend.
"I don't know if there's any rhyme or reason for it," said McIlroy, whose opening rounds for his four major wins are 65, 67, 66 and 66.
"As I alluded to earlier about just trying to play my way into the tournaments, you're not going to just go out and shoot 66 every time you go out in the first round of major and win by a ton of shots.
"It's happened before, but these golf tournaments especially are just about hanging around. You sort of know what the winning score is going to be at the end of the week and it's just like trying to gradually build day after day until you maybe get to that point.
"I've tried to come out of the blocks too fast and that's when you can start to make mistakes, especially on golf courses that are as treacherous as this one of all the places we play in major championships."
McGinley's fellow analyst Chamblee compared McIlroy to Superman over the final 54 holes of majors with the obvious implication that he's mild-mannered Clark Kent on Thursdays.
"No question, he's been a different player early on," Chamblee said.
"In the 27 majors since last won, with the exception of a few, all 27 they all have a trend…. he starts out on Thursday as one player, then goes into the phone booth and comes out Superman, and he's the best player in the world Friday, Saturday, Sundays.
"Maybe the ripple of this will turn him into the best player in the world on Thursday morning at the PGA Championship."
“He starts out on Thursday as one player, then goes into the phone booth and comes out Superman”
McIlroy has had 24 top 10s in 52 major starts with 25 pc of those coming when outside the top 25 at halfway.
McGinley sees Rotella's hand in McIlroy's decision to embrace the conservative tactical approach to majors proposed by 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus and 15-time champion Tiger Woods.
"I am starting to see a more measured way of playing," McGinley said. "I'm looking at a more patient approach. I know today was cavalier and all over the place and he didn't play well on the last five holes even though he somehow managed to play them in one-under-par.
"Before that, he was leading green in regulation this week by quite a ways, and it wasn't because he was ripping the flags out. I saw quite a lot of conservatism from McIlroy. It's not the cavalier, go for broke style of golf that Cameron Smith plays. It was a bit more toned down and ≈a bit more measured when it comes to these majors, and I'm pretty sure it's Bob's influence.
"Looking at Jack and looking at Tiger in particular, they didn't win majors by being cavalier, and Rory has realised that style of golf needs to be somewhat adjusted, not massively adjusted because you still have to take advantage of the skill that he has.
"He only had eight bogeys this week, which is not a lot for a major given the tough conditions over the first three days.
"So there's a lot to be buoyant about with McIlroy over this result and hopefully, he's going to take confidence from the result, not because he played fantastically, but because he came close to winning the Masters."
As for those slow Thursdays in Majors, McIlroy doesn't sound concerned.
"It is nice to get out a good start and move up the leaderboard early because I feel that the earlier you get up there, the easier it is to stay there in some ways," he said.
"But at the end of the day, you still have to bide your time and play your way in. I'll have major championships where I'll start fast and have chances like the US Open last year and I'll have starts like this when I get off to a bit of a slow start.
"But there is always a point in the tournament where you have your chance to make a move and today was that chance for me.
"In other majors, it could be a third-round or a second-round or whatever it is. At the end of the day, we all have to play 72 holes and the 72nd hole is just import as important as the first one and you just have to treat it like that."
