McGinley: A McIlroy Masters win would be good for the game but he needs to bring Ryder Cup focus

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his stroke from the No. 11 tee during Round 3 of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Saturday, November 14, 2020

Paul McGinley played just twice in the Masters but he knows how it feels to want something so badly, it becomes almost impossible to perform.

For the Dubliner (57) it was winning the Irish Open and he admits he got so “tight” at times in his home event that he never did better than tied third at Ballybunion in 2000.

“Yeah, we all do,” he said of feeling the burden of expectations. “Playing the Irish Opens, you get in your own way. With every single golfer, expectation is a heavy burden to carry. And the internal expectation is the problem.

“You want something so badly, you get in your own way and you don't play with freedom. And you get tight and you make mistakes when you're tight. And we've all done it. Everybody who has ever played golf does it.”

McGinley was a fine player. He was so good, he was 18th on his Masters debut in 2002 and rose as high as 18th in the world when the only Europeans ahead of him were Sergio Garcia, Luke Donald, Padraig Harrington and Colin Montgomerie.

You can only imagine his admiration for Rory McIlroy and his quest to become just the sixth man in the history of the game to complete the career Grand Slam at the Masters.

But in acknowledging the weight on McIlroy’s shoulders next week when the Holywood native makes his 16th Masters appearance and his tenth attempt to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods on golf’s Mount Rushmore, McGinley believes this dogged Co Down man can pull it off, form be damned.

“There’s a reason why so many guys get three majors and then don't get the fourth,” McGinley said. “Phil Mickelson has spent, what, ten years trying to win the US Open and complete the Grand Slam. It's a very, very difficult place to be.  Jordan Spieth something similar.

“There’s a reason why only five players in the history of the game have done it. You have Woods, and before that, you had Nicklaus. So there's a massive gap before you see guys that complete the Grand Slam.”

McGinley knows McIlroy has not played his best since he finished second and first in his first two starts of the season in the Middle East. But he does not believe the world number two needs to show form before getting a win, even if he has looked less than himself since stepping down from the Player Advisory Board last year.

“He was chairman of the PAC and I think that ignited him,” McGinley said. “I've always said that he's an inspirational player. And I think being at the forefront of the negotiations off the course inspired him. He felt he was very much on one side and leading one side. He liked that leadership role. And I thought he brought that onto the golf course the last two years. I think he revelled in it and played great.

“I know he didn't win a major championship the last two years, but his performance and consistency level was at a level that we hadn't seen before, including when he was winning majors.

“His statistics were brilliant all round. But he's tailed off this year. But look, that's that's the nature of Rory. I wouldn't be too concerned because he can turn it on. He went into the Masters last year in good form, playing unbelievably in practice. He was the bookies’ favourite. Favourite in his own head. Never before felt better going into Augusta and went in and had his worst performance of the year when he missed the cut comfortably.

“So this year, he's under the radar. His iron play hasn't been good and he's got a lot of pulls going on. Everybody’s going to be talking about (Scottie) Scheffler; nobody's really talking about Rory. And you know, it might be it might be a platform for him to go and play well. So you're never too concerned about Rory because he bounces back as quickly as anybody if not quicker than anybody. And you don't need a run a form. If you look at Rory's successes sometimes, it doesn't go playing well, playing well, playing well and win. Sometimes it can go missed cut, missed cut and boom, win. When he missed the cut at Portrush, in the very next tournament he played, he won. He's very good on the bounce back— better than anybody in that regard. So I wouldn't be too concerned about his form tailing.”

Scheffler is the favourite to win his second Masters and McGinley admits he’s infatuated by the American’s immaculate course management.

“Scheffler is the best course manager I've ever seen,” he said. “I’ve studied him a lot and watched him a lot and I was so impressed with him at TPC (Sawgrass), flying on one wing when he was injured in rounds two and three (and shot 69-68). This was the guy who couldn't turn this way and couldn't play.”

McGinley was fascinated to see how the injured Scheffler managed his game, giving himself room for manoeuvre on difficult holes on Friday and Saturday before tightening his target line on Sunday, when he shot 64 to win by one.

“He’s like a professional gambler, a poker player,” McGinley said. “He plays the percentages, always in his favour. And the flags that he does take on are the flags with no real problems around them. I've been watching him very, very closely, because I'm somewhat obsessed about course management.

“It's a hidden skill that you don't really see unless you're incredibly observant. But if you just watch how he plots his way around, and the fact that he could stay in rounds two and three, stay in contention, not playing well. And then when he was free of injury on Sunday (claps hands) and he was able to go.

“That’s an incredible skill. I mean, his ball speed was down six, seven miles an hour in rounds two and three off the tee. That's 15 yards, 20 yards off the tee. And he was still able to shoot the scores he did.”

McIlroy does not possess Scheffler’s precision game or his course management skills but he has an X factor that McGinley believes he must harness next week.

“Rory is an inspirational player have always said that,” he said, pointing to last year’s Ryder Cup performance in Rome. “You saw in the car park how fired up he was and when Rory is that fired up, and that emotionally engaged, that's when I believe he's at his best.

“He's bouncing down fairways, he can't wait to get to the ball. He can't wait to take on his shot. He's got pointy elbows and he’s got a goal that he wants to achieve. And he's not in his own way. He's got a high level of intensity.

“That's when I believe he's at his best, but it's not any intensity; it's a focus more than anything, and hopefully he brings that to Augusta, and if he does, he will win.  I really do think he will.”

Given the divided state of the game, McGinley believes it would be the ideal result.

“I think it will be good for the game if Rory was to complete the Grand Slam because I think he's the best player of the modern era in the last 10 years.

“A Masters win would seal that position for him and move him to another level. Obviously, every year we say the same thing, and we want to see him getting over the line. But I think it will be good for the game and good for golf should he do so.”