The quest. It should be the easy part of it all. One more piece to fit into a four-parted Grand Slam jigsaw, in a tournament with the fewest participants of all the Majors. And, yet, for Rory McIlroy, the final piece, that Green Jacket – one time after another – has eluded him, to the point that he has adopted a more relaxed approach in, yes, the quest to acquire it.
Where once the Masters occupied his mind from autumn through winter and on into springtime with a near obsessive desire to achieve what many perceived to be his destiny, time in its own way has allowed McIlroy to come into this latest edition of the tournament at Augusta National with a more reserved, less manic approach.
That much was evident in McIlroy's press conference; but, perhaps more so, in how he has brought a cheerier demeanour to the property. From joking and good-naturedly partnering Pádraig Harrington – "I actually didn't know Pádraig was in the field, which is bad," he confessed – in a money match against Séamus Power and Shane Lowry on Monday, to having the banter with Tiger Woods out on the practice area.
Make no mistake about it, McIlroy still wants that Masters title. He’s been trying hard enough, since his Claret Jug success in 2014 ensured that the drive up Magnolia Lane each year would bring its own expectations. To date, it has proved elusive: 4th in 2015, 10th in 2016, 7th in 2017, 5th in 2018, 21st in 2019, 5th in 2020 and a rare missed cut last year.
McIlroy truly believes there is less pressure on his shoulders these days. “My best finish was the first go (in 2015) around to try to win the Slam . . . I think I’m maybe at a different stage of my life where, back then, golf was everything. Obviously it is still important but maybe back then I don’t know if I would feel like I was fulfilled if I didn’t win one or whatever it is, but it is less pressure,” explained McIlroy.
“I know if I play well, I’ll give myself chances to win this golf tournament. It’s just a matter of going out there and executing the way you know that you can and stick to your game plan and be patient and be disciplined and all the things you need to do around Augusta National.”
Hard to believe in many ways, but this will be McIlroy’s 14th appearance in the tournament in a body that is only 32 years of age. And in an era where the game is dominated by twenty-somethings, is there any fear that his time has passed?
Not a bit of it. “Golf is amazing. You can play it for a long time. You can have an unbelievably long career if you keep yourself healthy. Look, I’ve always said time is on my side and I’ll keep saying that until it isn’t, whenever that is. But, right now, I still feel like time’s on my side. I’m 32 years old with a ton of experience. So, I still feel young. I’m only a few years older than those guys. I’ve got a few more grey hairs but I’m still young at heart.”
McIlroy, currently ranked ninth in the world, has had a relatively light schedule so far this year in again eyeing up a tilt at the Masters, even shuffling his itinerary – omitting the WGC-Dell Technologies Matchplay and including the Valero Texas Open – in the build-up.
And that missed cut last week in Texas, which may have sent alarm bells ringing, was actually seen by McIlroy as a beneficial slip in that he got to work on his game at home in Florida.
“If there’s a cut to miss, it wasn’t a bad one to miss. I got home, did two really good days of practice on Saturday and Sunday, and actually felt a lot better about where things were heading up here Sunday evening.
“If I had made the cut on the number in San Antonio and played through the weekend, I wouldn’t have had as much time to practice as I did over the weekend. So, I felt like that was pretty beneficial.”
So, to achieve that quest, what’s the key? “Just patience, discipline, don’t make big numbers. For me, anyway, it feels like a very negative way to think, but it’s the way to play around this place. You don’t have to do anything spectacular.
“That’s what this place is all about. It’s as much of a chess game as anything else, and it’s just about putting yourself in the right positions and being disciplined and being patient and knowing that pars are good, and even if you make a couple of pars on the par-fives, that’s okay, and you just keep moving forward.”
