Men only want one thing and it’s….. Rory McIlroy in a green jacket in April.
Is Rory McIlroy morphing into Phil? Was the outrageous chip and run on the 18th at Sawgrass on Thursday his Mickelson moment from the pine straw on 13 at Augusta in 2010?
McIlroy clinched his second Players Championship title on Monday and he will now head to Augusta National with two massive wins under his belt. There is genuine substance behind his latest jaunt at the career grand slam.
The Holywood man’s ability to play in tough conditions has been questioned but when it came to it over the Weeknd at Sawgrass he was the only one who was able to stick it out.
But the best part is that he didn’t even play that well and he admitted as much: “By no means did I have my best stuff this week” he said.
McIlroy’s form over the last twelve months has been rightfully drowned out by what Scottie Scheffler has done but five wins, three runners-up, fourteen top-5 finishes and one missed cut is insane consistency.
We are all thinking it but you dare not say it out loud. Like Voldemort’s name.
A Rory McIlroy jaunt at the Green Jacket at Augusta is something we equally desire and fear that we are so reluctant to allow our minds to consider the matter in case we set ourselves up to be hurt again.
The best driver in the game, a player who has laid the foundations for his game on the driver, hit just four fairways at Sawgrass yet was still in contention on Thursday.
It’s a mantra he must bring to Augusta next month because if he can grind out rounds in the 60s playing poorly around Amen Corner then it could be the missing ingredient to finally end his Masters hoodoo.
Despite having seven top-10s at the Masters, never has he truly had a chance to slip into a Green Jacket heading to Amen Corner on Sunday – although he has tried to manufacture outside opportunities, 2022 the case in point.
The Cheltenham Festival has been rife with favourites falling and false starts and slow starts have proven fatal for McIlroy at Augusta National.
The 35-year-old has opened with rounds of 73, 75, 76, 73 and 72 in five of his last six Masters outings to leave himself with a mountain to climb only to do what has now become his trademark and ‘reverse into a top-10.’
Only twice has he shot in the 60s during the opening round (2011 and 2018) and they turned out to be his best chances to win a first Masters title.
Three rounds in the 60s on Friday have followed also. McIlroy is understandably iffy coming to Augusta, the pressure only ramps up as the years go by when he drives up Magnolia Lane but if he can take what he did at Sawgrass on Thursday and bring it to Augusta then he could change the story.
McIlroy has also been prone to costly stretches that have been brought about by the pressure of not getting off to a good start on Thursday.
The stats show that a good start is crucial.
Since 2005, only one player – Tiger Woods in 2005 and 2019 – has been outside the top-10 after the first round and gone on to win the Masters.
McIlroy was not at his best at the Players but he was bold at the same time and he showed an ability to grind out a score in a big event and it’s not for the first time this season.
McIlroy’s ability to graft and grind in the tough conditions has often been questioned but a sensational third round of 65 in cold, wet and windy conditions at Pebble Beach helped propel him to victory on Sunday.
The weeks leading up to the Masters are often rife with speculation on McIlroy’s pre-Augusta performances and how will he schedule events in the run in. It’s long felt that he needs to be playing well heading to Augusta or tucked away a trophy or two earlier in the season.
But McIlroy showed his mettle at Sawgrass, a golf course he has a very mixed record on and it’s that mettle he will need to show at Augusta, a golf course that has also been prone to spitting him out.
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