RORY HAS GRIT EXPECTATIONS Mcilroy: I’ve learned how to succeed by learning how to fail

RORY MCILROY echoed the words of Michael Jordan by claiming his 2011 Masters meltdown gave him the “grit” to become a Major champion.

The Ulsterman, 21 at the time (below), led by four shots going into the final round before a nightmare closing 80. But he responded superbly by winning the US Open by eight shots the following month. NBA legend Jordan famously said: “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

And speaking before his sixth attempt to complete his career Grand Slam at Augusta, four-time Major winner Mcilroy said: “There are a lot of words that you can associate with grit: persistence, perseverance, stubbornness, doggedness, never really giving up on your dreams.

“Grit is something that I don’t think you’re born with, I think it’s something you sort of cultivate.

“I think my grit has come from my failures, and I don’t have to look any further than this place in 2011. I learned a lot from that day. I learned a lot in terms of what I needed to be and what I didn’t need to be.

“I needed to be myself. I didn’t need to try to be like anyone else. I try to say this to young guys coming through. You can’t be afraid of failure. 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 success in this game but I have failed a hell of a lot more than I have succeeded. And that is why 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, my grit, from.”

Triple Masters champion Nick Faldo said targeting the career Grand Slam could give Mcilroy the required lift after struggling since the restart without crowds.

Mcilroy recorded seven consecutive top-five finishes before lockdown but he has notched only two top-10s in 16 events since.

“The Masters is a huge opportunity,” Faldo told BBC 5 Live. “He is going to get two cracks at it – November this year and April next year – which is not a bad deal for somebody. Somebody could do the double and join the little club between myself, Jack (Nicklaus) and Tiger.

“I would have thought that is a huge motivation.

“A player like Rory really needs that extra bit of motivation to get his juices going so it wouldn’t surprise me if he can find some way to get the other end of the leaderboard rather than struggling.

“I think he’ll find a way to dig deep and have at least a betterthan-average week. Who knows if he can finish it off.”