McIlroy talks patience but exudes an air of urgency at Augusta
Rory McIlroy says patience will be a virtue as he makes his 10th bid for the Grand Slam this week, but his brief chat with the press exuded a sense of urgency in his quest for a coveted green jacket.
Just 30 minutes after driving down Magnolia Lane, the world No 2 arrived five minutes early for his 12.30pm press conference and left after just seven questions – 22 fewer than Tiger Woods.
The Holywood star has tried myriad pre-Masters routines over the past 16 years, and he’s hoping that this year’s ploy – maximum playing time in the build-up followedby minimal time at the venue – will finally lead to the holy grail.
The big takeaway from his fleeting appearance was his assertion that he can’t win the Masters tomorrow when he tees it up alongside tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler and world No 5 Xander Schauffele.
“Yeah, I would say not trying to win it from the first tee shot,” he said when asked how he can avoid letting his desire to win consume him utterly.
“I think that’s something that I’ve tried to learn. It’s a 72-hole golf tournament. I’ve won from 10 strokes back going into the weekend. There’s loads of different ways to do it.
“Again, I’ve said this, this golf course gets you to chase things a little more than other golf courses, if you make a bogey or if you get yourself out of position, because it always tempts you to do something you think you can do.
“And I’m pretty confident in my golf game. I think I can do most things, but sometimes you just have to take the conservative route and be a little more disciplined and patient.”
There was a sense of deja vu about the morning press conferences, with Woods echoing his comments on McIlroy’s Masters credentials of last year.
“No question, he’ll do it at some point,” Woods said. “Rory’s too talented, too good . . . he’ll get it done. It’s just a matter of when.” McIlroy’s reaction was familiar. “Yeah, it’s flattering,” he said. “It’s nice to hear the best player ever to play the game say something like that. Does that mean that it’s going to happen? Obviously not. But he’s been around the game long enough to know that I at least have the potential to do it. I know I’ve got the potential to do it too.”
McIlroy said his approach this year is designed to “bring a little bit of normalcy into what I sort of try to do week in, week out”.
He said: “I play 25 weeks a year and there’s no point in doing anything different this week compared to other weeks, I guess. I wanted to play quite a bit leading up to this just to feel like my game was sharp or, if it wasn’t sharp, to try to get it in the best shape possible. I feel like I made a couple of good strides in that direction last week in Texas.
“Yeah, it’s just sort of nice to get home after a week and reset. And then I usually try to get into tournaments either Monday nights or Tuesday mornings, and that’s sort of what I’ve done this week.
“I came up here last week to play two practice rounds at the start of the week, so I feel like I’ve already got most of my prep work done. It’s about going out there and being relaxed and in the right frame of mind. The more I can do that, the more I’ll be able to execute on the golf course.”
Like Walter Hagen, McIl roy will try to smell the flowers along the way. But he laughed when asked if he could come here to enjoy himself given what’s at stake.
“If I cast my mind back to 18- year old Rory and I’m driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time, how would I feel and I think?
“Thankfully, I’ve improved a bit since my first start here and I feel I’ve got all the tools to do well this week. But, again, to bring those tools out, one of the most important things is to enjoy it and smell the . . . I guess not the roses, the azaleas along the way.”