Confident for the Masters, Rory McIlroy is likely to miss the cut

AUGUSTA, Ga. – On Tuesday, two days before the start of the 2023 Masters tournament, Rory McIlroy insisted that he arrived at Augusta National Golf Club “as relaxed as I’ve ever been here.”

In fact, he called his second-place finish at last year’s Masters “a breakthrough.” Working with a sports psychologist left him feeling “much looser, much more confident”.

Probing the popular, affable McIlroy about his psyche ahead of the Masters is an annual spring ritual in the golfing community. The practice can be traced back to 2011 when McIlroy, then 21, had a four-shot lead going into the final round of the Masters and then shot 80 to finish tied for 15th.

Even worse, the Meltdown had gripping visuals – the mop-covered McIlroy deep in thorny woods, so far from the 10th fairway that the broadcast cameras could barely find him through the maze of loblolly pines. When his head finally appeared near a white cabin that was meant to be out of the game, McIlroy seemed dazed.

His Masters results improved in subsequent years, at least statistically. But did they help his overall cause? Yes, he competed again, but finishing in the top 10 seven times since 2014 only underlined what hasn’t happened: He’s been close again and again, but never won at Augusta National.

McIlroy’s victories in the other major championships – the US Open, the British Open and twice the PGA Championship – shaped the quest for the championship’s most-watched event in the sport.

Only five players have won golf’s Grand Slam: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods. Or as McIlroy likes to say with a smile, “I am reminded of that on the eve of every Master.”

On Tuesday he was asked: how would it feel to belong to that group?

“Feel pretty good,” he replied. He added his analysis of his struggles at the Masters.

“I’ve always felt that I’m physically capable of winning this tournament,” he said. “But it’s being in the right headspace for those physical abilities to shine.”

At noon in the second round on Friday, McIlroy was next to his golf ball in the middle of the 11th fairway. He was in a perfect position to attack the downhill green about 170 yards away. As McIlroy swung, his right hand came close to touching the club and his shoulders immediately dropped. His left leg buckled slightly.

His face had the familiar look of an annoyed golfer: Not again.

The ball sailed to a pond to the left of the green and plopped into it. McIlroy hung his head. The crowd at the green gasped.

It would lead to McIlroy’s fifth bogey in the first 11 holes. He would rally with two birdies on the par-5 13th and 15th holes, playing relatively easy on Friday, then a bogey on the 16th. His day ended with a well-known embarrassment on the Augusta National grounds: His tee shot on the 18th hole disappeared into a thicket of pine trees. There was McIlroy again, barely visible, trying to find a way to free his ball from the woods. It led to a final bogey and a round of 77, five over par. He shot an even par 72 in Thursday’s first round.

Although play was interrupted by bad weather late on Friday afternoon, McIlroy will no doubt miss the midway cut for the tournament once the second round is completed on Saturday – or Sunday if rain or thunder continues to interrupt the tournament. It is the third time McIlroy has been banned from the last two rounds of the Masters and the second time in the past three years.

As his Friday round ended, McIlroy walked into an annex next to the Augusta National clubhouse where players enter their scores. He was expected to do two television interviews at that facility and then speak to a group of reporters waiting for him outside. Instead, according to a club spokesman, he declined all interviews.

It’s certainly understandable if McIlroy, consistently one of the most accessible elite golfers in the game, had nothing else to say.

Saying too much has not helped in the past. It was on the eve of his disastrous 2011 fourth round that McIlroy told a packed interview room at Augusta National, “I’m finally comfortable on this golf course.”

And in his interview on Tuesday, he couldn’t be more effusive about how prepared and confident he felt to compete in the 2023 Masters. He was philosophical.

“I think you have to go through everything, right?” said McIlroy, who is the second best golfer in the world. “Not every experience will be a good experience. I think that would lead to a pretty boring life. You know, you have to learn from those challenges and learn from some of that scar tissue that’s built up.

“You know, I felt like maybe last year I got rid of some of that scar tissue and felt like I kind of made a breakthrough.”

He continued, “Good experiences, bad experiences, it all adds up at the end of the day.”

On Friday afternoon, McIlroy received a polite round of applause as he left the 18th green. He nodded to the crowd and forced a smile.

But another of his comments from Tuesday perhaps best expressed his thoughts at the moment.

“I’ve been knocking on the door for a fifth major,” he said, “for a while now.”