It’s been over a decade since Rory McIlroy, who won four majors before he turned 26, last won – and none of them have arrived in Augusta.
McIlroy won 2012 and 2014 PGA Championships, 2011 US Open, and 2014 Open Championship, with its best finish at Augusta, which came in 2022 with her bunker hole-out to finish in second place.
McIlroy’s drought was just meters from ending last summer, but he missed two putts worth 6.5 meters on two of the last three holes at the US Open, and Bryson DeChambaus up-and-down at 18 at Pinehurst gave him his second major.
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Rory McIlroy Tees Off No. 12 during a practice round of the Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Kyle Terada-Preferred Pictures)
The Nordirishman suddenly left the course and disappointed with the open championship a month later and missed the cut.
But for McIlroy, the reigning player and Pebble Beach King, “It’s just tales. It’s noise.”
“It’s just trying to block that noise as much as possible,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “I have to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play all year.
“Look, I understand the story and the noise, and there is a lot of expectation and structure that comes into this tournament every year, but I just have to hold my head down and focus on my job.”
Rory McIlroy plays his ball at No. 11 during a practice round of the Masters tournament at Augusta National Golf Club. (Kyle Terada-Preferred Pictures)
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McIlroy has not done much in his last two Masters tournaments, missed the clip in 2023 and ended tied to 22 last year.
But he has the second best odds to win, behind only ruling champion Scottie Scheffler, understandably. In five events this year, the 35-year-old has not ended outside the top 20 and has another top-five except for its two wins.
However, McIlroy knows that Legacy is about the main subjects – and he is zero for his last 38.
Rory McIlroy plays his shot from the 16th tee during the final round of the Masters tournament. (Michael Madrid -usa Today Sports)
“I’ve had chances of winning some of the biggest golf tournaments in the world, and that’s not quite happened,” McIlroy said. “But life goes on. You dust yourself off and you go again. I think that’s why I’ve become a little more comfortable with putting everything out there and sometimes something vulnerable.”
