Why Rory McIlroy will end his Masters hoodoo after agonising Augusta near-misses

Ryder Cup: Commentator says Rory McIlroy has been ‘scapegoat’

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Throughout his stellar golf career, Rory McIlroy has asserted himself as one of the sport’s true modern greats. McIlroy’s trophy cabinet is no doubt a full one, having won two FedEx Cups, three Race to Dubai titles, three World Golf Championships and one Players Championship.

The Northern Irishman also has some of golf’s biggest honours under his belt having won four major titles – two PGA Championships, one US Open and Open Championship. One crown however – and arguably the most prestigious – still evades McIlroy, and that is of course the famous Masters green jacket.

The Northern Irishman has come agonisingly close to being crowned champion on a few occasions before. Most notably back in 2011 when he held a solid four-shot lead heading into the final nine holes of the tournament. However, calamity struck on 10, and he went on to card a back nine 43 to crush his hopes of putting his arms into the green jacket that afternoon.

Since then he has picked up an impressive six top-10 finishes around the famous Georgia course, but has never managed to get himself to the top of the leaderboard come the end of play on Sunday. His tough luck at the Masters has no doubt made many think that it may never happen for the former world No. 1 around Augusta National.

However, at just 32-years-old it is surely a matter of when rather than if for a man of his calibre. Doubts over McIlroy’s game no doubt grew post project restart in 2020, after the Northern Irishman struggled to reach the remarkable heights he had hit pre-pandemic. This then all seemed to mount up at last September’s Ryder Cup, where McIlroy – alongside the rest of his European teammates – put in a dismal showing at the hands of a young and firing USA team.

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Following his Ryder Cup struggles, the pressure clearly burst out of the 32-year-old after he was reduced to tears during his post-round greenside interview following his final day singles match with Xander Schauffele. This could well have been the nail in the coffin for most competitors, but not McIlroy.

It seemed as if the four-time major winner needed to go to his lowest in order to get back to his best, and boy did he showcase that just three weeks later in Las Vegas. With Europe’s horror show and McIlroy’s tears still fresh in the back of everyone’s minds, the Northern Irishman shocked the golfing world by storming to victory at the CJ Cup to collect his 20th PGA Tour title, just 21 days after his Whistling Straits meltdown. 

Remarkably, McIIlroy revealed after his triumph that on the Saturday night of the Ryder Cup he was ‘done with golf’. These struggles however have proven to be the catalyst that has fired the Northern Irishman back into form, and with the trip to Augusta one week away there is no better time to get back into the groove.

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As a result, he has followed up his CJ Cup victory with a scintillating run through the end of 2021 and the start of 2022, finishing outside of the top 20 just once in seven starts – which came at the weather affected Players – with three top 10’s also included in that hot run. He will then head to this week’s Valero Texas Open for one final pre-Augusta outing, and a similar finish there will put him in good stead to end his Masters hoodoo come next Sunday.

McIlroy is of course not the only one heading to Augusta as a hot favourite. The circuit is arguably the most competitive it has been in years, especially after American Scottie Scheffler climbed to world No. 1 following a scintillating start to 2022 last Sunday. Throw into the mix the likes of Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Viktor Hovland, and it is more than clear to see that a number of young golf hotshots are heading to Georgia with their eyes on the green jacket.

Despite the sport’s recent revolution of up and coming superstars, one man is an ever present and that man is McIlroy. The world rankings is currently glittered with young golfers however McIlroy’s name is still up there alongside them. As a result, when next week’s major finds itself at the business end of the week, the Northern Irishman’s leading experience could well prove key over the rest of the world’s best.

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