Rory McIlroy is without a major win since the 2014 PGA Championship; Former world No 1 still needs to win The Masters to complete the career Grand Slam; McIlroy struggled to a tied-22nd finish in another frustrating major week at Augusta National
Tuesday 16 April 2024 08:14, UK
Rory McIlroy admitted there is "lots of room for improvement" in his game heading into the rest of the year after another failed career Grand Slam bid at The Masters.
McIlroy had carded his lowest opening round at The Masters since 2018 when he posted a one-under 71 on Thursday, although failed to register a single birdie in a second-round 77 that dropped him down the leaderboard.
The four-time major champion said he would 'give it a go' after a third-round 71 left him needing to overturn a 10-stroke deficit on the final day, where another frustrating 73 saw him end the week on four over and take his wait to complete the career Grand Slam into an 11th year.
"I don't really know what to say," McIlroy admitted post-round. "Just sort of felt like my game was OK and managed it pretty well, but obviously Friday was a really tough day, and losing five shots sort of put me in a pretty difficult position going into the weekend.
"Then the conditions were pretty tough. The greens are crusty and firm and hard to get the ball super close and hard to make a ton of birdies.
"Once you get seven or eight back going into the weekend here, it's hard to make up that ground," McIlroy added. "I guess it's more the same of what I've shown this year.
"It's not as if it's been a down week in comparison to the way I've been playing. It's just a matter of me trying to get my game in a bit better shape going towards the rest of the season."
Any hopes of a final-day charge from McIlroy immediately ended when he missed the opening green with a wedge and failed to get up and down to save par, then three-putted for par at the par-five second after firing his second to within 20 feet.
McIlroy ended a par streak by two-putting for birdie at the par-five eighth and holing from 20 feet at the ninth, seeing him reach the turn in red figures for the day, only for him to fail to get up and down from the sand to save par at the 10th.
He safely made the par on the first two holes of Amen Corner but became unstuck at the par-five 13th, carding a four-putt bogey from distance after reaching the green in two, although responded by getting up and down to birdie the par-five 15th for the first time of the week.
McIlroy's wayward approach into the 17th resulted in another dropped shot, sending him back to over par for the round, while closing par rounding off the latest disappointing bid to complete the career Grand Slam.
"I need to take a little bit of time and reflect on this week and what I did well, what I didn't do so well, and sort of try to make a plan for the next few months, especially from here going through obviously to the end of July. Hopefully get myself in a bit better form for those last three.
"They're not terrible weeks by any stretch, but there's a lot of room for improvement. I'm close in some ways, but then I feel quite far away in others. Once I get one thing, sort of put that to bed, then another thing pops up, and it's just one of those at the minute."
McIlroy made a trip to Las Vegas last month for a four-hour lesson with Butch Harmon, something he has done multiple times during his career, with the Northern Irishman insisting that he hasn't yet reached the point where he needs to make significant changes in his game.
"If you're really going to make wholesale changes it's hard to play a lot of golf and make them at the same time," McIlroy added. "I don't feel like I need to make wholesale changes - that's why I'm playing a lot.
"If the time comes that I need to make wholesale changes with my golf swing and really try to reassess, it could be a six-month to a year process. Not saying I wouldn't play any tournaments in that time, but the focus would be on the sort of technical side of things and really not result-driven.
"I don't think I'm there yet, but there may come a time when I need to address that and really go back to the drawing board."
McIlroy heads to South Carolina next for the RBC Heritage, beginning Thursday and the latest of the PGA Tour's Signature Events, with the Northern Irishman then teaming up with Shane Lowry to make his debut at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans the following week.
That team event will be McIlroy's fourth start in as many weeks, having also played four times in a five-week stretch earlier in his PGA Tour campaign, with the Northern Irishman then scheduled to take his birthday week off ahead of returning at the Wells Fargo Championship (May 9-12).
McIlroy will be hoping for a record fourth career title at Quail Hollow, before having another opportunity to end his major drought when the PGA Championship takes place at Valhalla the following week.
The 34-year-old has committed to the RBC Canadian Open from May 30-June 2, an event he has won twice, with McIlroy also scheduled to play the Memorial Tournament (June 6-9) before heading to the US Open at Pinehurst from June 16-19.
Watch Rory McIlroy in action throughout the PGA Tour season live on Sky Sports. McIlroy features next at the RBC Heritage, with Featured Group coverage live on Thursday from 12.15pm ahead of full coverage from 7pm on Sky Sports Golf.
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