The most recent of Rory McIlroy’s four Major titles came a decade ago, and he has yet to win The Masters, but this week, the 34-year-old will come into the Augusta National event on the back of a busy schedule that included a finish of third at last week’s Valero Texas Open.
With McIlroy’s game apparently trending in the right direction, there is once again optimism he can finally close out a career Grand Slam in his 16th Masters appearance.
One player who has backed McIlroy to eventually claim the Green Jacket is Tiger Woods. The five-time Masters champion told the media after a practice round on Tuesday morning: “No question, he’ll do it at some point. He’s just – Rory’s too talented, too good.
“He’s going to be playing this event for a very long time. He’ll get it done. It’s just a matter of when. But, yes, I think that Rory will be a great Masters champion one day, and it could be this week.”
That’s something that is music to the ears of McIlroy, who addressed Woods’ comments during his own press conference ahead of the tournament. He said: “Yeah, it’s flattering. It’s nice to hear, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game say something like that.
“So, yeah, I mean, 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. It’s not as if I haven’t been a pretty good player for the last couple of decades. So, but, yeah, it’s nice to hear it when it comes out of his mouth.”
Rory McIlroy has responded to Tiger Woods’ comments on his chances of winning The Masters
(Image credit: Getty Images)
McIlroy then turned his attention to how he would go about the task of claiming victory this week, and he said enjoying the experience would be crucial. He explained: “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, it’s just always trying to go back to being grateful and feeling incredibly lucky that you can be a part of this tournament and you get to compete in it every year.
“Thankfully, I’ve improved a bit since my first start here, and I feel like I’ve got all the tools to do well this week. But, again, to bring those tools out, I…
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