McIlroy says accepting ‘heartbreak’ at Augusta can aid Masters pursuit

Rory McIlroy believes acceptance of the “heartbreak” that has accompanied his occasionally painful quest for Masters glory could be the key to finally laying his hands on a Green Jacket. McIlroy’s latest bid to complete a career grand slam of majors here begins on Thursday.

McIlroy needs no reminding that almost 11 years have passed since he won the last of his four major titles and on Tuesday he revealed an attitude switch he decided upon at the end of 2019. Since then, he has posted 11 top-10 finishes in majors.

“It’s a self-preservation mechanism,” he said of his previous approach when he was unwilling to be psychologically damaged. “You’re trying to not put 100% of yourself out there because of that.

“It happens in all walks of life. At a certain point, someone doesn’t want to fall in love because they don’t want to get their heart broken. Instinctually, as human beings, we hold back sometimes because of the fear of getting hurt, whether that’s a conscious decision or subconscious decision and I was doing that on the course a little bit for a few years.

“Once you go through that, once you go through those heartbreaks or disappointments, you get to a place where you remember how it feels and you wake up the next day and you’re like: ‘Yeah, life goes on, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be.’

“In the last few years I’ve had chances to win some of the biggest tournaments and it hasn’t quite happened. But life moves on. You dust yourself off and you go again. That’s why I’ve become a little more comfortable in laying everything out there and being somewhat vulnerable at times.”

Rory McIlroy comes into the Masters with two victories on the PGA Tour this season. Photograph: Mike Segar/Reuters

Many regard this as McIlroy’s finest Masters opportunity. He arrived in Georgia having won twice on the PGA Tour this year. Unsurprisingly, the 35-year-old shrugged off that external expectation. “It’s just narratives, it’s noise,” he said. “It’s just [about] trying to block out that noise as much as possible. I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments I play throughout the year.

“Look, I understand the narrative and the noise, and there’s a lot of anticipation and build up coming into this tournament each and every year, but I just have to keep my head down and focus on my job.”

McIlroy recounted an endearing tale in relation to his four-year-old daughter, Poppy, who was in attendance as the Players Championship was claimed at Sawgrass last month. “It was the first time she sort of realised what I did, which was really cool and also a little scary at the same time,” he said.

“The next day she went into school and there were a couple of kids that had said some stuff to her. She came home to me and said: ‘Daddy, are you famous?’ I said: ‘It depends who you talk to.’”

Augusta has delivered some lusty blows to McIlroy – most notably in 2011 – but he retains huge affection for the venue. “I’ve always loved this course. People ask me, if you could only play one course for the rest of your life, what would it be? Walking around this place every day would be pretty cool.

“There’s the history, those spring evenings where I would sit down with my dad and watch this tournament. All that comes back to me, as well. Remembering why I fell in love with the game. It’s just a beautiful place. I don’t think there’s a more beautiful course on earth. It’s like you’re playing golf in the prettiest park in the world.”