In the past, McIlroy would often enter a PGA Tour event ahead of the Masters. This year, he changed it up, and it’s paying off.
AUGUSTA — On Friday evening Rory McIlroy dropped an interesting tidbit about his preparation for this year’s Masters: he’d made several visits to play Augusta National in previous weeks. McIlroy, who opened the tournament with scores of 67-65 to take a record-setting six-shot 36-hole lead, came into his Masters defense without the usual tournament lead-in for someone expected to contend.
A back injury forced him out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month prior to the third round and he only showed up the afternoon prior to the Players Championship, where he tied for 46th.“I think just spending time here,” McIlroy said of his ability to navigate the course better in his 18th Maters appearance. “Between the Players and starting on Thursday, I've been on this golf course, geez, like Monday, Tuesday last week, then Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I was up here for a day the week before as well. “I've been on this golf course so much the last three weeks, and that's been a combination of practice and chipping and putting around greens, and then just playing one ball and shooting scores and ending up in weird places that you maybe never find yourself and just trying to figure it out.McIlroy was never expected to play the Valspar Championship following the Players, but the Houston Open and Valero Texas Open were possibilities because he’s played them in the past. Last year, prior to his Masters victory, he played two weeks prior and tied for fifth in Houston.“I'd rather come up here,” he said as compared to playing those events. “I did a couple of days where I dropped Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with her—or had dinner with Erica probably. Like I did a couple of day trips like that where I felt it was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio.” Gaining experience never hurts and McIlroy said its been an ongoing process going back to his first Masters in 2009, when he tied for 20th. “I think I've known that for a while,” McIlroy said. “Even going back to my first year here in 2009, I shot 30 on the back nine on Sunday. So I've always had the ability to go on these runs. “But I think it was getting to the point where I would allow myself to play the course the way that I knew that I could. So it was getting past myself. It was staying aggressive. Like my little mantra to myself today was keep swinging, keep swinging hard at it even if you're not hitting fairways, just keep swinging. “Over the years this golf course is sometimes—you know, my mindset hasn't been keep swinging. It's been guided, tentative. I think the experience I've accrued over the years and obviously with what happened last year, it makes it a bit easier out there to keep swinging.”Bob Harig is a senior writer covering golf for Sports Illustrated. He has more than 25 years experience on the beat, including 15 at ESPN. Harig is a regular guest on Sirius XM PGA Tour Radio and has written two books, “DRIVE: The Lasting Legacy of Tiger Woods” and “Tiger and Phil: Golf’s Most Fascinating Rivalry.” He graduated from Indiana University where he earned an Evans Scholarship, named in honor of the great amateur golfer Charles Evans Jr. Harig, a former president of the Golf Writers Association of America, lives in Clearwater, Fla.
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