Rory McIlroy aims to get into shape ahead of Masters
Rory McIlroy says he's determined to go against his naturally reckless style and “paved the way” his way to a long-awaited green jacket at next week's Masters.
It will be the Northern Irishman's 10th attempt to become the sixth male player in history to complete a career Grand Slam, and after a series of failures at Augusta McIlroy adheres to a conservative strategy, which is clearly not in the spirit of Rory.
“Good golf at Augusta seems like boring golf, and I think that's what I've always struggled with because it's not my game,” he said. “For me, this is the biggest test of discipline and patience of the year. It's about resisting the temptation to do too much and sticking to your game plan.”
McIlroy was playing at the Texas Open, and judging by his first two rounds, the world number two is stepping into the role early . . On his way to a five-under finish that put him in contention, McIlroy made just one bogey with his six birdies and 29 pars.
This is in stark contrast to his last tournament, The Players Championship three weeks ago, where in his first 36 holes he made three bogeys, two double bogeys, 15 birdies and only 16 pars.
Of course, TPC Sawgrass and TPC San Antonio presents very different challenges, but McIlroy was clearly trying to get off the roller coaster and calm the volatility.
“I only made one bogey in the last two days, so that’s a lot better than what I posted during the Florida swing,” he said. “That’s really been the reason for the work over the last couple of weeks, to try to eradicate the big misses and try to keep the ball more in front of us rather than out to the side. And make tons of Pars.”
That was one of the reasons why, a few days after The Players, he made a 2,000-mile trip to meet with respected coach Butch Harmon. He traveled to Las Vegas for an emergency lesson to try to correct his shaky approach play, especially with his shorter irons. McIlroy, 34, credits Harmon with showing him the way back to the short, narrow and heavily sloped road.
“It was better, definitely better,” he said. “Look, I'd like to see some of those iron shots and wedges go in closer. But the miss has moved from left to right a little, and I'm happy with that.
“That means what I'm working on is moving in the right direction and it's tightened up. a piece. I stay patient and try to play smart golf. I'm very pleased with just one ghost.”
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