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‘I can laugh about it’: Rory McIlroy says his dramatic collapse at last year’s Masters is a thing of the past

McIlroy insists he has put disappointment of last year’s Masters behind him

Rory McIlroy has reflected upon his Masters misery last year and declared: ‘I wasn’t ready to win it’.

The Northern Irishman spectacularly blew a four-shot 54-hole lead at last year’s tournament, shooting an 80 in the final round to finish in a tie for 15th. However, just two months later, he romped to an eight-shot win in the US Open Championship and recently climbed to world No.1 for the first time.

That humbling and humiliating experience at Augusta National last year, says the 22-year-old, has made him much stronger on and off the course.

“I think one of the things I learnt was that as a person and as a golfer, I wasn’t ready to win the Masters; I wasn’t ready to win a major,” said McIlroy ahead of this week’s tournament.

“I really needed to think about what I needed to do to improve mentally and in different aspects of my game to get better.  I felt like I did that.

“It was a huge learning curve and I took a lot from it and was able to put some of the things I learned into practice very quickly, and that’s what resulted in winning the US Open a couple months after.”

McIlroy’s final round calamity last year was highlighted by a triple-bogey at the tenth hole after he snapped a drive off the trees down the left-hand side of the fairway and into some cabins. However, he insists he has no demons to confront or any points to prove there this year.

“It’s great to be able to laugh about it now,” he revealed. “It’s just great to be back.  Obviously, the first time I played the back nine last week, obviously there were some memories that came back and memories that you probably don’t want. But it’s fine. I got that all out of the way and now I’m just looking forward to this week and trying to put myself in contention to try and win this thing.

“I’m coming back here a much more experienced player and feel like a much better player than the player that came here last year.”

One of McIlroy’s main rivals for the Green Jacket will be Tiger Woods, a four-time winner at Augusta. Woods recently ended a 30-month winless streak on the PGA Tour with victory at the Arnold Palmer Bay Hill Invitational and McIlroy is adamant the 14-time major-winner getting back to close to his best.

“It’s great for the game of golf that Tiger is back playing well,” said the Northern Irishman. “He creates excitement that no one else in the game can. You know, a lot of people want to see him make history, and it looks like he’s back on track to maybe going and doing that.

“I’m just looking forward to hopefully getting myself in contention and giving myself a chance and maybe come up against perhaps the best player ever. Definitely the best player of the last 20 years.”

Whilst most of the attention will be centred on he and Woods, McIlroy is insistent that they are by no means the sole contenders for the title.

“You have to remember there’s 80‑plus players in this field,” he said. “It’s not just about two guys or three guys or whatever. Every guy has to just think about themselves and try and play the golf course as best they can. That’s all you can really do, in any tournament, whether it be a major or a regular tour event. You just have to concentrate on yourself.

“It’s nice to be getting all this praise and everything, but you have to take it with a pinch of salt.  I definitely don’t have the achievements that Tiger has or anywhere near the level of success that he’s had over the last 15 years but hopefully I can one day get close to that point. I’m just happy to be here and hopefully have a good chance of winning.”

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Bryce Ritchie is the Editor of bunkered and, in addition to leading on content and strategy, oversees all aspects of the brand. The first full-time journalist employed by bunkered, he joined the company in 2001 and has been editor since 2009. A member of Balfron Golfing Society, he currently plays off nine and once got a lesson from Justin Thomas’ dad.

Editor of bunkered

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