As the lead up to the Masters at Augusta National now begins to take shape, Rory McIlroy has made an admission about his form as he looks to win his first green jacket
Rory McIlroy feels that he is starting to find his form, even though he faced challenges at the Genesis International. He is looking forward to a Masters competition with Jon Rahm approaching.
McIlroy has not received a green jacket yet, his highest achievement at Augusta National was in 2022 when he finished as second place. The four-time winner of major championships is now focused on trying to win the one significant award that has eluded him during his successful career.
Although he did not perform well at the Genesis International, with a four-under-par score going into the final day and trailing behind Patrick Cantlay, he is optimistic about his future performance and hopes to build momentum in the upcoming months. His upcoming tournaments include the Cognizant Classic later this month, followed by the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship, and the Valero Texas Open.
“Pebble was a bit of a write-off,” McIlroy said at the Genesis International. “It was a very strange round on that first day going from six-under to one-under really quickly. And then yeah, it was just sort of, I don’t know, I wouldn’t say – not that I wasn’t giving it my all, but it was just sort of one of those weeks where… I wasn’t fully in it, I guess.
“I did some good work last week,” he noted, giving an update on how he was feeling. “My coach Michael Bannon came over and I felt pretty good about everything this week even though obviously not quite in contention. Game’s feeling pretty good.”
McIlroy’s admission that he is coming into form despite some struggles in the PGA Tour event in California may leave some rivals for the Masters crown apprehensive. One star who will be looking to buck a trend that has followed him throughout his career is LIV Golf rebel Rahm, who will be defending his title at Augusta National in April.
Showing that it is seemingly something that has played on his mind at times during his career, Rahm admitted that he was eager to retain his title at the Mexican Open in 2023. He confessed: “I’ve only been able to defend the Spanish Open as a professional, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing if I could make the Mexico Open be my next defence.”
When Tony Finau won at Vidanta Vallarta, he stopped the Spaniard from achieving a second consecutive victory in Mexico. Rahm has only achieved back-to-back wins at the Spanish Open so far.
Dustin Johnson seems determined to surpass his performance at the Masters from last year. The winner of the green jacket in 2020 admitted that he did not perform very well the previous year, but he attributed it to the amount of effort he put in. He believes that he could have put in more effort. This year, he feels more motivated and determined to succeed.
He expressed his dissatisfaction with not performing well, while also sending a threat to his competitors after securing a victory in Las Vegas. He mentioned that he finds pleasure in playing well, interacting with the media, and celebrating with a trophy at the end of the week.