Monday 19 March 2018 17:44, UK
Rory McIlroy has elevated his confidence rating ahead of the Masters to "huge" following his thrilling win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.
McIlroy left a high-quality field trailing in his wake down the stretch as he birdied five of the last six holes to card a faultless eight-under 64 and claim a three-shot triumph - his first title since the 2016 Tour Championship.
The 28-year-old was understandably proud of his all-round performance over the closing stages and insisted he had never lost belief in his abilities after going 26 starts without adding to his career haul of 22 professional victories worldwide.
McIlroy will now look to build on his display in this week's WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play before having a week off to fine-tune his game ahead of his latest bid to complete a career Grand Slam of majors at the Masters, and he admitted his win at Bay Hill was a massive shot in the arm for his chances at Augusta National.
"It's huge," he said: "The shots that I was able to hit under pressure coming down the stretch; the two five-irons into the par-threes on the back nine, the wedge shots, the putts, the drive on 16, the three-wood on 18 after the last three-wood I hit on that hole went OB left on Thursday.
"So all these little barriers that you have to overcome, whether it be physical or mental, yeah, it's huge for my confidence going into the next few weeks. I kept saying I didn't need a win going into Augusta to feel like I had a chance, I just wanted to see signs of good golf, and thankfully I've been able to get both.
"I've always believed in myself and I know that me being 100 per cent healthy is good enough to not just win on the PGA Tour, but win a lot. And I guess that's what kept me going.
"I wanted to get back to 100 per cent fitness, which I have, and that allows me to practice as much as I want, go about my business and do everything that I need to do to feel 100 per cent prepared to play golf tournaments.
"So I never lost belief. I know that I've got a gift for this game and I know that if I put the time in I can make a lot of it. I guess that's what's kept me going."
McIlroy is the first of three players this season to attempt to join an elite list of career Grand Slam winners, with Phil Mickelson still yet to win a US Open while Jordan Spieth can complete a full set at the PGA Championship - the one major to elude the legendary Arnold Palmer.
"It's amazing to think, all that Arnold did in the game, he never won that Grand Slam," McIlroy added. "Obviously I'm in a position where I can join that club and I would love to.
"Golf is in a great place, there's three of us that are going for the Grand Slam this year and it's actually I feel like it's exciting times. Obviously I'm glad to be a part of that conversation, and I get the first shot at it in a few weeks so we'll see how we go."
