Rory McIlroy looking to put Masters disappointment behind him
Wednesday 2 May 2018 20:33, UK
Rory McIlroy is focused on celebrating his birthday with a third win at the Wells Fargo Championship rather than dwell on his Masters disappointment last month.
McIlroy was just three shots behind leader Patrick Reed going into the final round at Augusta National following a "lucky" 65 on Saturday, but his all-round game deserted him as his Ryder Cup rival landed his first major title.
The Northern Irishman, who turns 29 on Friday, missed out on a great opportunity to join the exclusive list of career Grand Slam winners but admitted his game did not click as he was paired with Reed in the final group out on Sunday.
"Once I got back into my routine I was fine, but I was disappointed because I just didn't give a good account of myself on that final day," said McIlroy, champion at Quail Hollow in 2010 and 2015.
"I got lucky on that Saturday, that 65 was as good as I could have scored. I chipped in, and there were a couple of balls that hit trees and came back into the fairway. I hit it up into the azaleas and got away with it.
"I was holding my game together, and then on Sunday, under the pressure of chasing down Patrick, it just never clicked for me."
McIlroy enjoyed the fervent support he received throughout the week from the Augusta patrons, and he remains confident of finally getting over the line and completing a full set of majors while making no apologies for describing the Masters as the biggest tournament in world golf.
He added: "The Masters has now become the biggest golf tournament in the world and I'm comfortable saying that. I don't care about the US Open or the Open Championship, it is the biggest golf tournament in the world, the most amount of eyeballs, the most amount of hype, everything is at Augusta.
"For me it's the most special tournament that we play and it's the one everyone desperately wants to win, but even if I was going for my first major, it's still tough to win.
"When I got on to the first tee it was pretty cool, it felt like there was a lot of people rooting for me. Even the Augusta members were saying 'we'd love to have dinner with you tonight' and all that stuff. It's nice, but don't be ordering me anything just yet!"
Live PGA Tour Golf
