Rory McIlroy has won the PGA Championship twice, the US Open and The Open; McIlroy finished second at The Masters last year but has never won in 14 attempts at Augusta National; Can he complete the Grand Slam? Watch exclusively live on Thursday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf
Tuesday 4 April 2023 18:57, UK
Tiger Woods insists it’s ‘just a matter of time’ before Rory McIlroy claims an elusive victory at The Masters and becomes the latest player to complete the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy has posted top-10 finishes in half of his previous 14 appearances at Augusta National, with this year's event his ninth attempt to join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods in having won all four major titles.
The world No 2 has already won the Dubai Desert Classic this season and claimed third at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play last month, with Woods backing Mcllroy to go one better than last year's runner-up finish to Scottie Scheffler and contend again at the opening major of the year.
"He [McIlroy] will [complete the career Grand Slam], it's just a matter of time," Woods said in his pre-tournament press conference. "Rory has the talent. He has the game. He has all the tools to win here. It's just a matter of time.
"A lot of things have to happen to win at this golf course. A lot of things have to go right. I think Rory has shown over the years he's learned how to play this golf course and you just have to understand how to play it.
"He has been there. Last year he made a great run, put himself there. I think that it's just a matter of time, whether it's this year or next or whenever it comes, he will get it done and he will have a career Grand Slam. It's just what year it will be - it will definitely happen."
McIlroy claimed after Monday's practice round together that it was only the 15-time major champion's mobility issues that was preventing him from being a serious contender this week, with Woods aware of his own limitations ahead of his bid for a record-equalling sixth Masters title.
"I think my game is better than it was last year at this particular time," Woods admitted. "I think my endurance is better, but it aches a little bit more than it did last year just because at that particular time when I came back, I really had not pushed it that often.
"I had a little window in which I did push it and was able to come back. Fast-forwarding, I didn't really play a whole lot afterwards. Took a little bit to recover from the event.
"I played in February in LA [Genesis Invitational] and then took a little time off before getting ready for this. I just have to be cognizant of how much I can push it. Like Rory was saying, I can hit a lot of shots but the difficulty for me is going to be the walking going forward. It is what it is."
On whether he felt the other players still saw Woods as a possible winner, he added: "Whether I'm a threat to them or not, who knows. People probably didn't think I was a threat in 2019 either, but kind of turned out okay!"
Woods' 47th place finish at last year's contest came just 14 months after sustaining career-threatening leg injuries in a car accident, with the world No 1 proud of how he handled his comeback appearance.
"I didn't win the tournament, but for me to be able to come back and play was a small victory in itself," Woods explained. "Yeah, I still would have liked to have gotten the W [win], but I didn't. I think I got my own smaller version of that, to be able to come back and just be able to play.
"For some reason everything kind of came together and I pushed it a little bit and I was able to make the cut, which was nice. I don't know how many more I have in me, so I just appreciate the time that I have here and cherish the memories."
Woods has been grouped alongside Viktor Hovland and Xander Schauffele for the first two rounds at Augusta National, with the marquee trio going out at 1518 on Thursday and part of Featured Group coverage on the opening day.
Watch The Masters throughout the week live on Sky Sports! Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday from 2pm on Sky Sports Golf.
