Rory Mcilroy and the Win That Could Define His Career
21-year-old Rory Mcilroy stood on the 10th tee box at the 2011 Master’s with a one-shot lead, looking for his first major championship win at Augusta National Golf Club. The kid from Northern Ireland had played 63 holes of outstanding golf, turning other golfer’s heads with his powerful yet beautiful golf swing. Just nine holes remained for Mcilroy, then everything changed with the swing of a club. Mcilroy’s tee shot on the 10thnhole came off the clubface left, and it kept going left. In fact, Rory’s ball ended so far left the announcers couldn’t even spot the where the ball ended up. However, this was just the beginning of one of the worst collapses in major championship golf.
Rory would blow up on the last eight holes and shoot a final round 80, his worst score at the tournament. Rory said after the tournament he would learn from it and move on. However, nobody thought he’d move as quickly as he did. Rory would tear up major championship golf courses after this experience, winning four of the next 12 majors contested in men’s golf. This included a runaway win at the U.S Open and two PGA Championship wins in three years (2012, 2014).
Coincidentally, the last major Mcilroy needs to win is the one he should have won first. Still eight years later, the 29-year-old is still searching for the secret on how to win at the famous Augusta National Golf Club. Last year gave him the best chance to win the tournament since his blow up in 2011 when he played in the final group in the final round with American Patrick Reed. Mcilroy felt confident after the third round and made it pretty clear at his press conference.
“Really excited to go out there tomorrow, show everyone what I’ve got, show Patrick Reed what I’ve got. All the pressure’s on him tomorrow. He’s got a lot of support here, and I’m hoping to come in and spoil the party.”
Just 18 holes remained between Mcilroy and history, but he couldn’t get anything going on the final day and fell out of contention.
A year later, Mcilroy will once again come into Augusta National the favorite to win, and Mcilroy’s attitude about winning it has changed dramatically, and it shows.
''I would have said a couple of years ago, 'I need to win a Masters, I need a green jacket,' where now it's, 'I want to win it.' And I'd love to win it,'' he said. ''But if I don't, I'm OK. Maybe some people will say that I'm not motivated enough. Believe me, I am motivated to make the most of what I have and to put my name among some of the greats of our game.'”
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