Even though he’s posted five top-10 finishes at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy has never broken through with a win at the Masters. In fact, his fourth-place finish in 2015 is still his high-water mark at the event.
But with a revamped schedule that currently puts the Masters at the end of the 2020 slate, many have speculated that McIlroy could be poised to win his first green jacket.
McIlroy also admitted that he thinks the new schedule could be conducive to a stronger showing for him at the event. The world’s current No. 1 player spent some quality Easter time with Michelle Wie on a Nike Golf Instagram Live, and said he’s excited about the fact that the dynamics might be very different this year.
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“I feel like there’s anticipation going to Augusta the first big event of the year. There’s all this hype,” McIlory said. “I don’t think it’ll feel like that this year, I think it’ll feel a little bit different, which I’m looking forward to. It’s going to be a different Masters and personally, selfishly, maybe that’s what I need to get the jacket.”
As others, including Jack Nicklaus, have recently pointed out, McIlroy plays better as the season comes to a close. He’s already won the FedEx Cup twice, including last season.
If the new schedule is carried out, the Tour Championship in Atlanta will be played from Sept 4-7, and the U.S. Open will now be played Sept. 17-20. The 84th Masters, which was supposed to be played this week at Augusta National Golf Club, has been re-scheduled for Nov. 9-15 in Augusta, Georgia.
“November is going to be different. It’s going to be cold. The course can play very long. I mean, it plays long already, but it could play very long. The greens might not be as fast as they usually are in April, depending on the moisture,” McIlroy said. “Obviously, they can do whatever they want with the course with SubAir and everything, but I think it’ll be a different feel as well. It’s the back end of the year as two of the majors have already been played — hopefully, the Ryder Cup’s already been played. People might be in their routines and in their flow a little bit.”
Speaking of the Ryder Cup, Wie asked McIlroy if he feels more pressure when in contention for a major or when he has an important match for the match play event — which is currently scheduled for Sept. 25-27.
“Probably the Ryder Cup. You’re not just playing for yourself, you’re playing for your teammates, you’re playing for your country, you’re playing for a lot of different people,” McIlory said. “Pressure at the Ryder Cup is different. I think if you look at people who have performed well in Ryder Cups before they went on to win majors, I think it’s a good precursor.
“I think for us, anyway, that the Ryder Cup is the biggest and most intense atmosphere you can play under. If you can handle that, you can handle being in contention at the majors.”
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