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Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy, that’s a classy club of two legends, hiding their mutual respect for each and not gushing. It was not the kind of team golf that has divided the world, but one that keeps together two of the best the game has ever seen.
An hour before Rory McIlroy came to meet the media, Tiger Woods was in the room and commented,
“No question, he'll do it at some point. Rory Mcilroy is too talented, too good. He's going to be playing this event for a very long time. He'll get it done. It's just a matter of when.”
He added,
“But, yes, I think that Rory McIlroy will be a great Masters champion one day, and it could be this week. You never know. I just think that just, again, the talent that he has, the way he plays game and the golf course fits his eye, it's just a matter of time.”
Rory McIlroy, when told about it, almost blushed, and said,
“It’s very flattering when someone of that stature says that. It's nice to hear, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game say something like that. So, yeah, I mean, does that mean that it's going to happen? Obviously not.”
The Irishman also stated,
“But he's been around the game long enough to know that I at least have the potential to do it. I know I've got the potential to do it too. It's not as if I haven't been a pretty good player for the last couple of decades. So, but, yeah, it's nice to hear it when it comes out of his mouth.”
It’s been a decade since he won his fourth and last Major and needs only the Green Jacket to complete a Grand Slam and join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Woods.
Rory McIlroy on completing the coveted Golf slam
Rory’s been asked the question about the Slam since his arrival for the 2015 Masters. It is now the tenth year since his first chance of completing the coveted Slam.
So, it is an obvious question and when asked if he remembers that its’ been a ‘long time’, he has often jokingly replied,
“No, not till you remind me every time you see me.”
So, what’s at stake this week? He laughed and said,
“I just drove in probably 30 minutes ago, and, yeah, I think you have to sort of treat this week with the (thought) -- if I cast my mind back to 18-year-old Rory and I'm driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time, how would I feel and I think, it's just always trying to go back to being grateful and feeling incredibly lucky that you can be a part of this tournament and you get to compete in it every year.”
Rory further said,
“Thankfully, I've improved a bit since my first start here, and I feel like I've got all the tools to do well this week. But, again, to bring those tools out, I think one of the most important things is to enjoy it and smell the -- I guess not the roses, the azaleas along the way.”
Mature. And how does he manage to wanting to win, but not letting it become an obstacle?
“Yeah, I would say not trying to win it from the first tee shot. I think that's something that I've tried to learn. It's a 72-hole golf tournament. I've won from 10 strokes back going into the weekend. There's loads of different ways to do it. I think trying to, you know -- and, again, I've said this, this golf course gets you to chase things a little more than other golf courses, if you make a bogey or if you get yourself out of position, because it always tempts you to do something you think you can do.”
“And I'm pretty confident in my golf game. I think I can do most things, but sometimes you just have to take the conservative route and be a little more disciplined and patient.
Rory McIlroy concluded by stating,
“With a 72-hole golf tournament, you can be patient, you can be disciplined, and you can stick to your game plan. And that's something that I've really tried to learn at this tournament over the years.”
There’s not soul who thinks Rory McIlroy does not deserve to win this week. You deserve that Green Jacket.
Who better than Jon Rahm to drape it around you on Sunday. Good luck Rory McIlroy.
