Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy shake hands after a practice round ahead of the 2023 Masters. | Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
During his Tuesday press conference, Tiger Woods expressed his confidence in Rory McIlroy eventually conquering Augusta National.
Tiger Woods, who has five Green Jackets to his name, feels that Rory McIlroy will one day win one of his own.
The Northern Irishman has come close at Augusta National numerous times, with no better opportunity than in 2011. That year, McIlroy, a young major-less 21-year-old, held a four-shot lead going into the final round.
But he collapsed. He duck-hooked his tee shot out of bounds on the par-4 10th, and his chances all but ended there. McIlroy signed for a final round 80, finishing in a tie for 15th. And yet, he bounced back emphatically at the next major, the U.S. Open at Congressional, winning by eight.
Since then, McIlroy won the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in 2012. Then in 2014, he won The Open at Royal Liverpool and the PGA at Valhalla.
A Green Jacket has eluded him since, however.
“Rory’s too talented, too good. He’s going to be playing this event for a very long time. He’ll get it done,” Woods said Tuesday.
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Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy during a practice round on the Monday before the 2023 Masters.
“It’s just a matter of when. But, yes, I think that Rory will be a great Masters champion one day, and it could be this week. You never know. I just think that, again, with his talent, the way he plays the game, and the way the golf course fits his eye, it’s just a matter of time.”
Before missing the cut last year, McIlroy recorded seven top-10 finishes dating back to 2014, including a solo second in 2022.
This year, McIlroy has played much more than in years past, most recently finishing third at the Valero Texas Open, a final tune-up before the Masters.
“I think it’s been beneficial to play a little bit more this year, leading into not just this tournament but also spring and summer,” McIlroy said.
“I think I’m a little more in tune with where my game is, where my misses are, and how to [fix them]. Once you play a lot, you learn just how to manage your game a little bit better instead of if you haven’t played that much and you’re a little rusty.”
McIlroy has struggled with his approaches so far in 2024, often missing short irons and wedges to the left more so to the right. Last year, McIlroy ranked 8th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained approaching the green. This year, he is currently 64th.
That helps explain why he recently paid a visit to renowned swing coach Butch Harmon in Las Vegas.
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Rory McIlroy hits a shot in the Tournament Practice Area ahead of the 2024 Masters.
“You always go away hitting the ball better than when you came,” McIlroy said of his visit.
“It was really beneficial trip for the technical side of things, which I think I made progress in that department last week, especially with my strokes gained approach numbers, which is what I really wanted to do.”
If McIlroy truly improved his wedge and iron play, he could win his first Green Jacket and become the sixth player of all time to complete the Grand Slam. It would also mark a historic occurrence, a Masters that golfers, fans, and pundits will talk about forever—like 1986 and 2019.
And, best of all, should he go on to win, McIlroy will get to return to Augusta forever.
“It’s flattering. It’s nice to hear, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game say something like that,” McIlroy said of Woods’ comments.
“Does that mean that it’s going to happen? Obviously not. 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. But, yeah, it’s nice to hear it when it comes out of his mouth.”
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
