After what has to be the best US Masters for a number of years, watching Rory McIlroy complete the Grand Slam, I think nothing’s going to stop him now.
It’s like he’s overcome that mental barrier that has been stopping him all of these years and he’s in the form of his life. When he dropped shots towards the end to force a play-off with Justin Rose, he showed nerves of steel to come back – in previous years, he would have crumbled.
I was that convinced he’d win, I even had a little punt each way, which made it extra sweet, though based on his performance at Augusta, I’m very tempted to back him for The Open in July.
Obviously before this, there is the small matter of the PGA Championship and US Open and he could well do the clean sweep, which would be an extraordinary achievement and something that no professional golfer has ever achieved.
I really think he looks unstoppable and I’m sure that if he fails to win any of them, then it won’t be because he’s playing poorly – I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t finish inside the top five for each anyway.
What Has Changed For McIlroy?
I’ve never seen him more focused on a golf course and there were times when I was watching over the four days where I thought I was watching a robot. His putting game has come on leaps and bounds and he is playing the percentages very nicely.
He reminded me of times at Augusta of watching prime Tiger Woods, who in my era I think is the best I’ve ever watched and I definitely think McIlroy now has the potential to match him.
His composure was fantastic, he didn’t seem tense or agitated, but almost in a trance at times which, from what I’ve heard was a tactic that he decided to go with pre-tournament after reported sessions with his sports psychologist, Bob Rotella. He didn’t even talk to Bryson DeChambeau (his partner on the final round) – again another tactic, which seemed to work in his favour.
I think we’re going to now see some of the best golf of his career over the next couple of years – he’ll be riding this wave for a good few weeks and this momentum could take him into the PGA Championship, with him being around 5/1 (and obviously the favourite) to win.