Rory McIlroy is confident he returns to Augusta National a much better player than the one who came so close to glory in last year’s Masters Tournament.
The Ulsterman looked set to claim a maiden Major Championship victory in Georgia 12 months ago, but a disastrous back nine saw him slip down the field as Charl Schwartzel finished strongly to land his first Green Jacket.
McIlroy bounced back in sensational style by cruising to an eight-shot win at the US Open Championship later in the year and has continued his upward progression in the intervening period.
After briefly rising to the summit of the Official World Golf Rankings, he heads into this week’s event as the World Number Two and is confident of challenging at Augusta once again.
“I’m excited about the week. I have been playing some good golf, I feel like I’m bringing in some pretty good form and I’m excited to get started,” he said.
“Every time you come back to this place you just get excited.”
Reflecting on the events of last year, he added: “I learned a lot. I think one of the things that I learned was, as a person and a golfer, I wasn’t ready to win the Masters, wasn’t ready to win a Major.
“I really needed to think about what I needed to do to improve, mentally and in different aspects of my game, to get better and I felt like I did that, so the big thing for me is that it was a huge learning curve.
“I took a lot from it and was able to put some of the things I learned into practice very quickly and that’s what resulted in winning the US Open a couple of months after.”
McIlroy provoked laughter among the assembled media today when the inevitable subject of Augusta's tenth hole was brought up.
He made seven there last year after his final-round drive had rebounded off a tree in between two lodges left of the fairway.
“I can’t believe how close the cabins are, they are only 50 yards off the tee,” the Ulsterman said with a smile.
“It’s great to be able to laugh about it now. I just had a quick glance on the way past walking down the middle of the fairway last week – and hopefully I’ll do the same thing this week.”
Many pundits have billed the opening Major Championship of 2012 as a two-way battle between McIlroy and a rejuvenated Tiger Woods, who recently claimed his first PGA Tour win in 30 months at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill.
However, McIlroy is well aware of the threats posed by other members of a star-studded field.
“You’ve got to remember there are 80+ guys (in fact there are 97) in this field. It’s not about two guys or three guys or whatever,” he added.
“Every guy has to just think about themselves and try and play the golf course as best they can. That’s all you can really do in any tournament.
“You really just have to concentrate on yourself. It’s nice to be getting all this praise and everything, but you have to just take it with a pinch of salt.”
McIlroy is also unconcerned by Woods’ status as the bookmakers’ favourite for the tournament.
“To be honest, I couldn’t care less about who the bookies make favourite,” he explained.
“It’s great for the tournament and it’s great for the game of golf that Tiger is back playing well. He creates excitement that no-one else in the game can.
“A lot of people want to see him make history and he looks like he’s back on track to maybe doing that. I’m just looking forward to hopefully getting myself in contention and giving myself a chance.”
Although the course represents a stiff all-round examination, Augusta is renowned for its fiendish greens, which place a strong emphasis on a player’s putting ability.
McIlroy believes he is perfectly placed to excel, however, having worked hard on that facet of his game in recent months.
“I think putting has been a big change from this time last year,” he revealed. “I feel a lot more natural, I feel like there’s a lot more feel in my stroke and it’s something that I’ve worked on with Dave Stockton pretty hard.
“I’m in a great place. I feel as though my golf game is in great shape and I’m coming back here a much more experienced player.
“I feel like a much better player than the one who came here last year, so I’m very excited about the week.”
