Why one thoughtless moment can ruin Rory’s Augusta ambition
Until Rory McIlroy gets that right, he will continue to rack up hard-luck stories. No one doubts that he has the talent, but that’s simply not enough
Mid March marks the beginning of the real golfing season for the tour pros with a convergence of the world’s playing talent on the PGA Tour ahead of the year’s first major at Augusta National.
Whether you love or are indifferent to golf, it’s hard not to enjoy the Masters, a rollercoaster ride of emotional drama, from stupendous shots to calamitous mistakes
Rory McIlroy knows a bit about both and before examining what he needs this week, it’s best one understands the challenge McIlroy and his rivals face from the golf course.
Augusta National’s natural beauty belies the fact it is a very exacting course — one which demands precision, patience and absolute respect.
As a course, its greatest strength lies in challenging a player’s imagination, his creativity and, most importantly, his shot-making skills from a constantly changing topography of rolling fairway lies to heavily contoured greens.
For those with ambitions of winning this week, preparation would have begun months ago — using tournament play to fine tune their competitive long and short game skills, while paying specific attention to the required tournament statistical detail.
This week is reserved for determining course strategy, which will reflect the different playing conditions from morning to afternoon rounds, the varying wind directions and most especially the firmness of the greens in terms of spin control and pace.
Statistically, they will already know the winner will most likely be someone who is inside the top five in terms of driving distance and the top 10 in greens in regulation and total putts come the end of the week — so taking full advantage of the par fives at Augusta and maximising the advantage gained from its many doglegs counts both in terms of hitting higher more controlled shots and keeping the birdie count ticking over.
So let’s look at Rory’s game and compare it to the other key contenders this week — analysing their respective strengths.
: As evidenced by the amount of double and triple bogeys he continues to make each year, Rory still hasn’t found the right balance between aggression and conservative golf for Augusta. That said he, is coming into this event competitively sharp for the first time in many years.
: On form, last year’s winner has proven time and again to be a masterful course strategist. More importantly, he is very effective at changing up his game plan when required in order to maximise his competitiveness.
Rating: 9/10
: Day came of age last year when winning his first major championship, the US PGA at Whistling Straits. Day’s game strategy is far more one-dimensional but given that he has consistently performed well around Augusta and is in good form, he will fancy his chances.
When you have already won this event twice you must be doing something right. Being left-handed and powerful around Augusta is a huge asset and an on-form Watson may be hard to catch if he gets ahead.
A former Masters champion, Scott is one of the form players on the PGA tour who is returning to one of his favourite venues armed with caddy Stevie Williams (winner as a caddy of 14 majors) at his side.
is the best driver and long iron player in the field but is prone to making costly driving errors that have proven fatal at Augusta in the past. Aggression and accuracy off the tee box on key holes is paramount if he is to succeed.
is neither long nor accurate, so will have to find another way to remain competitive.
That said Augusta affords him the luxury of being offline, but he is giving away a huge advantage here to his competitors
is both long and accurate. If he can get his angles right off the tee box and remains aggressive then he will be very competitive.
has both the length and the accuracy this week to dominate. That said, his temperament can be flaky but I fully expect him to give himself every opportunity in this department.
possesses no real ball striking weaknesses but needs to remain fully committed to the long tee shot carries around corners that Augusta will demand from him.
is an excellent short iron player but seems to be slightly struggling of late. He is also prone to lapses in concentration, something which he cannot afford this week.
is an excellent pitcher of the ball, someone who is capable of controlling both his trajectory and spin – assets vital for success at Augusta.
possesses great creativity with his short irons – something he will need to rely on if he is to succeed.
has a wonderful short game, but is prone to losing control of his spin. That said, as a two-time champion, he has the knowledge of what is required to win.
is a great pitcher of the ball but prone to losing focus at key moments.
would love to have the putting stats of any of his fellow competitors. , McIlroy has always ranked way down the field in the putting stats at the Masters. That will have to change if he is to be competitive.
strength is that he is both a great long and short-range putter. This part of his game will have to be very hot this week if he is to stand any chance of winning.
is a brilliant clutch putter but can struggle at times with the pace of his long putting.
is a good putter, not a great one. That said, he knows what he needs to do to win.
has finally found a putting method he has confidence in. We must remember that he was a brilliant putter in the early days of his career, but this is his first real test with the shorter stick.
Rory McIlroy has a huge mountain to climb if he to win the final leg of his “Grand Slam”.
On the positive side, I have been impressed by the amount of golf he has played prior to this tournament and no one should doubt his major championship-winning pedigree.
But with a career stroke average of 71.8 for his 26 competitive rounds to date (as compared to Tiger Woods career stroke average of 70.6) it suggests that he will have play significantly better in all departments of his game this week if he is to stand any chance of winning.
Over the past six years, two stats alone stand out on Rory: namely that he has made almost a third fewer birdies on the reachable par 5s than the leading lights, while also racking up eight double-bogeys and three triple-bogey sevens, where the worst score is more usually a bogey.
For a naturally aggressive player, McIlroy has to guard from putting himself out of the tournament with one destructive shot so patience and playing the percentages are critical…..
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