Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have The Masters on their minds

“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m off to play in Singapore on the DP World Tour this week and I have a couple of weeks off to get ready for the Masters and I’m very excited for what’s to come,” says Lowry.

MASTERS MIND: Shane Lowry plays his shot from the 17th tee during the second round of THE PLAYERS Championship. Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.

Three weeks left before the Masters, and the Irish contingent has Georgia on their minds.

Rory McIlroy is still searching to fill out his career-slam bingo card with a green jacket, a task that has proven to be an emotional and rigorous challenge in 15 starts so far. Shane Lowry is ready to prove himself as one of the contenders in the season’s first major.

Lowry has had his eye keenly on Augusta for the last four years since winning the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. He’s posted three consecutive top-25 finishes at the Masters including a career-best tie for third in 2022.

With three consecutive strong finishes on the PGA Tour that have vaulted him back to No. 34 in the OWGR after slipping out of the top-50 in January, Lowry will bring momentum and confidence into Augusta.

“I’m feeling good about myself,” said Lowry after a final-round 66 lifted him to a tie for 19th with McIlroy in the Players Championship. “There’s still three weeks left. A lot can happen in this game in three weeks.

“But, yeah, going into the Masters I’m pretty happy where my game is at. I’m driving the ball as good as I have in a long time. My iron play is there. My chipping, although it was quite poor (Saturday), it feels very good. I’ve had a few dodgy days on the greens the last few weeks but I’ve had more good than bad which is really nice.”

Lowry tied for fourth in the Cognizant Classic at PGA National and followed it up with a solo third in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill – playing in the final pairing on Sunday both weeks. So he continues to trend upward with the major season on the horizon.

“I certainly feel like it’s in a better position now than it was last year going into it,” said Lowry of his form.

“I’m feeling pretty good. I’m off to play in Singapore on the DP World Tour this week and I have a couple of weeks off to get ready for the Masters and I’m very excited for what’s to come.”

McIlroy will take two weeks off to work on ironing out the kinks in his game and then play the Valero Texas Open the week before the Masters. He might visit Augusta on the Monday en route to San Antonio, Texas, for an early practice round.

“No trips planned as of yet,” McIlroy said of going for an early scouting trip to Augusta with his father.

“I've done that a lot and it's really nice and I can certainly do that after the Masters, but when I do it before, I don't feel like I get a ton out of it. Like in terms of like preparation for the week and actually getting into the mindset I need to get into.

“So maybe a quick pit stop on the way to San Antonio to play a practice round and spend some time. But as I said, nothing planned as of yet.”

McIlroy said the volatility in his game – he made 26 birdies, 11 bogeys and three doubles at the Players – is something he’s dealt with before and can straighten out in the next three weeks.

“I did the same thing at the back end of 2020 I remember,” he said.

“The back end of the COVID year I was making a ton of birdies and making a ton of mistakes, as well, and it was just a matter of trying to figure out a way to keep the bogeys off the card and still make the birdies.

“Look, it's not all bad. It could be a lot worse, I guess. If these are the worse finishes that I'm going to have 20ths, you know, I feel like that's my floor and I haven't quite got to the golf that I've wanted to play to get to my ceiling. Hopefully, over the next few weeks I can work at it and get closer to that level of golf.”

McIlroy believes his issues are swing related, causing him to miss left. He made progress eliminating that with his iron play at Sawgrass, but then he started doing it a little too often with his driver which led to a few penalties at the Players.

“Golf is a very fickle game. It gives you one thing and then takes away something else from you,” McIlroy said.

“It's just, again, like, I feel like I've got all the components there, but just trying to put them all together on a given week. That's the tricky part at the minute.”