Rory McIlroy enlists help of veteran coach Butch Harmon to prep for Augusta

Irish man knows the clock is ticking for him to break his Masters duck. And he's ready to do whatever it takes to slip on that green jacket on Augusta Sunday

BACK TO THE FUTURE: McIlroy with Butch Harmon at Baltusrol in 2016.

The winner of this week’s Valero Texas Open in San Antonio takes away more than the $1.65m on offer for finishing first – he will also earn the final spot available for next week’s Masters as Augusta National.

The field features 30 players who already are exempt for the Masters, including Rory McIlroy who has been urged to ‘block out the baggage’ as he bids again to break his Augusta duck.

The advice came from two-time US Open champion Curtis Strange who recounted a recent conversation with top psychologist Bob Rotella, who has worked with McIlroy on the mental side of the game.

"Bob said the main thing for Rory next week is to stay calm and cool," Strange said.

"He had this phrase 'the mind has to be stronger than the swing' and I think in Rory's case that is exactly right because he does have some baggage coming in here.

"He knows he could have won here a couple of times, but he knows he has the game as well. So do what you know how to do. Play your own game, play smart, play a little more conservative golf around Augusta and then on Sunday afternoon, if the chips fall, he'll be in contention.

"One of the best stories I have ever heard is when Claude Harmon was the pro at Winged Foot when the US Open was there.

"They played a practice round with [Ben] Hogan, who said 'Claude, you have a chance this week if you look at the grass all week long'. Meaning don't make eye contact with friends, don't speak to everybody.

"I think that relates to Rory next week. He's been coming in here for so long with so much on his mind that it's all about you next week, Rory. It's all about what you can do, your game."

The advice comes as The Telegraph in London reported that McIlroy has brought in veteran coach Butch Harmon in a bid to cure his ‘two-swing’ conundrum in time for Augusta.

The 80-year-old guided Tiger Woods to his first eight major wins, including three Green Jackets, and also enjoyed Augusta success with Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson. Harmon has retired from the grind of Tour life, but still teaches from his Las Vegas base.

Tommy Fleetwood is also a client and on Wednesday, McIlroy’s management confirmed to Telegraph Sport that he, too, had tapped into Harmon's vast library of knowledge, making a 2,000-mile trip to Harmon’s academy two weeks ago.

“It’s not a two-swing thing, it’s a speed thing,” Cowen countered in the same Telegraph report. “Rory is able to square the clubface and hit it out of the middle at 125 to 130mph. But he struggles at lower speeds. So with wedges he struggles with ball flight. If that’s what people think is a two-swing problem.” 

Meanwhile LIV golfers are at Donal Trump’s Doral track in Florida this weekend where the winner will pick up $4million from a total purse of $20m.

Thirteen LIV golfers will tee it up at Augusta next week, including Jon Rahm, the defending Masters champion, who has finished in the top eight in each of the four LIV events. The other 41 players not in the Masters do not have another LIV event for three weeks in Australia.