Pre-Tournament Interview: Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy lost the World No. 1 rank, which now belongs to Tiger Woods, but that had nothing to do with him improving due to any notion of less pressure without the ranking.

Instead, it's about confidence and getting better on the tee shots. Now he's focused on winning his first Masters Tournament. Any other result would be a disappointment.

"Yeah, it would be. Every time you come here to Augusta, you're wanting to win that green jacket, and every time that you don’t, it’s another chance missed, I guess," McIlroy said. "The ultimate goal is getting one of those jackets.”

McIlroy, who arrived at Augusta on Sunday night and then played the front nine on Monday, called his play at Doral as a turning point. Before that, he withdrew from The Honda Classic. But he then tied for eighth at the World Golf Championships - Cadillac Championship before he finished second at the Valero Texas Open.

"I thought last week, it went really well – almost perfectly," said McIlroy, whose best finish at The Masters was a tie for 15th back in 2011, a year he led after each of the first three rounds. "I got what I wanted out of it in terms of playing more competitive golf, getting the scorecard in my hand, shooting scores. A bonus was getting into contention."

McIlroy's focus on preparing for this year's Masters Tournament meant he had to postpone a humanitarian trip to Haiti, but he added he hopes to reschedule at some point.

He also laughed off the notion of being a rival with Woods, who ascended to No. 1. McIlroy, who confirmed his girlfriend, tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, would be his caddie for Wednesday's Par-3 Contest, said the numbers say there is no real rivalry.

"If I saw myself a rival to Tiger, I wouldn’t really be doing him must justice," McIlroy said.