McIlroy looks for four strong rounds at Augusta National

For the first time in four years, two-time major champion Rory McIlroy left Augusta National Golf Club on a positive note in 2013. He closed with 3-under-par 69 to finish in a tie for 25th place.

However, the 69 came on the heels of a third-round 79, which put a damper on opening rounds of 72-70 and continued an alarming pattern for the 24-year-old Northern Irishman in the Masters Tournament.

With the exception of his 2009 debut, when he never shot higher than 73 and tied for 20th place, McIlroy has had at least one poor round in every Masters.

His worst was a final-round 80 in 2011 after building a four-shot lead through 54 holes. In 2012, he had a 77-76 weekend.

“I know I’ve played good enough golf here to win it at times, it’s just a matter of stringing it all together in one week,” he said. “It’s a frustrating golf course at times.”

McIlroy noted that even in his final-round 69 in 2013, he hit “some good shots” into pins and “instead of going 10 feet away, I rolled off the green and stuff like that. It’s just the way Augusta is, and I think you have to embrace it and accept that’s what it’s going to be like sometimes.

“The margins are so small and if you just go on the wrong side it can punish you very harshly.” A more confident McIlroy will be teeing it up this year. Gone are the problems with the new clubs he was breaking in last year. So are the emotional issues that contributed to his walking off the course after eight holes of the second round in the Honda Classic because of poor play just over a month before last year’s Masters.

McIlroy played well in the fall, won the Australian Open in December to avoid a winless 2013, then played well in early 2014, putting himself in contention to win in his first three stroke-play events, finishing as a runner-up twice.

“I felt like stuff was starting to click into place with my swing,” he said in early March. “It was gradually getting better and better, and the work that I put in the offseason has only just helped it along, and I’ve reached a point now where I’m very comfortable with everything in my game and my swing. I’m seeing shots the way I want to see them. When I do that, I feel like the scores are just a byproduct of all the hard work.”

McIroy said he has started to “own” his swing again, starting in January.

“Someone can stand here and tell me where to get the club, but once you understand it yourself and understand your feelings and understand what you need to do, then it’s not until that point where you can become really comfortable with it,” he said.

He felt that way for the first three rounds of the Honda Classic in early March, where he opened with 63-66-69.

“Golf’s a very fickle game because when you’re on and you’re playing the way I’m playing right now and feeling very comfortable with everything, you wonder how I ever felt so uncomfortable,” he said after three rounds. “And then when it feels so uncomfortable, you wonder how it ever felt so comfortable. It’s just a tiny thing that needs to click.”

It didn’t click in the final round at the Honda, where he had won two years earlier. McIlroy started Sunday with a two-shot lead, shot 4-over-par 74 and lost to Russell Henley in a four-man sudden-death playoff.

“I counted myself very fortunate even to be in the playoff. I didn’t play well enough at all down the stretch to win the tournament. Even if I had won, it would have felt a little bit undeserved in a way,” said McIlroy, who has six PGA Tour wins but last won at the 2012 BMW Championship. He also has five international victories.

One positive note in the final round at the Honda Classic was the second shot McIlroy hit in regulation to the par-5 18th green. From 245 yards out, he hit the green in two shots, leaving himself an 11-foot putt for eagle that would have won the tournament. He barely missed it, and went to the playoff.

“I did execute well with the 5-wood on the last,” McIlroy said the following week. “It’s in there and I know I can do it. It’s just a matter of repeating it more often, I guess.”

McIlroy was questioned in early 2013 about putting new clubs and a ball into play without much lead time at the start of the season. He later admitted that affected his level of play (“there was times where it was a struggle and times where I got a little frustrated,” he said) but believes he did the right thing.

“If I had to do it all over again, I’d do the same thing,” he said. “I’d rather just do it, just get six months, seven months, whatever it is, and say, ‘OK, I don’t really care about results here, I just want to make sure that this is right.’ I’ve said this before, six months out of a 20‑, 25-year career isn’t that much.”

In late 2013, McIlroy hit on the right driver-ball combination. Positive results were immediate.

“I put a new ball and a new driver in the bag in October, and I saw results with that straight away, and I’m swinging the club better,” he said at the Honda Classic. “I’m swinging the club much better than I have done and as good as I ever have done, and I’m very comfortable with it. It’s been a lot of hard work and a bit of a grind, but I’m definitely back to a place now where I feel comfortable off the tee.”