Rory McIlroy ‘a better player’ than ever before as he targets a career grand slam once more at the Masters

By George Ramsay, CNN

(CNN) — As has been the case for more than a decade now, Rory McIlroy arrives at Augusta National one win away from joining golfing royalty.

McIlroy has had three of the sport’s four major titles to his name since 2014 and could complete a career grand slam at the Masters, a feat only achieved by five players: Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods.

Pressure to win at arguably the most famous golf tournament on the planet is nothing new for McIlroy, but his recent form has made expectations even higher ahead of this year’s Masters. Victory here in Augusta would undoubtedly reshape the legacy he is leaving in the game.

“It puts him in the running with Gary Player to be the best international player of the past century,” Joel Beall, a senior writer at Golf Digest, tells CNN Sports.

On Thursday, McIlroy and defending champion Scottie Scheffler tee off as the runaway favorites to win the green jacket, with the Northern Irishman having recently won a second Players Championship crown last month.

That marked the 28th PGA Tour title of McIlroy’s career and his second of 2025 after victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February.

“I feel like I’m a better player now than I ever have been, and it’s nice to see the fruits of my labor paying off,” he told reporters soon after beating JJ Spaun in a playoff to win the Players Championship.

Some of McIlroy’s recent success might lie in small tweaks he has made to his game. He made a ball change earlier this year – switching to the new TaylorMade TP5 – and spoke towards the end of last year about modifying his swing during a three-week period of isolation.

But any confidence a golfer has in their game can quickly unravel at Augusta National. McIlroy knows that better than anyone else.

Back in 2011, the then-21-year-old held a four-stroke lead over the rest of the field having made light work of the course’s famed and challenging greens. His lead remained intact after a wobbly front nine on the final round, but then McIlroy’s game fell apart in spectacular fashion, dropping six shots over the next three holes.

He ended up carding an 80 – his lowest-ever score at the tournament – and finished tied for 15th.

Today, it’s impossible not to talk about McIlroy’s chances at the Masters without mention of that now-notorious meltdown. He went on to win all four of his major titles over the next three years, but at Augusta, his demons have never truly been banished. Perhaps only a win can do that.

“It’ll happen,” McIlroy told CNN in 2018 when asked about his likelihood of ever winning the Masters. “I play that golf course well enough, I’ve five top-10 (finishes) in a row. I’ve given myself the chance … Sooner or later, it is going to happen for me.”

For all that has been said about his final-round collapse in 2011, the world No. 2 has shown time and again that he can perform well at Augusta. He’s added two more top-10 finishes to his name in the past five years and shot one off the course record for a final-round 64 to finish second behind Scheffler in 2022.

“It’s a hard course to win at and expectations build the longer someone of his stature goes without a green jacket,” says Beall, adding: “He’s had a pretty good record at Augusta National and he’s in the prime of his career. Despite worries by fans (and media), he still has a long runway to compete at the Masters.”

McIlroy rounded out his preparation for this year’s event by finishing tied for fifth at the Houston Open at the end of March, five shots behind tournament winner Min Woo Lee.

An elbow problem had been bothering him in Houston, but McIlroy said on Wednesday that the injury was “all good” after receiving some treatment. Now, he’s focused on blocking out all the clamor and pressure about winning a first green jacket.

“I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play throughout the year,” he told reporters. “I understand the narrative and the noise, and there’s a lot of anticipation and buildup coming into this tournament each and every year, but I just have to keep my head down and focus on my job.”

Victory at a major feels badly overdue at this point in McIlroy’s career. He has finished in the top 10 on 21 occasions since triumphing at the PGA Championship 11 years ago, his reputation as one of Europe’s greatest-ever players only growing with time.

All the while, the 35-year-old has become a vocal advocate for the PGA Tour amid a fractured golfing landscape and launched the TMRW Golf League (TGL) alongside Tiger Woods – a stadium-based, technology-driven competition which recently concluded its inaugural season.

And with the fifth-place tie in Houston, McIlroy reached a career milestone as only the second player after Woods to earn more than $100 million in prize money on the PGA Tour.

But this week, the focus is all about what he can do on the golf course. The next few days could come to define how McIlroy looks back on his season – and perhaps even his career as a whole.

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