Rory ready to end Masters wait before it becomes "increasingly more difficult"
Rory McIlroy believes the time is right to end his Masters hoodoo before the pressure becomes unbearable.
The Ulsterman has yet to win the tournament he needs to complete the career Grand Slam and while he knows the course is perfect for his game, he admits the longer he goes without winning it, the tougher it will get
Asked if he felt he would win the Masters sooner rather than later, McIlroy said: “Yeah, definitely. I feel like I'm a good enough player. I feel like I’ve got everything I need to become a Masters champion.
"But I think each and every year that passes that I don't, it will become increasingly more difficult. So there’s no time like the present to get it done.”
The world No 1 sounded miffed that he was handed the final tee time on the first day but he’s hoping he will get to call the shots in the game again by separating himself from the likes of Jordan Spieth and Jason Day by completing the career Grand Slam.
On course to joining Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen by winning all four majors, McIlroy said: “To be only one of six people to do it, I feel like I've set myself apart from definitely the guys that are playing here this week.
"Obviously Phil has a chance to do that when he goes to the U.S. Open, as well.
“It’s something that I'd obviously be very proud of and something that I feel would set me apart.
But there’s a lot of golf to be played before that and a lot of talking to be done and a lot of bad bounces and good bounces and lip‑outs and everything.
“ I feel like I’ve got everything I need to become a Masters champion. But I think each and every year that passes that I don’t, it will become increasingly more difficult. So there’s no time like the present to get it done.”
“So we’ll see what happens over the next few days."
As for skipping the Par-Three Contest and the danger of having to wait nore than 24 hours for his first round tee time tomorrow, he said: “I guess it’s more of a superstition thing than anything else. In 2011, I didn’t play the Par 3 and that was my best chance to win the Masters.
"It's more like I've had great times at the Par 3 tournament and had fun. It’s a great day.
"This year, I just wanted to change it up a little bit and maybe just get away from the spotlight a little bit. It doesn’t mean that I'm not going to play it again.
”I'll play the front nine tomorrow around noon, try to get off the golf course by 3:00 and try to rest up and take it easy.
“I know that’s 24 hours until my tee time, but I have many different ways to pass my time."
Smiling he added: “We are working on another jigsaw puzzle and we brought Monopoly to the house that we’re renting, so there’s a lot of really fun stuff going on.”
