Jamie Donaldson: "McIlroy’s putting is what’s stopping him from winning The Masters"

Rory McIlroy at the Masters

Former Ryder Cup player Jamie Donaldson believes Rory McIlroy’s putting is what’s stopping him from winning The Masters.

“Winning The Masters is a bit of a monkey on his back. He had a very difficult time in 2011, losing that lead on the last day. But you know, it happens,” Donaldson told Genting Casino.

“To be honest of the four majors, the Masters you’d have thought would have been one of the easier ones for him to win because tee to green he is so exceptional that you think he could smash it to bits, playing to his strengths, then birdie all the par 5s which are all reachable.

“It is just down to the putting. As we know, the Masters is all about putting. If you don’t putt well it makes it harder. But for him, because he is so good tee to green the course is easy for him in effect.

“You have to draw the ball, and he hits a big draw. It’s so perfect for him. But sometimes the expectation levels are so high that that can be the hardest one.”

Rory should be in contention at Augusta but he hasn’t been a contender there since 2011

“A lot of the time you watch Rory playing The Masters and for some reason he just doesn't look comfortable. Yet in regular events he just looks exceptional!

“If he takes that same game that he just produced in the Players’ and in the last few weeks, then you know he should be in contention on Sunday

“But you don’t know how big a cross it is to bear. It's so important for him to win it to complete the Grand Slam.

“That's what he wants to do. So, there's more pressure as he needs that one to complete the Grand Slam. It's more pressure because he's brilliant tee to green and should be in contention. But he hasn't been in contention there really since 2011.”

Rory is happy with his caddie Harry Diamond - lots of golfers have their mates on the bag

“Yeah, there's an element of that. If you've got the best caddy, there's no excuses. His mate is caddying for him, but Rory has played unbelievable golf recently, hasn't he? So, a lot of the time, it's whatever the player wants to do to enable him to play his best goal. So, somebody else will be looking at it going, he hasn't got a good caddy. He's not proven. It's his mate that caddies for him.

“But Rory, like say Lee Westwood, likes to do it his  way. He doesn't like too much information. Whereas the next guy just wants the brilliant caddy to tell them what to hit and off they go.

“So, it's whatever works best for the individual. He's playing unbelievable golf. There's absolutely no excuses. He's in the perfect position to go and smash that to bits. If he gets the right frame of mind, he can win the Masters by five.”

Whenever I played against Rory it was like he was playing a practice round with his mates

“I remember playing with him on the PGA Tour at Kiawah Island where he won by eight strokes in 2012.

“I played with him on the Saturday. Honestly, I finished seventh in the end. But playing with him, it was like he was playing a practice round with his mates. That's the golf he played. It was literally mind-blowing.

“Take the tenth hole for example. A dog leg left to right, water all down the right and a ridiculously difficult hole off the tee. I’m playing down the left and trying to fade it back. 

“He just sets this thing out down the water and just draws it off into the middle of the fairway like you might do in a practice round. I'm watching this thing and going, ’Wow.’

“It was incredible and that's how he played all the way around. He just made it look so easy and that’s what he can do and makes him stand out.”

I hope Scottie Scheffler and Rory are both in contention on Sunday - Augusta greens are like glass on the final day

“Scottie Scheffler looks in really good form coming into Augusta. He's getting better by the week and he loves the place. Two wins in the last three Masters.

“How good would it be to have him and Rory down the stretch. That would be interesting. 

“Scheffler’s tee to green game is exceptional. Week after week, he peppers the pins. It's just a matter of fact whether he holds the putts or not. It's a bit like Rory, isn't it? They're both very similar. It's just whether they putt well, if they put well, they win. There's quite a few of them like that. Brilliant ball strikers, it’s just down to putting.

“Scottie’s putting looks strong coming into the tournament which is vital. You can't just be brilliant tee to green at Augusta. Those greens are so difficult.

“It’s like putting down the roof of your car and trying to stop it on the bonnet. The greens are Augusta's defence mechanism. They make the difference.

“Sundays at the Masters they’re literally like glass. You can easily be made a fool of if you're on the wrong side of pins. And if you miss greens on the wrong side, you literally have got no chance. 

“But Scottie and Rory generally don't do that. So, hopefully that’s why they're both in contention come Sunday.”

Bryson DeChambeau is spending less time in the gym - LIV players will be a threat this year

“Bryson seems to not be doing so much gym exercises. He doesn't seem as big as he was.

“I sat next to him in a player’s lounge. He was just there and I'm just looking at him.

“He looked over and said, ‘What are you looking at? ‘

“I went, ‘I'm looking at you.’ I said, ‘It's like looking at your father when you're about 13.’

“He was that big. His arms, he was like, He-man. He was colossal. I couldn’t believe how big he was and how he had gotten so big so quickly.

“He's still playing really good golf. A lot of those LIV boys are going to be a threat in this year's Masters. Quite a lot of them are playing really good golf, and it's nice to see them all come back together.”

Tommy Fleetwood will win a major - he is awesome from tee to green

“Tommy Fleetwood is awesome tee to green. He just needs to get the putts rolling. Tommy's such a good player. It would be sad if he never won a Major. But I think it'll happen at some point because he's played so well in them.”