Rory McIlroy’s ardour to win on the Masters a second time has been referred to as into query by one among his fellow professionals.
Rory McIlroy’s (Picture: Getty) This text comprises affiliate hyperlinks, we are going to obtain a fee on any gross sales we generate from it. Study extra
Masters titleholder Rory McIlroy has had his motivation referred to as into query as he seeks to problem for a second crown at Augusta Nationwide this week. And it begs to query whether or not the Northern Irishman has the identical drive to win after ending his seek for a Inexperienced Jacket final yr.
McIlroy, 36, lastly introduced an finish to greater than a decade of main ache in 2025 when he pipped Justin Rose to the publish in Georgia. In doing so, he accomplished the profession Grand Slam and lifted an enormous weight from his shoulders after quite a few shut calls over time. Nonetheless, fellow PGA Tour professional Stewart Cink has questioned whether or not that might have a damaging influence in his return to the location of his biggest sporting achievement. Nonetheless, he additionally believes the golf icon is just made for the rigours of Augusta.
Protection of The Masters will get underway on April 9 and golf followers can watch it stay with Sky’s Final TV and Sky Sports activities bundle.
This consists of 135 channels, 9 from Sky Sports activities, plus HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu.
Watch The Masters with Sky’s Final TV bundle £44 View Deal
Protection of The Masters will get underway on April 9 and golf followers can watch it stay with Sky’s Final TV and Sky Sports activities bundle.
This consists of 135 channels, 9 from Sky Sports activities, plus HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu.
“I feel you would be loopy if you happen to did not put him [McIlroy] within the high three or 4 gamers with an opportunity,” stated Cink on BBC Radio 4. “His recreation is simply so suited to Augusta Nationwide, he hits a excessive draw, he hits it far.
“He has simply acquired an incredible contact, plus all of the expertise and confidence of understanding he did it already and climbed that mountain final yr. There is not any method you may depend Rory out.”
Final yr’s play-off win over Rose marked the end result of almost 11 years of heartache on golf’s greatest levels. McIlroy’s earlier main win was all the best way again in 2014, although he remained a high contender at nearly each massive competitors in between.
That included seven top-10 finishes on the Masters since 2014, which naturally constructed a swell of stress across the event. And Cink urged McIlroy could even undergo after feeling that sense of reduction.
“The one attainable pitfall I may see in Rory’s place is that mountain that he climbed is such an enormous deal in somebody’s profession, I might assume having by no means been there, that I feel it may additionally depart a little bit little bit of a lull in its wake,” he continued.
Stewart Cink has competed on the Masters on 20 events, most lately in 2022 (Picture: Getty)
“So, whereas there’s going to be freedom, I ponder if the depth and the will and the eagerness and the drive will nonetheless be fairly the identical?”
McIlroy has even hinted himself on the dramatic shift in outlook returning to Augusta this yr. Whereas previously, he has felt an enormous sense of rigidity, he is now carefree over te whole affair.
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“I would not care if the event by no means began,” he stated throughout this week’s build-up at Augusta. “That is type of the distinction.”
Solely time will inform exactly what commonplace of play that conjures up from the golf legend this week. However Cink is all too conscious the drop in anxiousness may even result in a much less efficient model of McIlroy within the coming days.
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