McIlroy "Distant Career Slam"..."The Masters is an Iron Fortress"

7 Years of Championship Pursuit Since 2015, This Year's 'Cut Off Humiliation', When Will the Sweep of 4 Majors Happen?

Rory McIlroy is teeing off at the 14th hole on the first day of the Masters. Augusta, Georgia, USA - Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Kim Hyun-jun, Golf Specialist Reporter] "Already the 7th year."

Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland)'s attempt to become the sixth 'Career Grand Slammer' in global golf history has once again failed. He consecutively claimed the 2011 US Open, the 2012 PGA Championship, and the 2014 The Open, leaving the Masters as the last puzzle to sweep all four different majors. Only five players have achieved this grand record: Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan (both USA), Gary Player (South Africa), Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods (both USA).

McIlroy has been frustrated with finishes such as tied 4th in 2015, tied 10th in 2016, tied 7th in 2017, tied 5th in 2018, tied 21st in 2019, and tied 5th in 2020, and this year he even suffered the humiliation of missing the cut. His first day was 4 over par, followed by 2 over par on the second day, continuing a lackluster performance. Although he met Woods just before the tournament and gained inspiration, it was to no avail. He said, "I wished Woods a speedy recovery," and introduced that "I realized something after looking at the 15 major championship trophies displayed at home."

It is important to note that McIlroy's 'Achilles' heel' is putting. His long game is practically world-class, with an average driving distance of 314 yards in the 2020 season (4th on the PGA Tour). However, on the greens, his strokes gained putting is -0.71 (ranked 122nd). In February 2018, during the second round of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he had a shocking 5-putt from the fringe on the 5th hole (par 4).

Rory McIlroy was cut off at the Masters, which ended on the 12th, once again dashing his challenge to become a 'career Grand Slammer.'

This is why McIlroy put special effort into practicing immediately after winning the 2014 The Open by inviting Jeff Knox (USA), a member of Augusta National, for a practice round. Knox, an amateur, is a veteran who mastered the 'Augusta National strategy' by shooting 11 under par from the regular tees. In fact, on the third day of the 2014 Masters, Knox accompanied McIlroy as a 'special marker' and shot 2 under par, outperforming McIlroy's 1 under par.

McIlroy underwent vision correction surgery in 2015 to acquire 'hawk eyes,' and received 'special putting lessons' from Phil Kenyon (England) in 2016 and Brad Faxon (USA) in 2018. It is interesting that the Masters is notorious among the four majors for its 'glass-like greens.' This year, his iron shot green hit rate was only 52.77%, causing difficulties throughout the two days, and his putting was also unsatisfactory. Since the HSBC Champions in November 2019, he has not won, entering a slump mode.

For McIlroy, reversing the mood is the priority. "Since last October, I have increased body rotation to achieve a low trajectory swing to increase distance," he said, regretting, "I tried to imitate DeChambeau but ruined my shots." Recently, he hired Pete Cowen (England) as his new swing coach and started swing correction. This is an emergency measure as he has never had another coach besides Michael Bannon (Northern Ireland), whom he met at age 8. The 2022 Masters will be intriguing.