Nervous McIlroy’s Players win sets him up perfectly for Masters tilt

Saturday, 22 March 2025 00:40 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy woke early, far too early. It was 03:00 a.m. on Monday morning and his stomach was already starting to churn. He was three holes away from winning a second Players Championship and he felt the trophy should already be his.

Would this prove another big victory to elude him? The world number 57, JJ Spaun, stood between him and one of the most coveted crowns in the game.

As it turned out, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman was going to be able to celebrate this St Patrick’s Day in style. McIlroy channelled his nerves while his American opponent faltered – his hopes drowning when he overshot the island green 17th, the second of the three play-off holes.

It sets up McIlroy perfectly for his latest tilt at completing the career Grand Slam of major titles when he goes to Augusta for next month’s Masters. That’s where the chat is going – will he do it and finally, at long, long last don the famous Green Jacket?

“I feel like I’m a better player now than I ever have been,” he said. “I feel like I can play all conditions and in anything that comes my way.”

First he must celebrate this win. It was achieved without his very best golf.

It would be an exaggeration to say he won it ugly, but he did it with a largely errant driver and was able to put himself in contention in a way that was beyond golf’s other leading lights.

Sawgrass is a capricious test at the best of times. Throw in the fierce gusting winds of Saturday, Sunday’s four-hour storm delay and the cold breeze of the extra morning, which blew from a completely different direction, and it is the toughest of propositions.

It had already been too much for defending champion Scottie Scheffler, likewise Open and US PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele, who only scraped into the weekend. It was too much too for Ludwig Aberg, who missed the cut.

McIlroy revealed he felt a turning point after painfully losing last year’s Irish Open. The following week he charged into a play-off at Wentworth and although he lost it to Billy Horschel’s eagle in the BMW PGA shoot out there was hope.

Then he went to the Middle East and ended his season with a crucial victory in the DP World Tour Championship. “I feel that period, October, November, was a pretty important one,” he said.

“And I was able to do some good work on my swing and then test it out pretty much straight after in a couple of tournaments, and I feel like that’s carried into this year.

“It doesn’t feel like I’m making those mistakes at the critical times like I was previously. I think a big part of that was just learning from those mistakes.”

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