McIlroy is desperate to wear the famous Green Jacket, but can you want it too much?
“That’s a very good point,” said Smith.
“All of this is said without me ever having spoken to Rory, I couldn’t comment as to how accurate my views on the situation are.
“But looking at it from outside the goldfish bowl that is tournament golf, you look at it and say, OK, right, maybe that’s it, it could be that he actually wants it too much.”
McIlroy has been working with sports psychologist Bob Rotella in the build up to his 17th attempt at winning the Masters. “I think he’ll have him very well prepared now,” McGinley said.
“They’ve had two or three runs at this now, and I think they will be coming up with a plan in terms of taking that pressure and decimating it and putting it aside.”
Smith believes the answer lies in reaffirming good memories, such as McIlroy’s imperious opening drive in his three-hole play-off win over JJ Spaun at the Players three weeks ago. The champion admitted to being very nervous before that tee shot.
Nicklaus, winner of a record 18 majors, used to insist he never missed a short putt in the sport’s biggest championships, which was not true but a valuable technique to reaffirm confidence. Woods would celebrate fine shots with a trademark move with his club.
“Tiger with his club twirl,” said Smith, who is an associate fellow of the British Psychological Society. “It’s a hard copy down of the good stuff into the long-term memory so he can draw on it.
“I know that I can do it. I know that I’ve won.”
And while the notion of accumulated mental scar tissue is potentially ruinous, Smith believes that McIIroy is at a prime age to deal with any such issue.
“His emotional intelligence is growing, immensely,” he said. “He is not the man he was was when he was 29 or 30.”
And in 2025, McIlroy – without yet playing at his very best – looks assured. Using a different ball this year his technique, especially in his approach play, looks better nuanced and more effective.
So this might just be the year for the man with 28 PGA Tour wins, but no major victories in his past 38 attempts. He is playing the best golf of any of the leading contenders, but this week carries a mental burden far greater than any of his rivals.
It is the bit between the ears.
“You’ve got to own it because if you don’t it’ll just niggle away at you,” Smith said. “So you’ve got to almost burst that cyst, excise it, clean it out, deal with it.”
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