RORY McILROY last night admitted he will retire a happy man should he triumph in this week’s Masters and become only the sixth player in history to have won all four majors.
The Northern Irishman, currently rated number three in the world, believes he is under even more pressure to secure a Green Jacket than he was at Augusta 12 months ago.
Back then, he was widely tipped to complete an historic hat-trick having won The Open and US PGA Championship in 2014, only for Jordan Spieth to win the first of his own back-to-back majors.
McIlroy did produce his best finish yet in the tournament by returning a 12-under-par total and finishing fourth and he admits that there is a very particular itch he is determined to scratch when the competition gets underway tomorrow.
Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, and Tiger Woods are the five men to have won all four of modern-day golf’s majors at some stage in their careers and the 26-year-old, naturally, understands just what an achievement it would be to stand alongside them.
“If I can win a Green Jacket and become just the sixth player in history to win a (career) grand slam, I would retire happy knowing I have joined an exclusive list,” he said.
“Every year I go to Augusta and haven’t won, the pressure will build and build.
“Hopefully, I can get that little monkey off my back and then I’d just free-wheel it after that.
“A year on from the hype that surrounded me, I feel I will know how to deal with it better. Having that experience will definitely help me this time.”
McIlroy will play alongside Germany’s Martin Kaymer and American Bill Haas in the final group to start the first round and will be the last of the tournament’s 89 competitors to strike a ball.
"I think it's the third year in a row I've been off last either Thursday or Friday here,” he said. “I was sort of expecting it.
"On a Thursday morning, you're really just wanting to get here and get out and play, so there's probably going to be a little bit of anticipation, but, look, I'm in the Masters field and they can put me off at six o'clock in the evening and I'll still get around and play, so I'll be all right."
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