Rory McIlroy is determined to “knock out the noise and focus on his job” as he looks to finally end his major drought at The Masters this week.
McIlroy has not claimed one of the four biggest individual events in golf since winning the 2014 PGA Championship despite enjoying regular success on the PGA and DP World Tours.
He came mightily close at the US Open last year before a late collapse saw him lose out to Bryson DeChambeau.
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Wins at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players Championship in the early part of this season prove the Ulsterman is in good form, raising hopes that he can not only get his hands on the trophy at Augusta but also complete the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy, however, is not interested in the increasing expectation, saying: “No, it’s just narratives. It’s just noise.
“It’s just trying to knock out that noise as much as possible.
“I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play throughout the year.
“I understand the narrative, there’s a lot of anticipation and build-up going into this tournament every year. But I just need to keep my head down and focus on my job.”
Elbow not causing a problem ahead of The Masters – McIlroy
McIlroy caused a scare last week when he said he was dealing with some soreness in his right elbow but he insisted today that was no longer a problem.
He added: “Elbow’s good. I got a bit of treatment on it last week and it’s all good.”
A place unlike any other. #themasters pic.twitter.com/FyrR2dpNQW
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 8, 2025
The 35-year-old has had a relaxed build-up, skipping last week’s PGA Tour event in San Antonio, and is eagerly anticipating getting underway on Thursday.
“I had a decent showing when I played at Houston a couple of weeks ago and I’ve had a couple of visits up here,” he said.
“It’s been a really good lead into it.
“I’ve spent a week at home and had Michael Bannon [golf coach] over and been doing some practice, playing quite a bit of golf and trying to stay as sharp as I could.
“So, it’s been a good week and looking forward to getting this thing going on Thursday.”
