Early predictions give no benefit, lessons from Rory McIlroy’s loss at the 2011 Masters
No lead is safe at the Masters, as Rory McIlroy lost his leading position, in the final round of the tournament, last year.
The 22-year-old Northern Irish professional played well till the third round. However, on Sunday he lost all his focus and scored 80 at the Augusta National Golf Club.
Spectators were expecting a win from him, as he started the round with a four-stroke lead. After playing the worst final round, he finished 10 strokes behind the leader.
Not only spectators, McIlroy was also confident till Saturday that he will win. He registered a bogey-free first round and made seven birdies on Thursday.
Then he scored four birdies in the second and third round. After such an enormous scoring of 12-under par, he carded four devastating bogeys, one double-bogey and one triple-bogey on Sunday.
Hence, he lost all winning hopes and finished tied for the 15th position. His final scores were 4-under 284. Therefore, no early predictions would benefit a player at the Masters.
The Augusta National Golf Club is one of the toughest in the US. It was established in 1933 and spreads over 7,435 yards. Players can face different hurdles on it if they lose their focus.
"It's a course that makes you really nervous," Geoff Ogilvy said.
Starting impressively may be easy. The main hurdle is of consistent scoring throughout the four-day tournament, which is really a tough job for the players desiring to make their debut win.
McIlroy was emotionally tormented, after not seeing his name on the top. This was the biggest lesson for the young Irish.
Now, he is in the field of the Masters again and is confident to wipe out last year’s tears.
"That's the beauty of the Masters," Nick Faldo said. "We come back every year, all those stories are compounded, from victory and failure. That's what makes it so special".
"The players will be reminded of it. Anything more than three or four shots, and you're making assumptions. If you were to carry a decent lead into Sunday, you'd need a steel-trap mind to survive".
Hence, all the players heading to the Masters should keep this situation in mind. Only consistent scoring and extra efforts will help them at Augusta.
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