‘The Worst Thing I Did’: How One Mistake By Rory McIlroy Cost Him Big At The 2023 Masters

Rory McIlroy ended up missing the cut at the 2023 Masters. But it’s not the sort of performance expected from World No. 2, who joined the Stick to Football podcast. Ian Wright said that he wanted to stop watching the tournament at that moment. With that, McIlroy also asked if he could do the same.

McIlroy has a career record of four major titles, which includes two PGA Championship triumphs, one Open Championship title, and a victory at the US Open. But the star golfer hasn’t had the privilege to have a grand slam or wear the green jacket in his career. Speaking on the podcast, McIlroy revealed why his round went wrong.

Last year, he had an open round of 72. Then, in the second round, he made a mistake that cost him the cut. He looked at the leaderboard and that ended up taking a huge toll on him thereby landing him at 77.

Going forward in the podcast, McIlroy further delineated the pressure one feels at Augusta National.

Rory McIlroy Explains His Moment Of Anxiety At The Masters Tournament

In the podcast, Carragher asked McIlroy how the build-up feels at Augusta or any major when the first two days don’t go well. After that, Wright asked a similar question regarding how to deal with the pressure of a grand slam. To this, McIlroy replied:

“They’re different sides of the same coin in terms of having to stay in the present..So I shot even-par the first day, which is an average enough first day, but it wasn’t terrible. And I was on the first green on the second morning, and I saw Brooks Koepka was coming up the eighth and there’s a big white scoreboard there, by the eighth green, and I saw that he had already got to 10-under and I’m even-par.”

He continued narrating,

“I’m 10 behind already, like I have to start pressing, when actually what’s worked best for me is I can’t control what he does, I can’t control the leaderboard and the worst thing I did that day was look at the leaderboard because if I hadn’t have known”

Rory also said that he built up the pressure on himself, whereas he could’ve dealt with the situation calmly. He also accused himself of looking at others and comparing himself, which often puts him in trouble. The hosts applauded McIlroy’s admission of weakness. McIlroy pointed out that he would like to stay open about it, and that he takes his experiences from the Masters Tournaments as a lesson. 

In 2022, he finished at T2 position on the leaderboard. The PGA Tour pro finished T5 on the leaderboard four years ago. Then in 2018, he again finished fifth. Thus, McIlroy lost the fear by a few inches and wishes to have a career grand slam someday. 

About the author

Suchita Chakraborty

Suchita Chakraborty is a senior golf writer at The SportsRush. She did her post-graduation at St. Xavier's University. For a year now, she has developed a riveting inclination toward golf, with Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy being her top-tier motivational figures to indulge in the sport. She even lives by the words of the Hall of Famer, "You can always become better", which impels her to excel every day. Her strong suit in golf is covering the LPGA Tour, especially the nooks and crannies of the international event, the Solheim Cup. As a pastime amusement, Suchita also engages herself in reading about golf controversies. Her favorite pick is ‘LIV and Let Die’ by Alan Shipnuck, which covers the PGA-LIV beef.

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