The Masters 2011: Rory McIlroy insists he will come back stronger after painful collapse on final round in Augusta
Rory McIlroy admits he is going to find it hard to forget his Masters meltdown for a while but insists he learnt some invaluable lessons in Augusta
McIlroy entered the final day with a four-stroke lead but suffered a stunning collapse.Still leading by one shot as he went into the back nine, the Northern Ireland golfer hit a tee shot next to the cabins left of the 10th fairway and twice hit a tree to make triple bogey. He three-putted from 7 feet for bogey on the 11th, four-putted from about 12 feet on the next hole and then buried his head into his forearm as the loss settled in.McIlroy shot 80, the highest final round by the 54-hole leader since Ken Venturi in 1956. Not since Jean Van de Velde at the 1999 British Open had someone wasted at least a four-shot lead going into the last round of the major.And while his wait for a green jacket goes on, McIlroy opted to look for the positives."I was still one shot ahead going into the 10th and then things went all pear-shaped after that," said the 21-year-old Northern Irishman, who had hoped to become the second youngest winner in Masters history.It was a very disappointing day obviously but hopefully I'll learn from it and come back a little stronger. I don't think I can put it down to anything else than part of the learning curve."Hopefully if I can get myself back into this position pretty soon I will handle it a little bit better. It will be pretty tough for me for the next few days, but I will get over it – I will be fine."There are a lot worse things that can happen in your life. Shooting a bad score in the last round of a golf tournament is nothing in comparison to what other people go through."Getting applauded up onto the greens, I was almost a little embarrassed at some points. But the support I had here was fantastic and I really appreciate it."I can't really put my finger on what went wrong. I lost a lot of confidence with my putting, but I just hit a poor tee shot on 10 and sort of unravelled from there."I'll have plenty more chances I know and hopefully it will build a bit of character in me as well."Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel was playing only his second tournament and had never finished in the top 10 of any major before, but he said he took inspiration from the Open success of close friend and compatriot Louis Oosthuizen last summer.Playing in the group ahead of McIlroy, he chipped in at the first and holed a pitch shot for eagle at the third to grab a share of the lead. But Schwartzel was behind again until he came storming through with putts of eight, 15, 12 and 18 feet for a dream final burst."I felt surprisingly very calm before teeing off and I think Rory must have had lots of pressure on him to be leading by that far," he said.Asked what he could say by way of comfort as they set off for Asia the new world number 11 stated: "It's difficult. – what do you say? He's such a good player. He's going to win a major some time."Obviously things didn't go his way, but he way he played the first three rounds you have to think that a win is not that far away."Golf is a really funny game. One moment you're on top of it and the next it bites you. He's such a phenomenal player. He'll win one. He's going to be disappointed and he's going to feel hurt, but he's a good enough player to come back out and win."
The Masters 2011: Rory McIlroy insists he will come back stronger after painful collapse on final round in Augusta
Rory McIlroy admits he is going to find it hard to forget his Masters meltdown for a while but insists he learnt some invaluable lessons in Augusta
McIlroy entered the final day with a four-stroke lead but suffered a stunning collapse.
Still leading by one shot as he went into the back nine, the Northern Ireland golfer hit a tee shot next to the cabins left of the 10th fairway and twice hit a tree to make triple bogey. He three-putted from 7 feet for bogey on the 11th, four-putted from about 12 feet on the next hole and then buried his head into his forearm as the loss settled in.
McIlroy shot 80, the highest final round by the 54-hole leader since Ken Venturi in 1956. Not since Jean Van de Velde at the 1999 British Open had someone wasted at least a four-shot lead going into the last round of the major.
And while his wait for a green jacket goes on, McIlroy opted to look for the positives.
"I was still one shot ahead going into the 10th and then things went all pear-shaped after that," said the 21-year-old Northern Irishman, who had hoped to become the second youngest winner in Masters history.
It was a very disappointing day obviously but hopefully I'll learn from it and come back a little stronger. I don't think I can put it down to anything else than part of the learning curve.
"Hopefully if I can get myself back into this position pretty soon I will handle it a little bit better. It will be pretty tough for me for the next few days, but I will get over it – I will be fine.
"There are a lot worse things that can happen in your life. Shooting a bad score in the last round of a golf tournament is nothing in comparison to what other people go through.
"Getting applauded up onto the greens, I was almost a little embarrassed at some points. But the support I had here was fantastic and I really appreciate it.
"I can't really put my finger on what went wrong. I lost a lot of confidence with my putting, but I just hit a poor tee shot on 10 and sort of unravelled from there.
"I'll have plenty more chances I know and hopefully it will build a bit of character in me as well."
Masters champion, Charl Schwartzel was playing only his second tournament and had never finished in the top 10 of any major before, but he said he took inspiration from the Open success of close friend and compatriot Louis Oosthuizen last summer.
Playing in the group ahead of McIlroy, he chipped in at the first and holed a pitch shot for eagle at the third to grab a share of the lead. But Schwartzel was behind again until he came storming through with putts of eight, 15, 12 and 18 feet for a dream final burst.
"I felt surprisingly very calm before teeing off and I think Rory must have had lots of pressure on him to be leading by that far," he said.
Asked what he could say by way of comfort as they set off for Asia the new world number 11 stated: "It's difficult. – what do you say? He's such a good player. He's going to win a major some time.
"Obviously things didn't go his way, but he way he played the first three rounds you have to think that a win is not that far away.
"Golf is a really funny game. One moment you're on top of it and the next it bites you. He's such a phenomenal player. He'll win one. He's going to be disappointed and he's going to feel hurt, but he's a good enough player to come back out and win."
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