Rory McIlroy’s visit to see Tiger Woods opens his eyes to where his focus should be

A journey doesn’t always take you from Point A to Point B in a straight line. Rory McIlroy’s decision to bring on board Pete Cowen as part of his team and to reassess the journey ahead of him, taking the technical aspects as much as he can out of the thoughts swimming around his head, probably hints at the growing maturity in seeking to get to where he once was.

With this 85th edition of the Masters at Augusta National again providing the 31-year-old Northern Irishman with an opportunity to complete the career Grand Slam, McIlroy – competing in his 13th Masters – admitted: “I’m trying to view what I’m doing with my golf game, to see the big picture. I’m obviously focused on this week, but it’s bigger than that.

“It’s a journey, and it’s a journey to try to get back to playing the game the way I know that I can play the game. So obviously this week is very important but I’m still looking beyond that. I’m just at the start of a journey here that I know will get me back to where I want to be.”

Perhaps the journey actually started on leaving Tiger Woods’s home in Jupiter, Florida, recently. McIlroy had gone to visit his friend to wish him well on his recuperation from the car accident which necessitated multiple surgeries to his legs and ankles and that has ruled him out of any golf for the immediate future.

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But it was while there that something hit McIlroy for the first time. Woods’s trophy cabinet contained only those trophies featuring the 15 Major titles he’d won.

“I said, ‘that’s really cool. Where are all the others?’ He said, ‘I don’t know’. I go, ‘What?’ He said, ‘Yeah, my mom has some, and a few are in the office and a few are wherever’.”

I'm actually getting away from a lot of technical thoughts. I'm actually going the other way

McIlroy continued the story: “I was driving home and I was thinking, ‘that’s all he cared about’, so how easy that must have felt for him to win all the others. That was just all that was in my mind, he talked about these are the four weeks that matter . . . so, I’m just thinking to myself, how easy must that have felt for him if all he cared about were four weeks a year. The other stuff must have been like practice. So, that’s a cool perspective to have, right?”

It would seem that house visit to Woods did McIlroy as much good as the patient, and that ongoing work with Cowen – only a short time in being – is part of the player’s journey.

As McIlroy put it: “It’s basically just about trying to understand the body movements a little bit more and sort of understanding why certain shots happen and how to fix those on the fly and how to, even during rounds.

“If you have a better understanding of what you’re doing, then you can start to manage it better, even if things don’t feel quite the way you want them to. So that’s the simple version of why we started working together.”

He later added: “I think if I were to explain it in depth, it’s actually very simple. I’m actually getting away from a lot of technical thoughts. I’m actually going the other way. I’ve sort of simplified it down to just making the right body movements and instead of trying to get myself to get the club into certain positions.

“So if anything, I feel like I’ve simplified the whole process . . . I feel like I’m on a path that’s a little more structured and I have a better understanding of why I’m doing things and why certain shots do what they do and why certain movements produce a golf shot. You know, so I think that’s been a big thing.”

You just try to go out there the next time and do a little bit better, and that's all I can do is go out there and try my best

McIlroy’s journey has had a number of starting points that seemed to stall along the way in recent years. It is almost seven years (the 2014 US PGA) since the last of his four Major wins; and it is almost 18 months (2019 HSBC Champions) since his last tournament win. But there would seem to be a new sense of purpose about him, of looking to again get that forward momentum.

And, of course, any visit back to Augusta National brings with it memories. So close to the grand prize, yet ultimately so far away.

Which ones does he take, the good; or the bad? “I think the good, they’re the memories you want to keep and you want to hold onto. Whether it’s the great stuff from 2011 or I guess the charge I put in the Saturday in 2018, but you have to take your lessons from the not so good stuff, as well, right? I played in the final group in 2016 with Jordan [Spieth] on the Saturday. Didn’t go quite the way I wanted it to.

“Obviously there’s been another few rounds here where I’ve sort of put myself behind the 8-ball not being able to get any momentum. But they are all learning lessons and you just try to go out there the next time and do a little bit better, and that’s all I can do is go out there and try my best.”