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Rory McIlroy has expressed satisfaction with his performance at the Masters, as his last attempt to complete the Grand Slam of his career fell short.
The Northern Irishman was left with nine poor holes in his first round last Thursday and finally finished nine shots away from runaway champion Dustin Johnson, despite posting a third consecutive under-70 score with a final round of 69.
However, the four-time major winner rallied enough in the final three rounds to finish tied for fifth.
Since 2015, the Northern Irishman is 28 over par in the first round of the majors and 61 under in rounds two, three and four, and was well aware of the problem this week.
“I look back at this week and obviously I’m sorry about what happened, maybe not Thursday because I felt like I played well, but that Friday morning I came back and finished that first round,” he told Sky Sports.
“But after that I played well, I held on, I just had to make a good score to be here for the weekend and I played a really solid weekend.
“I wasn’t really thinking about trying to win the tournament (on Sunday). When I hit 11 under after the eighth hole, I saw that DJ had dropped to 15 under and I thought maybe there might be a chance, but then the wind picked up and it was difficult to make birdies in the last nine.
“I am satisfied with my performance, especially in the last three rounds.”
The absence of crowds added to the unique feel of a Masters in November, but it somehow helped some of the players.
Whether that situation will be the same next April remains to be seen, but McIlroy intends to try to keep his focus more relaxed as he continues his search for a green jacket to complete a full set of majors.
His new life as a father also helps the former number one’s mental state after the birth of his first daughter, Poppy, in August.
“Definitely more relaxed, definitely not as much anxiety or stress,” he said of the vibe this week.
“I think it’s been easier because I come home after playing and my attention is completely focused on something else, it’s not really golf, I can just sit there and play with my daughter and stop thinking about it.
“It’s a bit more relaxed and I like this environment a bit more.
“Hopefully we will return to normal Mastery in a few months, but I will try to adopt
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