Rory McIlroy On Masters Meltdown: ‘I Wasn’t Ready’

Rory McIlroy was leading last month’s Masters tournament with nine holes to go and gave it all away under the harsh glare of the Sunday spotlight at Augusta National.

So who did he turn to for advice in the week following his meltdown?

Greg Norman, of all people.

McIlroy had what he described as a “good chat” with Norman – another golfer who had an infamous Masters fall – in Malaysia during the days following Augusta. He revealed Norman’s advice on Tuesday in Charlotte while preparing for this weekend’s Wells Fargo Championship, where the Northern Ireland native is the defending tournament champion.

So what did Norman say?

“Don’t listen to you guys,” McIlroy cracked. “He just said to me, ‘From now on, don’t read golf magazines, don’t pick up papers, don’t watch the Golf Channel.”

McIlroy said he’d have a hard time doing that because he likes to keep up to date, but that Norman’s point was “You can’t let other people influence what you’re thinking and what you should do.”

Looking back now at his Masters Sunday, McIlroy said, “I don’t think I was ready.”

“I displayed a few weaknesses in my game that I need to work on,” he said. “But I think you’ve got to take the positives – for 63 holes, I led the golf tournament. It was just a bad back nine – a very bad back nine – that sort of took the tournament away from me.”

McIlroy said those “weaknesses” don’t include his swing, but are more on the mental side of the game. The 21-year-old is still learning how to handle the flow of a tournament, he said.

“Just trying to handle the situation better,” he said. “That was basically it, not rushing. ... I played with (Angel) Cabrera on the last day and we’re both pretty quick players, and at points we were just waiting on shots and stuff. Just stuff like that you learn how to deal with.”

Despite the disappointment, McIlroy – who was widely praised for how he handled the aftermath – said it took him only “a couple days” to get over it.

“It’s only golf, at the end of the day,” he said. “No one died. (I’m) very happy with my life, very happy with what’s going on, very happy with my game.”