Rory McIlroy says he has switched to a more stable golf ball ahead of The Masters, which starts on Thursday.
The Northern Irishman is targeting a career Grand Slam at the event and if he pulls it off he will become just one of six people who have managed to do it. He is trying to give himself every advantage to reach the milestone, including a change in ball.
Speaking to Damon Hack at the Golf Channel, he said: “Friday [at the Valero Texas Open] was a good sort of litmus test for it. I just went back to a golf ball that’s a little more stable in the wind, a little less spin, so just getting to grips with that again was good. I’m excited about that, I think that’s going to be really good for me.”
He also spoke about how he will try and bid for the title with the achievement of the Grand Sam looming over him.
“Just patience, discipline, don’t make big numbers,” he said of how to play himself into contention on Sunday. “It’s very, for me anyway, it feels like a very negative way to think, but it’s the way to play around this place. You don’t have to do anything spectacular.”
If the competition wasn’t hard enough already for McIlroy, Tiger Woods has thrown his hat into the event. It will be the first time he has competed since his car crash in 2021.
And while McIlroy is happy Woods is back, he says it won’t affect his own game.
“I think in terms of the competitive nature of it, if he’s in the field or not, I don’t think it really changes much,” he said. “You’re trying to focus on yourself, and he can’t stop you shooting a 67 if you play well. It’s not like any other sport. So, I don’t think that changes much.”