10 January 2024 , 14:54
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Rory McIlroy looks to be gearing all of his attention on the Augusta National this year - looking to win his first-ever green jacket at The Masters.
The four-time Grand Slam winner will be making changes to his regular schedule this year ahead of what he hopes will be a big 2024 calendar year.
Ahead of the Dubai Invitational, McIlroy talked about his upcoming schedule, insinuating he has made the changes necessary to put himself in the best position to compete for a green jacket in April.
He said: "This year, in fact, I’m going to play more before The Masters. It will be my ninth or 10th event of the year. Previously, it’s been my sixth or seventh. I’ll hopefully be a bit sharper and know exactly where my game really is."
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McIlroy came second at Augusta in 2022, losing out to Scottie Scheffler, with him having countless disappointing rounds at Golf's most prestigious tournament.
Despite this, he admitted that it's the one tournament that he wants to win more than any other - discussing his desperation to do so sooner rather than later.
He said: "The Masters is the Disneyland of golf. You go there, put the Mickey Mouse ears on and get into what it is. And when you leave you snap out of it.
"My big thing about Augusta is just to go in there playing well. The weeks before are important just to get me feeling like I'm in good form.
Rory McIlroy will begin his season at the Dubai Invitational on the DP World Tour next week (Getty Images)"I’d love to win it. If I don’t, I probably will look back and think I missed out on something. I did an interview a few years ago when the interviewer asked if I felt like I deserved a green jacket. I don’t deserve anything.
"The game has given me more than enough. I have to go out there and earn it. People can say the course suits my game all they want, I still have to go out there and play the golf.
"I’m on a pretty strong list of players who have won three of the four majors. But I’d like to be on the shorter list of those who have won all four."
McIlroy will kick off his season at the Dubai Invitational on the DP World Tour, followed by the Dubai Desert Classic. The Northern Irish star usually starts his US campaign during the California swing, with the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am being his first stop in 2024.