06 March 2024 , 09:00
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Rory McIlroy pulled no punches in the new series of the Netflix documentary Full Swing, rating his performance at The Masters last year as "dog s***" as his agonising wait for a green jacket goes on.
McIlroy was a hot favourite to finally complete his career grand slam with victory at Augusta National 11 months ago, but it proved to be a chastening experience for the four-time major champion. McIlroy followed an even-par opening round by carding a five-over 77 in round two to miss the cut by two strokes.
The Northern Irishman, 34, has a brutal history at Augusta. Many pundits believe his game is tailor-made for the course, but he has failed to get over the line. The nadir came in 2011 when a 21-year-old McIlroy blew a four-shot lead on the final day, carding an eight-over-par round of 80 to finish tied for 15th.
McIlroy bounced back and won the US Open and Open Championship, plus the PGA Championship twice within the next three years. But Masters glory and the coveted green jacket continue to elude him and his dreadful performance last year only worsened the pain.
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McIlroy addressed the situation head-on in episode one of the new series, which takes fans behind the scenes on the PGA Tour and was released on Wednesday.
He said: "It was the best opportunity I had to win a major in a long, long time, sometimes it just doesn’t work out. It was so far away from where I should have been.”
A disastrous five-over round of 77 saw McIlroy fail to make the weekend (David Cannon/Getty Images)“I felt like I was going into that Masters playing really well. I felt almost as confident as ever going into that tournament and just laid an egg. I played like dogs *** that week."
Seven months on from his latest Masters heartbreak, the three-time FedEx Cup champion resigned his place on the PGA Tour's policy board. McIlroy had been a passionate defender for the tour in the early days of its battle with LIV Golf, but he was left hurt by the PGA Tour's decision to enter into a framework agreement with LIV's backers, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund, last summer.
The proposed deal will see the rival tours work closer together, but the process has dragged on for almost a year without a resolution. McIlroy admits his role as a de facto spokesman only for the tour's bosses to strike a deal behind his back took its toll.
"I had to ask a lot of other questions [after the Masters]," he continued. "Playing golf and having all the other things I’m involved with, it's a full-time job. It is all-consuming, you get fatigued a bit, fatigued of asking the same questions and it is so difficult.”