16 April 2023 , 22:11
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Rory McIlroy has been warned his 'mental block' at Augusta National could well stop him from ever completing the career Grand Slam by his former agent Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler.
McIlroy has enjoyed a remarkable career out on the golf course so far, having won 23 PGA Tour titles, 15 DP World Tour crowns and four major championships. The Northern Irishman won all four of his majors within the space of just three years between 2011 and 2014.
Since then though the 33-year-old has endured a nine-year drought at professional golf's flagship tournaments, especially when competing at the iconic Augusta National.
The only gaping hole on McIlroy's glittering CV is a Masters title, with the Northern Irishman yet to put his arms into a green jacket after 15 attempts. The opening major of the campaign has had added importance to the former world No. 1 since 2016, as victory at Augusta would finally complete the career Grand Slam.
Heading into this year's event just last week it seemed as if it was McIlroy's best chance yet to finally win in Georgia, with 33-year-old arriving down Magnolia Lane in hot form. Once again though his Augusta curse struck, as he struggled across his opening two rounds to miss the cut by two shots.
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Rory McIlroy endured another tough week at Augusta (Getty Images)Whilst it was another frustrating Masters week for McIlroy, he will undoubtably get a plenty of bites at the cherry with the four-time major winner just 33. Chandler however knows the Northern Irish star better than most, and believes the mental side of the game could well stop him ever securing a green jacket.
He told iNews : "If you were a betting man you would probably bet against him winning [the career Grand Slam]. He has made winning the Grand Slam a bigger thing in his head than it actually is. He is not really driven by number of wins or number of majors per se, but he seems to be driven by wanting to win the Grand Slam.
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Andrew 'Chubby' Chandler previously managed Rory McIlroy (Getty Images)"It’s a massive mental block and it’s getting harder and harder. Every time he gets there, he has the pressure from everyone else, but also from himself.” Heading into this year's Masters, McIlroy himself added the largest obstacle stopping him getting over the line are his 'mental struggles'.
“I would say the majority are mental or emotional struggles rather than physical,” he admitted. “I've always felt like I have the physical ability to win this tournament. But it's being in the right head space to let those physical abilities shine through...
"It's sort of just like I've got all the ingredients to make the pie. It's just putting all those ingredients in and setting the oven to the right temperature and letting it all sort of come to fruition. But I know that I've got everything there. It's just a matter of putting it all together.”