He said the win lifted \u201can incredible weight\u201d off him
\n AUGUSTA
\nPutting on a green jacket has lifted an incredible weight off the shoulders of Rory McIlroy as the relaxed reigning Masters champion strolls around Augusta National.
\nThe 36-year-old from Northern Ireland completed a career Grand Slam by capturing the green jacket last year to end a 10-year major win drought and years of chasing a Masters crown.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s so nice to walk around property or be out on the golf course and just not have that hanging over me,\u201d McIlroy said Tuesday. \u201cIt feels that it\u2019s a big weight off my shoulders.\u201d
\nWorld number two McIlroy tries to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only back-to-back winners of the Masters with a victory this week. Turns out the end of his slam quest with a fifth career major title was only the beginning of a new story for McIlroy.
\n\u201cI think the story as it relates to me is what do I do from now onwards? What motivates me? What gets me going? What do I still want to achieve in the game?\u201d McIlroy said.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot that I want to do. You think every time you achieve something or have success that you\u2019ll be happy, but then the goalposts move, and they just keep nudging a little bit further and further out of reach.
\n\u201cI think what I\u2019ve realized is, if you can just really find enjoyment in the journey, that\u2019s the big thing because honestly I felt like the career Grand Slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realized it wasn\u2019t the destination.\u201d
\nOf all the majors, McIlroy says his best chances to win more titles will come at Augusta National.
\n\u201cI feel like I\u2019m still young, but I\u2019m very experienced. I\u2019ve been doing this for a long time. This is my 18th start,\u201d McIlroy said.
\n\u201cI do feel like I\u2019ve got another hopefully 10 good shots at this. Not that I don\u2019t at the other majors, but I just think that everything here is a little more predictable.
\n\u201cI just think the more experience you have around this golf course, the better it is.\u201d
\nThis year, however, McIlroy has a new outlook. It\u2019s what helped him arrive on Saturday instead of Monday and relish in the perks of being a Masters winner.
\n\u201cFor the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cAnd this year I wouldn\u2019t care if the tournament never started. That\u2019s sort of the difference.\u201d
\nNo less motivated
\nKnowing he will have the chance to return as often as he likes has not dimmed motivation, McIlroy said, even with the pressure of winning the slam released.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s completely different. I feel so much more relaxed. I know I\u2019m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament, just more relaxed about it all.\u201d
\nMcIlroy is already pondering the places at Augusta National where he can attack the course better.
\n\u201cYou\u2019re always going to have to pick and choose your spots around here, where to be aggressive and where not to, but I definitely think there\u2019s places where I could be more aggressive off the tee,\u201d McIlroy said.
\n\u201cThere\u2019s a few tee shots out here where I\u2019ll just try to be a bit more aggressive, and then if you do hit a good tee shot, you turn a potentially tough hole into a birdie hole.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He said the win lifted \u201can incredible weight\u201d off him AUGUSTA Putting on a green jacket has lifted an incredible weight off the shoulders of Rory McIlroy as the relaxed reigning Masters champion strolls around Augusta National. The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland completed a career Grand Slam by capturing the green jacket last year to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540867,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-540842","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n