'Nervous McIlroy's Players' win sets him up perfectly for Masters tilt'

Rory McIlroy woke early, acold excessively early. It was 03:00 connected Monday greeting and his tummy was already starting to churn. He was 3 holes distant from winning a 2nd Players Championship and helium felt the trophy should already beryllium his.

Would this beryllium different large triumph to elude him? The satellite fig 57, JJ Spaun, stood betwixt him and 1 of the astir coveted crowns successful the game.

As it turned out, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman was going to beryllium capable to observe this St Patrick's Day successful style. McIlroy channelled his nerves portion his American hostile faltered - his hopes drowning erstwhile helium overshot the land greenish 17th, the 2nd of the 3 play-off holes.

It sets up McIlroy perfectly for his latest tilt astatine completing the vocation Grand Slam of large titles erstwhile helium goes to Augusta for adjacent month's Masters. That's wherever the chat is going - volition helium bash it and finally, astatine long, agelong past don the celebrated Green Jacket?

"I consciousness similar I'm a amended subordinate present than I ever person been," helium said. "I consciousness similar I tin play each conditions and successful thing that comes my way."

First helium indispensable observe this win. It was achieved without his precise champion golf.

It would beryllium an exaggeration to accidental helium won it ugly, but helium did it with a mostly errant operator and was capable to enactment himself successful contention successful a mode that was beyond golf's different starring lights.

Sawgrass is simply a capricious trial astatine the champion of times. Throw successful the fierce gusting winds of Saturday, Sunday's four-hour tempest hold and the acold breeze of the other morning, which blew from a wholly antithetic direction, and it is the toughest of propositions.

It had already been excessively overmuch for defending champion Scottie Scheffler, likewise Open and US PGA Championship victor Xander Schauffele, who lone scraped into the weekend. It was excessively overmuch excessively for Ludwig Aberg, who missed the cut.

McIlroy held it together, coming from 4 down connected the last time to pb by 3 earlier being caught by Spaun to unit a play-off for which Sunday evening did not clasp capable daylight.

Yes McIlroy was tense connected Monday. As tense arsenic helium has ever been implicit a tee changeable erstwhile the play-off began - but helium did not amusement it. Instead, helium striped a majestic thrust to archer Spaun unequivocally who was the brag for this shootout.

There is an encouraging pragmatism astir McIlroy these days. Deciding to wantonness erratic caller woods 3 rounds into the Arnold Palmer Invitational past week was an important alteration of mind.

The $1000 taxi fare to ferry his aged woods from his West Palm Beach mansion was wealth precise good spent arsenic helium went backmost to his aged acceptable up for Sawgrass, location of the biggest tourney of the twelvemonth truthful far.

And past earlier the play-off, McIlroy changed his hitting angles to rehearse the nine-iron changeable into the upwind that helium would request for the pivotal 2nd spread of the play-off.

Experience told successful some instances, conscionable arsenic it did erstwhile helium abandoned large hitting for the last spread astatine Pebble Beach successful February to unafraid his archetypal PGA Tour rubric of 2025.

And past came his honorable admittance of the nerves helium was feeling. It is arsenic though helium was embracing them alternatively than allowing them to beryllium the benignant of demon that derailed him erstwhile helium held a winning presumption astatine past year's US Open.

"I woke up astatine 03:00 this greeting and couldn't get backmost to sleep," helium told reporters. "I was arsenic tense arsenic I tin remember."

Which is wherefore the opening thrust of the play-off was truthful important. He needed to spell retired and get the victory.

"If you play to triumph and you've deed an assertive changeable and you've deed a truly bully shot, I deliberation that tin unbend you and it tin calm your tense system," helium said.

"If you're playing benignant of 'guidey' play and conscionable trying to not lose, I don't deliberation that benignant of play calms you down."

McIlroy revealed helium felt a turning constituent aft painfully losing past year's Irish Open. The pursuing week helium charged into a play-off astatine Wentworth and though helium mislaid it to Billy Horschel's eagle successful the BMW PGA sprout retired determination was hope.

Then helium went to the Middle East and ended his play with a important triumph successful the DP World Tour Championship. "I consciousness that period, October, November, was a beauteous important one," helium said.

"And I was capable to bash immoderate bully enactment connected my plaything and past trial it retired beauteous overmuch consecutive aft successful a mates of tournaments, and I consciousness similar that's carried into this year.

"It doesn't consciousness similar I'm making those mistakes astatine the captious times similar I was previously. I deliberation a large portion of that was conscionable learning from those mistakes."

And truthful to transportation the momentum to Georgia adjacent month. There volition beryllium a halt successful Texas anterior to the Masters, but already nary of his large rivals tin boast specified an awesome signifier enactment heading into the year's archetypal major.

"It's astir doubling down and moving connected the things I've been moving on," McIlroy told BBC Sport. "And to marque definite that I'm 100% acceptable to spell for Augusta."