Houston, TX …

Little wonder Rory McIlroy reckons he knows how Phil Mickelson must feel in admitting as every year passes it will become increasingly more difficult to win the Masters and with that the coveted Grand Slam.

McIlroy is presently in Augusta playing two further practice rounds (Monday and Tuesday) ahead of the April 6th start to the 2017 Masters.

This year is McIlroy’ third attempt in striving to join just five other players in the history of the game to win all four Majors and in speaking with Augusta.com the 27-year old indicated the difficulty he’s facing each and every year he returns to the famed Georgia golfing gem in striving to achieve golfing immortality.

“It’s a motivation, to be able to put your name alongside those five guys,” he said. “But I think each and every year that passes that I don’t, it will become increasingly more difficult.

Rory McIlroy reckons he now knows how Phil Mickelson feels going into a US Open. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com

“I sort of feel a little bit like what Phil (Mickelson) goes through when he goes to the U.S. Open, but at the same time I haven’t finished second at Augusta six times and he’s finished second (that many times in the U.S. Open). So I can only imagine what goes through his head when he turns up at a U.S. Open.

“But, yeah, winning Augusta is difficult enough, but I think that’s the most important thing, like you want to win the tournament that week, you just want to beat the guys that you’re playing against and if you do that, you know that all this other great stuff comes along with it.

“I feel like I’m a good enough player; I feel like I’ve got everything I need to become a Masters champion.

“It’s the biggest tournament of the year for me, for obvious reasons, and I’ve never made any secret about that. I’m very open about that. It is.”

It was in 2013 Mickelson captured the third leg of the ‘Slam’ in winning The Open at Muirfield leaving just the US Open but since Muirfield he’s finished T28th (2014), T64th (2015) and missing the cut last year.

McIlroy next week will be taking his ninth drive down Magnolia Lane but since that disappointing 2011 back nine Sunday meltdown, the young Northern Irishman has shown all too often what he is capable winning four Majors, including the PGA Championship twice, along with nearly 15 other victories around the globe.

And given he’s beaten his contemporaries often since since those events of April 2011, McIlroy sees no reason that should hold him back from being fitted with the most sought after item of clothing in all of golf.

“I’m playing against the same guys that I’ve beaten before at the biggest tournaments in the world and there’s no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do it again,” he said.

“So that’s my mind-set going into it. If I can keep that mind-set and try to just keep it as simple as possible, and keep it fun, I think that’s the thing as well, if I can keep it somewhat fun: you’re going and playing Augusta, you’re getting to play Augusta, you’re getting to play at least six rounds around there. Who else gets to do that? That’s pretty cool in itself.”

And as Augusta.com rightly points out is it not for a lack of trying including McIlroy just being a shot off the lead through rounds last year but then to drop from all contention with a gut-wrenching third day 77.

“I was in a great position going into the weekend a year ago, and I just didn’t play the golf I needed to when it really mattered,” said McIlroy.

“I’ve been in position before and I haven’t got the job done when I needed to and I don’t think that’s anything to do with my game, I think that’s more me mentally and I’m trying to deal with the pressure of it and the thrill of the achievement if it were to happen. I think that’s the thing that’s really holding me back.

“That’s not the way I play and it’s almost as if I need to go out here and not respect the golf course as much, to go out there and not really care where I miss it or where I don’t miss it, everyone talks about at Augusta you need to miss it here, you need to miss it there, it’s all about your misses, but I would rather hit it right on line than miss in the right place. So, yeah, I just, I was a little too careful out there.”