McILroy is desperate to wear the famous green jacket, but can you want it too much?
“It’s a very good point,” said Smith.
“All this is said without I never talked to Rory, I could not say how precise my opinions are.
“But looking at it from the outside of the red fish bowl that is the tournament golf course, you look at it and say, ok, that’s good, maybe that’s all, it may be too much.”
McILroy worked with the sports psychologist Bob Rotella in the construction of his 17th attempt to win the Masters. “I think he will do it very well prepared now,” said McGinley.
“They have had two or three points now, and I think they will offer a plan in terms of pressure and decimation and put it aside.”
Smith believes that the answer lies in the reaffirmation of good memories, such as the imperious opening of McILroy during his three -hole victory over JJ SPAUN to players three weeks ago. The champion admitted to be very nervous before this starting blow.
Nicklaus, winner of a record of 18 majors, used to insist so that he had never missed a short putt in the biggest sport championships, which was not true but a precious technique to reaffirm confidence. Woods would celebrate ends with a brand movement with his club.
“Tiger with his swirling club,” said Smith, who is an associate of the British Psychological Society. “It is a paper copy of good things in long -term memory so that it can shoot it.
“I know I can do it. I know I won.”
And while the notion of accumulated mental scar tissue is potentially ruinous, Smith thinks that McIiroy is at a maximum age to deal with such a problem.
“His emotional intelligence develops a lot,” he said. “He is not the man he was at the age of 29 or 30.”
And in 2025, McILroy – without playing his best yet – seems insured. Using a different bullet this year, its technique, especially in its approach game, looks better nuanced and more efficient.
It could therefore be the year for the man with 28 victories of PGA Tour, but no major victories in his last 38 attempts. He plays the best golf course of all the main candidates, but this week wears a mental burden much larger than any of his rivals.
It is the little between the ears.
“You have to own it because if you don’t, it’s coming to you,” said Smith. “So you must almost burst this cyst, excise it, clean it, face it.”
