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| Photo @AP |
Sir Nick Faldo feels the return of Tiger Woods to this year’s Masters will not distract Rory McIlroy from his Grand Slam target.
World No 1 McIlroy requires an Augusta win to complete victories in all four majors, a feat which has been achieved by just five players in the Masters era.
One of the names in that particular hall of fame is Tiger Woods, who has dropped out of the top 100 in the rankings this year and shot a career-worst 82 in his second and most recent event of 2015.
Woods, though, will seek to revitalise his career at the Masters this week, a decision which has attracted a large amount of media coverage.
But Faldo is confident McIlroy’s focus will be firmly on the tournament.
“Everyone knows that he (Woods) is just coming back just to play well,” Faldo, who won the Masters in 1989, 1990 and 1996, told Sky Sports. “It is amazing that someone who had total domination is now in a position where he just wants that.
“Rory has been on this mission ever since the PGA (Championship) last year. He’s spoken about it in interviews that he wants the Masters to complete the Grand Slam.
“So, no, I think he will have prepared well and will be on countdown to the first tee on Thursday now.”
Faldo was both an inspiration and a direct coaching mentor for McIlroy as a youngster and the two shared many fairways during the latter’s formative years.
The master feels the missing ingredient in his apprentice’s game then – and one which has now been discovered – was the ‘X factor’.
“I’ve known Rory since he was 12 and I spent some time with him then; he had the swing and everything but he didn’t have the X factor,” he said.
“I played a practice round with him at Carnoustie in the pouring rain and I was wimping out and he produced a wonderful swing in full waterproofs. I thought, ‘this guy’s good’.
“He is phenomenal. To win four majors at his age, 25, is incredible.”
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