McIlroy Green Jacket Favourite

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Rory McIlroy admits his Masters record is a source of disappointment and he cannot imagine ending his career without a green jacket.

McIlroy is the bookmakers' favourite for the year's first major championship, although the former world number one's best finish at Augusta National remains his share of 15th in 2011, when he held a four-shot lead going into the final round but collapsed to a closing 80.

"I'd be disappointed if I ended my career and wasn't able to go up and have breakfast in the champions' locker room," McIlroy said.

"The way I play golf, the way my game is, Augusta does set up well for me. And for me not to have a top-10 coming into my sixth Masters..."

McIlroy already has two major titles to his name after winning the US Open in 2011 - just two months after his Masters meltdown - and the 2012 US PGA Championship, both by eight shots.

The 24-year-old would love to take the third step towards a career grand slam by winning a Masters title that has evaded greats of the game like Greg Norman and Ernie Els.

Take control

"You can look at someone like Greg Norman, or the person that I look at is Ernie Els," McIlroy added. "He sees Trevor Immelman winning, he sees Charl Schwartzel win. He sees all these young South Africans; Louis Oosthuizen (losing) in a play-off.

"He should have won it in 2004 when Phil Mickelson birdied two of the last three. Mickelson was due a major at that point but he had never finished like that to win one, and all of a sudden he does. I think Ernie probably goes back every year and feels like that is the one that got away.

"I don't want to get to that point but I am 24, not 44. It would be great to win one sooner rather than later. It is the same with every competition; you don't want to wait too long for these things to happen. You want to take control of them yourself.

"Five players have won the career grand slam, I was looking at that the other day. I was looking at the ages; Tiger Woods was 24, Jack Nicklaus was 26. I think three people have done it in their 20s.

"There is no timescale, I have a lot of years left. I would love to do it. It's something that would be a huge achievement, to put yourself on that list."

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Masters Could be Fuzzy - GMAC

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Graeme McDowell believes a rookie could burst from the pack and win this week's Masters for the first time since Fuzzy Zoeller's shock victory on his Augusta debut in 1979.

With Tiger Woods absent injured, the tournament is expected to be one of the most open for years andNorthern Ireland's McDowell would not be surprised to see some of the game's lesser lights stealing the limelight.

"Some of the rookies today have a great chance," McDowell said in his BBC column.

"I played with Harris English a few weeks ago at Bay Hill. There's a kid making his Augusta debut and if he was on the leader board come the weekend I would not be shocked.

"He's long, hits his irons very high, very cool, and has a good short game and putter.

"You know he's got the tools to win around Augusta. These young players are just so well equipped nowadays.

"They are better athletes and they're fearless. They're growing up in an era where they've watched Tiger Woods do things with a golf ball that seemed impossible."

First-timer Zoeller famously won the 1979 Masters but it has not happened since at a tournament which usually ends with a big-name champion.

"The belief level globally now for a young professional is so much better than it used to be," McDowell said.

"The Zoeller-type first-time, rookie champion could happen in any of the majors now - this one included.

"It could be an amazing week for the game, with one of the new breed making a name for himself and coming out of the shadow of Tiger.

"He has taken the game to new heights but with him absent there's a real chance for someone else to take the headlines."

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Rory Augusta Ready

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Rory McIlroy gave himself something to build on heading into the Masters with a final-round 65 at the Shell Houston Open on Sunday.

Although he started and finished the day well out of contention after a 74 on Saturday, McIlroy could afford a smile after a bogey-free round which matched the low score of the week so far.

“It was a good way to end the week, obviously,” McIlroy said on the PGA Tour website.

“I wanted to shoot something in the 60s at least today to give me some positive vibes going into Augusta. I played really well, played really solid from tee-to-green again.

“I holed the putts that I felt I should hole and just kept the ball in play all day. Every time I hit it pretty close, within 10 feet, I holed the putt. It was great to see a few putts like that drop. It’s a nice bit of confidence going into next week.”

Saturday’s 74 had left McIlroy down in 37th place, and although he had done enough to climb back into the top 10 by the time he finished his round he could expect to drop again as the rest of the field followed him home.

That, however, was not his concern as he prepared to travel to Augusta.

“I’m happy with how this week went, even though I didn’t quite do what I wanted to do in terms of getting in contention,” he said. “But I sort of made up for it today. I couldn’t be in a better mood getting on the plane and heading over (to Augusta) tonight.”

Overnight leader Matt Kuchar was still top of the leaderboard after picking up one shot over the first 13 holes, but was coming under pressure from Matt Jones who was five under after 14, overhauling Sergio Garcia for second place.

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Sunny Side-up for McGrane

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Damien McGrane carded a third round 70 to hold share of ninth place to remain five strokes behind the leader on -3 at the NH Collection Open at La Reserva in Sotogrande, Spain

Kevin Phelan heads into Sunday five behind McGrane after the European Tour rookie carded a round of 73 on Saturday.

Simon Thornton signed for a 75 and a share of 58th place ahead of the final 18 holes. 

David Higgins missed out on six-over after a 77 and Peter Lawrie was in a similar  predicament after carding +8.

Shane Lowry's 13-over aggregate for the opening 36 holes and saw his weekend stay in the Coast del Sol shortened.

Matthew Nixon leads by one-shot on eight under par going into the last round of the NH Collection Open after firing 65, the lowest score of the week.

Nixon, who before this tournament had made just one European Tour cut this year in finishing joint 27th at February’s Africa Open, holed a stunning nine birdies during a seven under total in Spain.

He dropped a shot at the par four second and the par five 11th, but otherwise was impressive on a much nicer day than the previous two.

“I really enjoyed it, the sun’s been shining and I played really nicely… I don’t remember much about it apart from the fact that I kept knocking them close and knocking the putts in,” he said. “If I could do that again tomorrow it would come in handy.

“Today the conditions are obviously a little better, but it was just one of them days. I had a nice start and it just kept going. Exactly the same day tomorrow would be nice!”

Nixon, never a European Tour winner and now into his fourth season, led by one shot from Italy’s Marco Crespi, who went round in six under. Although Crespi carded ten birdies, five consecutively from 13 to 17, he also hit four bogeys.

Crespi, twice a Challenge Tour victor, was one stroke clear of Chile’s Felipe Aguilar, who led midway through a round delayed to allow much of the field to complete their second round this morning.

Crespi said: “I am very happy because I played great all day long. Always in the middle of the fairway, hitting for the pin, just waiting for birdies - and finally they came, five in a row. And that’s it, that’s the way to make six under. I was patient; normally I am a very patient person.

“Tomorrow I am going to fight for the title, that’s for sure, and I am pretty confident because I am playing very good. The weather forecast is good and if it’s a day like this I think I can do well.”

Portugal’s Ricardo Santos was one behind Aguilar, in turn one ahead of a quartet on four under.

Aguilar said: “I played good from tee to green but not on the greens; I three-putted four times which is expensive. I don’t seem to get the right pace on long putts.

“The course is in excellent shape. As it dries out, the greens are becoming firmer and faster and even more challenging with the wind.”

Santos, who made five gains and no drops in his five under, said: “I played really solid today, amazingly, I didn’t miss a shot.

“I was very consistent off the tee, which is very important on this course and really solid into the greens. I putted quite well, not really well, but quite well.

“Today is warmer, with less wind but the course is still tough, specially the holes into the wind.

“The course is tough because we start with three very strong par fours and if you don’t start really well you are struggling. That’s probably the reason that we don’t have really low scores under the better conditions.”

In the group on four under is England’s David Horsey, one of three frontrunners following the second round along with Wales’ Bradley Dredge and Scotland’s Marc Warren.

While Horsey dropped one shot in his third round, Warren conceded three and Dredge six, the latter in part through two double bogeys in his first three holes.

Also on four under is Spain’s Adrian Otaegui, who led with Aguilar midway through the round.

Otaegui said: “It’s been a roller coaster round. I got a double (bogey) on the first after losing a ball, but came back with birdies on the second, seventh and eighth. I played nicely from tee to green.

“I made two bogeys on the back nine, missing two short putts but I played great shots into the greens and gave myself plenty of birdie chances. That’s all I need to remember.

“I expect lower scores tomorrow, as the course is in perfect condition and the wind is dropping.”

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Padraig Ends Masters Era

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Padraig Harrington suffered problems with the middle finger of his left hand on the 15th tee of the Shell Houston Open second round and had trouble gripping the club. As the Dubliner waited for medical personnel to arrive and treat him, the group behind played through.

Harrington then made two bogeys and a closing triple bogey on the last three holes en route to missing the cut by four shots with a second round 79 - ending his presence next week in Augusta.

“I couldn’t put any pressure on (the finger) and tighten it,” said Harrington, adding he felt no pain. “By the end of the round, I don’t think I was even gripping with that finger.”

Harrington said the medic on the tee stretched his finger, applied cream and gave him anti-inflammatory medication. “He did everything he could, but it needed time,” Harrington said.

Meanwhile Sergio Garcia was on his way in the other direction after posting a 7-under par 65 and matching the course 36-hole record of 12 under overall after the second round of the Shell Houston Open on Friday.

As well as Garcia played in taking a one-shot lead over Matt Kuchar, the focus afterward was a mix of this week -- with a heavy dose of attention turned toward next week's Masters.

Garcia has eight PGA TOUR wins in his career, but the 34-year-old world No. 8 -- once thought to be Tiger Woods' challenger for the top spot in the world -- is still in search of his first major championship.

He'd like nothing more than end that quest next week, while taking full advantage of his prep time at the Golf Club of Houston's Augusta National-like conditions for the rest of this weekend.

"I mean, obviously I feel good, but every week is different," Garcia said. "First of all, we got to finish this week, and hopefully next week I'll be feeling good (and) not too many things will be bothering me health-wise, and then just feel good on the course, hopefully play well and things happen."

Garcia, opening on the back nine, climbed the leaderboard with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch on his front nine. His eagle on the par-5 13th came after sticking his 282-yard second shot to 5 feet, giving him a 4-shot lead following his morning round.

Kuchar, who opened with a 6-under 66 on Thursday, briefly tied Garcia at 12 under late in his afternoon round before closing with a bogey from the fairway bunker on the 18th.

The two will be paired with Matt Jones on Saturday after tournament officials decided to send threesomes off both tees early in the morning in an attempt to beat expected rain in the afternoon.

"If we get some rain and it doesn't blow too hard, of course the course will soften up and the scores will go even lower," Kuchar said. "No telling ... It could be really tough."

The weather was the clearest it's been all week on Friday, with the sun shining brightly and the wind gusting throughout the day at the 7,441-yard Golf Club of Houston.

The windy conditions limited first-round co-leader Bill Haas to a 2-over 74. Charley Hoffman, the other first-round leader, fell to 3 under par overall after a 4-over 76.

Darren Clarke carded to rounds of 75 and misses the cut.

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