McIlroy gearing up for Masters challenge

Rory McIlroy has tweaked his 2016 schedule to make sure he plays more tournaments in the lead up to April’s Masters.

The Augusta showpiece is the only major missing from the 26-year-old’s CV and he will try to make sure he is in top form heading to the Georgia venue next year.

The Northern Irishman managed his best performance in the year’s first major in 2015 when finishing fourth behind first-time winner Jordan Spieth.

And it was the Texan who dominated the sport throughout the rest of the year, with victory in the US Open while he was also in contention in the other two majors.

McIlroy’s season was curtailed by injury and he was forced to miss the Open Championship but is now more determined than ever to bounce back.

He will play more golf than usual in January, February and March to make sure he is ready to take on Spieth and world number two Jason Day when a Green Jacket is on the line.

“If I can get off to a good start next year, I can get back to number one going into the Masters,” he said. “I’m going to play two more tournaments leading up to Augusta in April.

“I need to feel I’m right in the middle of the season at Augusta. Over the last couple of years, I’ve played pretty well at Augusta but I’ve got off to a little bit of a slow start each time.

“Whether that was because I was a little bit under-golfed, that definitely won’t be the case in 2016.”

Tagged Rory McIlory