Tiger Woods: Rory McIlroy makes SHOCK Masters claim… It’s not what you think

McIlroy has not won a major tournament since 2014 when he beat his rivals to the PGA Championship and The Open.

A win at Augusta would hand the Northern Irishman a career Grand Slam and he has come close in recent years, finishing in the top 10 for the past four seasons.

But the Masters have also proved to be problematic for McIlroy over the past few years.

In 2011 he held a four-stroke lead going into the final day, only to shoot 80 and squander his chances of a first major. 

And despite finishing eighth in 2014, it was an uncharacteristic 77 in the second round which meant he was unable to challenge.

In 2016 he was breathing down Jordan Spieth’s neck, just one point behind going into Saturday

However, McIlroy fumbled to a 77 while Englishman Danny Willett went on to record a famous win.

This year promises to be different for one huge reason though with a resurgent Tiger Woods returning to the sport.

The 14-time major champion will begin his Masters preparation today in the Farmers Insurance Open with all eyes on him to see how he does.

And McIlroy believes that media attention being on Woods for Augusta will help him over the weekend.  

“I think it’ll be a bit easier on me this year because Tiger will be back,” McIlroy said. 

“I never go into tournaments under the radar anymore, but at least a lot of the spotlight is taken away by him so I can just go about my business, do my thing and prepare for the tournament.”