Rory McIlroy makes new Masters strategy clear in uncharacteristic press conference

Rory McIlroy’s new Masters game plan was evident in an unusually brief press conference, which was even shorter than his Masters run last year. After a swift 11 minutes and just seven questions, the session concluded.

This is all part of his fresh strategy for his 10th attempt to secure the career Grand Slam at Augusta. He’s ramped up his tournament play in the lead-up, including participating in the Valero Texas Open last week, and even jetted off to Vegas for a four-hour masterclass with Butch Harmon.

The world No.2 also made an early trip to Augusta National last week for two solid days of practice, returned home on Monday, and only got back to the course by Tuesday noon. Albert Einstein once famously said: “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

And it seems the Masters has indeed been driving McIlroy to distraction. He was poised to triumph in 2011 before a disastrous final round 80, and each subsequent tournament – along with the relentless questioning about his prospects – appears to become more challenging.

Now nearly a decade removed from his last Major victory in August 2014, McIlroy is starting to mirror Colin Montgomerie, who went to great lengths in his quest for a first Major during the twilight of his career. The Scottish golfing icon would turn up weeks in advance for a US Major, then arrive the day before, experiment with crash diets, and subsequently regain the weight.