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Published 14:01 22 Dec 2021 GMT
Updated 14:03 22 Dec 2021 GMT
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"It hasn't felt as hype-y as 2015, when it was just like I was on the cover of every magazine, going in there. "I played well; finished fourth. Jordan [Spieth] just absolutely obliterated everyone else and had an awesome week. I shot 12-under par for the week and played okay, but it wasn't anywhere near good enough to hang with him that week."McIlroy says he, like many top golfers, often has to battle with the game not becoming a grind. His marriage and birth of his first child, in recent years, have provided him with some fresh perspective on life, but he admits he does look at old pictures and videos of himself and wish he could rediscover that carefree golf of old.
"I look at that kid and that's where I want to be - in love with the game. Absolutely in love with the game; can't wait to see what's next. That's the sweet-spot, in terms of the mindset, and that's where I'm trying to be."
"I've broken enough clubs. I wasn't going to do that again! "It was like, 'What is this fascination with this ripped shirt?' I didn't try to rip it down to the nipple! Especially in Dubai, an Islamic country where that's sort of frowned upon - showing skin. "I was so frustrated. I wasn't playing my best on Sunday. I was okay, I was still tied for the lead. I was like, 'Okay, 15 is a birdie hole. Birdie this hole, see what happens'. I hit this lovely little pitch shot from 50 yards. Hits the pin, comes [back] into the bunker. "After that, I tried to go for a birdie on 16 and rammed a putt from 30 feet about eight feet by and missed it coming back. I wasn't going, 'Oh gee, poor me'. It was more, I'm such an idiot for reacting to that bad break the way I did. That's what I was angry about. "Happy for Collin - he played awesome, birdied five of the last seven and he deserved to win - but my reaction to getting a bad break was, 'You dumbass! What was that?' That was why I was angry. That's why I ripped the shirt. Two weeks later, I'm in the Bahamas and still getting asked questions about it and was like, 'Why?!'"McIlroy says he asked his long-time manager Sean O'Flaherty if he could pop into the pro shop to get him a fresh shirt before he could head off from the course. Heading into 2022, he still badly wants that Masters green jacket and is not going to shy away from it. He quotes Dr Bob Rotella, the 'mental coach' he has worked with over the past stretch.
"What's wrong with chasing your dreams?"
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