That’s the advice from Sky Sports’ ‘voice of golf’ Ewen Murray, who believes the weight of expectation and the opportunity to achieve immortality in the sport has blurred McIlroy’s vision when he steps onto the first tee at Augusta National.
Eleven long years have passed since McIlroy last won a Major title, with his PGA Championship win at Valhalla in 2014 an increasingly distant memory.
His dream of winning The Masters is complicated each year by his pursuit of history, as he will join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods on the list of players to win all four Majors if he finally lands the golden prize at The Masters.
Yet that pursuit of golfing greatness cannot be at the forefront of his mind as he plays at Augusta for a 17th time, with veteran broadcaster and former European Tour player Murray telling the Irish Independent that he needs to focus on the positives ahead as he targets his ultimate goal.
Sky Sports’ ‘voice of golf’ Ewen Murray
“Rory needs to forget the bad things that have happened to him at The Masters because there haven’t actually been that many,” said Murray, who will guide us all through the drama of another Masters on Sky Sports from this Thursday.
“In his 16 visits to Augusta, he’s had 58 rounds, 34 of them have been under par and he hit shot 64 in his final round as he finished second in 2022. That is a good record.
“Everyone remembers the 2011 meltdown when he blew a big lead on the final Sunday, but he was a young lad there at 21 years of age.
“He is much more mature now and should come in this time feeling extremely confident after a strong start to 2025.
“Clearly, the pressure of winning The Masters is magnified for McIlroy by the prospect of joining the five legends who have won all four majors. That weighs pretty heavily on his shoulders at the start of Masters week, and that’s understandable.
“We are talking about golfing immortality if he wins The Masters next week and joins Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as the only players to achieve that feat, but he needs to put that to the back of his mind, however difficult it might be.”
The spotlight always shines with more intensity on McIlroy at this moment in the golfing year and expectations around him are heightened this year after his impressive start to 2025.
World No 1 Scottie Scheffler. Photo: Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images
His final-day collapse at the US Open last year added to the agony of his wait to win a fifth Major championship, but Murray suggests McIlroy could look to dilute the attention around him by orchestrating a low key Masters build-up in the coming days as he prepares for a battle with Scottie Scheffler.
“All the talk will be around Scheffler and McIlroy and their potential head-to-head for the green jacket, so I would advise Rory to step back from that,” continued the Scottish broadcaster, who will celebrate 35 years on Sky Sports in 2026.
“Let the hype build without you and then step in when the time is right. The earlier he gets there, the earlier the pressure will build.
“Rory set the bar of expectation so high with the success he had at the start of his career. I remember him winning the US Open by eight shots at Congressional in 2011.
“Then he won his two PGA Championships and the expectation was he would continue to win Major after Major, but it’s tough to do that these days.
“There are some great players out there and the equipment they use now has levelled up the field massively; they are all playing on beautifully conditioned golf courses and you need your A-game.
“What Rory has done over the last few weeks is show his game is there and his win at The Players on a difficult, difficult course must have given him a lot of confidence heading into Augusta.”
While Murray is backing McIlroy to contend for The Masters, he is looking to Xander Schauffele to back up his two Major wins last year with another strong showing at Augusta.
“Scheffler will be the bookies’ favourite, with McIlroy just behind him, but Xander Schauffele is the one to watch for me,” he added.
“He won two of the Majors last year and is a very different player than he was at The Masters a year ago. He’s done well there in the past as he finished second to Tiger Woods there in 2019.
“Another one to look out for is Justin Thomas. He has played a lot of golf this year and has a couple of Majors in the bag already.
“Viktor Hovland is a fine player who was in contention at Augusta when Jon Rahm won two years ago.
“I would also put Tyrrell Hatton up there as one of my favourites. He is the complete golfer. A great driver and a great putter. That said, he does have some problems with his temperament. If he can find four calm days, it would not surprise me to see Hatton winning The Masters.”
Enjoy 50% more live coverage than ever before of The 2025 Masters, exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW from 10 April.