LONDON: Rory McIlroy believes his victory at Bay Hill proves he has what it takes to win his first US Masters next month.
McIlroy entered last week’s tournament in patchy form after missing the cut in two of his four PGA Tour starts this year. But the 28-year-old produced a spectacular final round to claim his first title since 2016, and that has him buzzing ahead of the year’s first major.
“I have even more optimism now,” McIlroy said.
“The win was just more validation that what I’ve been doing has been correct. It all sort of just came together.
“I’m optimistic not just for the next few weeks but for the whole season. It’s great to get a win early. I’ve got all that great stuff to fall back on, how I handled Sunday.
“I’ve always been able to turn negatives into positives. I was feeling quite comfortable going into last week. And hopefully I will continue to have that feeling for a while.”
The four-time major winner has long been talked about as a future wearer of the Green Jacket — his all-round game is ideally suited to the long and testing Augusta course. Except for a memorable final-round meltdown in 2011, which left him in 15th place having led on the 10th tee, he has rarely contended at the Masters. It is the one major McIlroy is yet to win and he has long talked about using the first three months of the season simply as preparation for the famous tournament.
McIlroy’s patchy form until his Bay Hill brilliance left some questioning that strategy. But McIlroy said that winning was his main goal, and he dismissed the idea that silencing his critics gave him extra motivation.
“I don’t care because people don’t know the full story,” he said. “They make comments and they speculate, but they don’t have the facts 100 percent, so they never really know. It’s all speculation.”
Current Open champion Jordan Spieth, Master winner in 2015, said McIlroy is now the player to beat at any tournament — provided the Northern Irishman can maintain his fitness.
“Whether he won last week or not, he is always a force,” Spieth said. “He just needs to be healthy. And I think most of last season, it was a struggle for him.
“So just being rested, healthy and on the right path meant that this year and going forward, Rory is Rory. And so he should always be a favorite at any event.”
Rory McIlroy using Bay Hill to shoot for Masters glory
Rory McIlroy using Bay Hill to shoot for Masters glory
Proud dad Zinedine Zidane watches Algeria beat Sudan 3-0
- Former Real Madrid legend Zidane watches his son Luca keep a clean sheet in the Algeria goal during the Africa Cup of Nations match in Rabat
- Riyad Mahrez scores twice for Algeria, one of the tournament favorites, who move top of Group E
RABAT, Morocco: France great Zinedine Zidane watched his goalkeeper son’s safe hands as Algeria started its Africa Cup of Nations campaign with a 3-0 win over 10-man Sudan on Wednesday.
Riyad Mahrez scored twice and the 20-year-old Ibrahim Maza scored his first international goal for Algeria, one of the tournament favorites, to move top of Group E.
“The most important thing was to start with a win,” Mahrez said. “The last two AFCONs, we didn’t start good. Today, we really wanted to make it happen and we did.”
Zidane, who was at the sweet-smelling Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat to see his son Luca Zidane playing in the Algeria goal, was feted by the crowd every time he was shown on the big screens.
Luca Zidane opted to represent his grandfather’s country after getting the Fennec Foxes’ invitation and he’s been given his chance to shine because of an injury to Alexandre Oukidja, who might have been expected to start otherwise.
Algeria wasted little time Wednesday with Mahrez sweeping in the opener in the second minute after unselfish play from Hicham Boudaoui to set him up.
Zidane was called into action shortly afterward to deny Yaser Awad on a break.
Sudan had to play all its qualification games away from home because of the near 1,000-day old civil war ravaging the country.
Though the Algerians looked confident and played with intensity, the big chances fell at the other end, with Zidane saving again from Awad before Abdel Raouf fired over.
Salah Adil was sent off just as the rain began to fall shortly before the break with his second yellow card for a foul on Rayan Aït-Nouri, who would have been through otherwise.
But the Algerian fans, who were in a majority, needed to be patient.
Mohammed Amoura produced a brilliant cross with the outside of his boot for Mahrez to score in the 61st, and Baghdad Bounedjah headed the ball into Maza’s path for the substitute to complete the scoring in the 85th.
Drama in Casablanca
Edmond Tapsoba completed a remarkable turnaround as Burkina Faso scored two goals in stoppage time to beat 10-man Equatorial Guinea 2-1 in the early Group E game.
Tapsoba’s team had pushed hard for the opening goal after Basilio Ndong was sent off early in the second half for a bad challenge on Bertrand Traoré’s ankle.
Marvin Anieboh then stunned the Stallions when he launched himself at Carlos Akapo’s cross to score with a looping header in the 85th minute.
Georgi Minoungou equalized in the fifth minute of stoppage time and Tapsoba headed the winner three minutes after that.
Later Wednesday in Group F, defending champion Ivory Coast began its title defense against Mozambique in Marrakech and five-time champion Cameroon opened against Gabon in the coastal city of Agadir.
