McIlroy reflects on missed cut

Rory McIlroy may have missed the cut at last week’s Honda Classic, but insists he will use it as motivation for 2015.

In his first outing on the 2015 PGA Tour, the Northern Irishman slumped to seven over after disappointing opening rounds of 73 and 74, giving him the weekend off.

“Sometimes you need a little kick in the backside to make you realise what you need to do,” the four time Major winner told BBC Sport .

“I was disappointed but I feel it has given me clarity on what I needed. I could have approached it two ways. I could have got really down on myself and wondered where that had come from, or thought ‘this was the first event after a three-week break and there were things that needed to be sharper’.

“It was my mum’s birthday on the Friday night so we went out for a nice dinner and then got back to work on Saturday.”

McIlroy has one Major outstanding if he wants to complete the career Grand Slam, and that is the Masters.

However, he will be preparing for the assault on Augusta by playing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay before turning his attention to the iconic tournament.

“There is always excitement and anticipation and hype surrounding Augusta and I feel it regardless of whether I am going in there as favourite or under the radar,” added the 25-year-old.

“It is the first major of the year and really the start of the golfing season for the general public. Right now I am taking it week by week. After Bay Hill I will start to think about it more and every practice session will be looking ahead at the shots I need.

“I think the best way to go in is to have confidence but sometimes if you go in with low expectations that can help as well. If things were to go the right way at Augusta I would not care if I had gone in there with two wins or two missed cuts.”

McIlroy will tee off at this week’s WGC-Cadillac Championship on Thursday, where he will attempt to tame the infamous Blue Monster at Doral.

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