Rory McIlroy aims to join an elite group at Augusta

The rarity of the feat is testament in itself to how difficult it is to win a career Grand Slam. Only a handful, five men, have thus far managed to win all four of golf's Majors; a quintet of golfers, who, through their own skills, have taken possession of four famed trophies to showcase in their own homes. Now, another is on the verge of joining them. Maybe. Possibly. Probably?

Rory McIlroy is within touching distance of greatness, of also belonging to that elite band of brothers connected in history by their deeds. One more box to tick. One more title. The Masters. A green jacket. One more win, to be mentioned in the same breath as Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.

Of anyone, it seems, the one-time “Boy Wonder” as he was known during a seamless progression from amateur to professional, is the least fazed of all by the pressure of what lies ahead.

He is just 25 years of age but, in so many ways, so much older. The hair, a tad unruly when the trademark Nike cap is removed, and the fuzzy facial hair which somehow, more often than not, manages to escape his razor reveal a boyishness that is part of his appeal. So, too, the twinkle in his eyes.

But, inside, as he has shown time and time again down the stretch, is a man with a cold heart. He has ice in his veins. McIlroy knows how to get the job done. This is his first shot at the career Grand Slam and, interestingly, history tells us that three of the famous five managed to achieve the feat at the first time of asking: Sarazen, when he captured the 1935 Masters; Hogan, when he won the 1953 British Open to get his Slam; and Woods, when he added the 2000 British Open to his CV to claim his first of three.

“The sense of occasion, or whatever?” wonders McIlroy, figuring out why it should have been accomplished by the trio when the pressure was greatest. Then, a hint to his own maturity. “I’ll not get ahead of myself.”

It is eight months since McIlroy captured his fourth career Major, the US PGA, in the gathering darkness at Valhalla. It was a second straight Major, having claimed the British Open at Hoylake. Now, at the Masters, he will be going for a third straight Major title to complete the Grand Slam.

Learning his craft

In his own, honest way, McIlroy admits thoughts of a Grand Slam were not something that occupied him when learning his craft on the parkland course of Holywood Golf Club.

“I never looked at records really, it’s just [about] what I wanted to do myself. There’s an interview with me when I’m seven or eight years old and I’m saying, ‘I want to win all four Majors’, that ‘I want to be the best golfer in the world’. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It’s just me. I never wanted to try and break records or looked at someone else and said, ‘I want to do that’. I wanted to win the biggest tournaments in the world and I wanted to be the best player in the world.”

He adds: “I just want to be the best player I can be because I know if I can do that, then it’s hopefully going to be better than anyone else.”

He has won the biggest tournaments. He is the best player in the world. McIlroy comes into Augusta as the number one ranked player, a position he has held ever since returning to the top spot following his WGC-Bridgestone Invitational success last August.

In total, he has topped the rankings for 74 weeks in his career. His is the name people look for on the leaderboard these days. His, not Woods, is now the intimidating presence.

What’s it like in the spotlight? Those with greatness tend to embrace it, using it as an extra weapon in the armoury. In McIlroy’s case, it’s like a 15th club.

“I enjoy being in this position. I think you have to. If you’re not enjoying it, why have the ambition to be there? Being in the spotlight is a good thing because you’re playing well and people are interested in what you’re doing in the game.”

Last leg

McIlroy has had eight months to get ready for this attempt to complete the last leg of the Grand Slam.

The last man to come into Augusta on the back of two straight Major wins was Pádraig Harrington, who entered the 2009 Masters on the back – like McIlroy – of wins in the previous season’s British Open and US PGA.

In Harrington’s case, he was chasing what became known as the “Paddy Slam”. In McIlroy’s case, it is the full monty, the real deal: the Grand Slam itself.

How will McIlroy cope? “He’s well able to handle it, because he has to. It’s a bit like Tiger. Tiger was brilliant at managing it because that was his life, and it’s become Rory’s life . . . I remember going for three-in-a-row, there was a lot more hype. But, you know what? There was a saturation point with hype. It didn’t feel like trying to win three was any different to trying to win one, or another. I got to that level.

“So, as much as there would be more hype on Rory to win three-in-a-row, there will be the same hype next year regardless of what he does this year,” Harrington says.

McIlroy also tends to do things his own way, to be his own man. Sure, he has talked to Nicklaus and more recently to Arnold Palmer, a man who never got to claim the Grand Slam but who mastered Augusta.

“I’ve always been one to try and figure it out for myself. Any little snippets of advice I’ve got have been put to me rather than sought,” McIlroy says.

Elite club

If McIlroy wins the Masters, he joins the most elite club in golf. Five will become six. He’ll be rated alongside legends of the game.

“I guess I don’t really want to think about it like that, because I enjoy my life as it is now. I feel I can walk around and do the things I want for the most part. I don’t ever envisage getting to a level where it’s going to be uncomfortable for me.

“Sure, there are times I wish I could do certain things that I can’t just because it’s hard to or you get too much hassle or whatever . . . we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. But I’d say my profile was pretty big at the moment.”

If he were to win at the Masters, his profile will go through the stratosphere.