“Easier said than done” – Nick Faldo reflects on Rory McIlroy’s mental battle ahead of the Masters 2025

Nick Faldo reflected on Rory McIlroy's mental game ahead of the Masters. The Northern Irish golfer last won a Major in 2014 and is looking to break the decade-long winless streak at Majors.

McIlroy came close to a victory at the 2024 US Open, held at Pinehurst No. 2 golf course, but unfortunately lost the title after struggling on his final few holes of the Major.

The first Major of the year, The Masters 2025, is just looming around the corner, and ahead of that, Sir Nick Faldo opened up about Rory McIlroy's game at the Majors. He talked about the World No. 2's ten-year winless streak at the Majors while also speaking of his mental game (8:25 onwards):

"Physically, he’s got it. Technically, he’s got it. Mentally — where is he, mentally? That’s always the conundrum with Rory, isn’t it? It’s the key to it. You know, we’ve now gone 10 years on. He’s got the battle of trying to delete 10 years of this gap and say to himself, 'Look, I match the best player in the world right now.' And he is," Faldo said.

"And if he can just get out of his own way — you know, easier said than done — to delete... You know, we all know how fragile our game is. When you miss that two-footer on the 16th at Pinehurst, it’s a ridiculous game," he added.

The Masters has been the only event Rory McIlroy still struggling to register his win in. He won a total of four majors so far in his career including the PGA Championship (2012, 2014), US Open (2011), and The Open Championship (2014). His best at the Masters was a runner-up finish that he recorded in 2022.

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What are Rory McIlroy's odds to win the Masters 2025?

Rory McIlroy has been remarkable with his game this season on the PGA Tour and is considered one of the top contenders for the Masters 2025, which will take place from April 10 to 13 at the Augusta National. Per BetMGM, his odds for the event are +650 while Scottie Scheffler is the top favorite.

Here are the odds of the golfers playing at The Masters 2025 (via BetMGM):

• Scottie Scheffler (+450)
• Rory McIlroy (+650)
• Collin Morikawa (+1400)
• Jon Rahm (+1600)
• Ludvig Aberg (+1600)
• Bryson DeChambeau (+1800)
• Xander Schauffele (+2000)
• Justin Thomas (+2200)
• Hideki Matsuyama (+2800)
• Joaquin Niemann (+2800)
• Patrick Cantlay (+2800)
• Viktor Hovland (+2800)
• Brooks Koepka (+3000)
• Jordan Spieth (+3000)

Meanwhile, this season, Rory McIlroy started the game at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a victory. He played the four rounds of 66, 70, 65, and 66 to register a win in the game followed by T17 at the Genesis Invitational and T15 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

He had another victory on the PGA Tour this season, which came at the Players Championship followed by his T5 finish at the Texas Children's Houston Open.