Masters Field 2012: Don't Bet on Rory McIlroy To Erase Demons From Last Year

What does the average 22-year-old think about on a regular basis?

For most, it’s the end of the line in college, time to start thinking about their entrance into the dreaded “real world.” For others, it’s how to get a better job than the one you currently have…or at least one that allows you to get off the eggs and beans diet.  

For Rory McIlroy, it’s how to beat the best golfers on the planet while being one of their biggest targets.

The Northern Ireland native is one of the main men to beat at this weekend’s Masters after a breakout 2011 that watched him blow a four-stroke lead at Augusta National only to destroy the field at the next major, the US Open.

Now he’s a favorite to win this year, and I don’t buy it.

Augusta National brings out the best in golfers because the course never changes. That means the landscape when McIlroy tees off on the 10^th hole, the one he triple-bogeyed last year on Sunday, will be the exact same. Birds, trees, flowers…all of it will be the exact same.

How will he handle that? How can he handle a return to the scene of the crime of what was likely his lowest golf moment ever? It’s impossible to speculate such a question, but being only 22 sure doesn’t help. That’s not a knock on McIlroy’s mental psyche as much as a kid’s who has only been allowed to legally drink in the U.S. for a year and some change.  

I’m well aware Rory isn’t like most people his age, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t human. Plenty of bad memories are going to resurface this weekend and it’s going to be very difficult to fully concentrate on the task at times.

This season he briefly was ranked as the No. 1 player on the tour, but that really doesn’t matter. McIlroy finally has the opportunity to play against Tiger Woods when he’s playing at his best. After notching his first win in 30 months, Woods enters the Masters looking incredibly dangerous. While he may be 0 for 6 at Augusta as of late, he has finished no worse than a tie for sixth over that span.

Woods is the 4/1 favorite to win and McIlroy is right behind him at 5/1. Everyone is hoping the two will be battling each other on the back-nine on Sunday. That will only increase the pressure another notch. There is too much on Rory’s shoulders and while I do believe he’ll be donning the jacket sooner or later, 2012 is not going to be the year.

So when you’re sweating what the boss thinks of you at work, just think back to what Rory is sweating…96 of the best golfers in the world including a guy named Tiger that is on the prowl.

Now that’s pressure. 

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