Masters Results 2012: Poor Showing Proves Rory McIlroy Still Has Room to Grow

Rory McIlory could one day be a dominant force on the golf course, but he is not quite there yet.

The 22-year-old has all of the skills necessary to be successful. He hits the ball long, has great accuracy and is a solid putter. Unfortunately, he has not proven he has what it takes emotionally to win on a consistent basis.

When things are going well, McIlory can keep the momentum and bury his opponents. He proved that in his U.S. Open victory at Congressional Country Club. Not only did he become the youngest winner since Bobby Jones in 1923, but he had the lowest score in tournament history.

However, the youngster still needs to prove he can make adjustments within a round.

It seems that once things start to go south, the golfer cannot prevent things from getting worse and worse.

In last year's Masters, Rory had a lead going into the final day, but a disastrous 10th hole signified the beginning of the end. He ended up shooting an 80, good enough for 15th place.

This time around, things were not too much different.

Although he was not in the lead, McIlory ended the second round one stroke behind the leader. He responded with a Saturday round that included four bogeys and two double bogeys, and he eventually turned in a 77.

If he wants to be able to contend in every tournament, he needs to learn to make adjustments and forget his failures.

Instead, he ended up repeating mistakes in the championship and finishing five over par on the first hole alone.

Phil Mickelson, who has won the Masters three times, had a terrible opening round. However, he stayed focused and is now in the last pairing in the final round. McIlroy should look towards his veteran colleagues to see what it takes to be successful at this level.

The good news is that he has plenty of time to mature. At his age, most people are still living in their parents basement looking for a job. However, it might be some time before we see the type of Woods-esque dominance that fans are expecting.