Predictions for Rory McIlroy in 2015 Following Masters Showing

One of the biggest storylines heading into the 2015 Masters was Rory McIlroy's pursuit of the career Grand Slam, a feat only six golfers—Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen, Gary Player, Bobby Jones, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods—had previously accomplished.

Unfortunately for the world No. 1, 21-year-old phenom Jordan Spieth stole the show—and the headlines—following his record-tying 18-under victory at Augusta National. That means completing the career Slam will have to wait at least one more year for McIlroy.

Despite finishing fourth, the Northern Irishman has plenty of positive takeaways from the year's first major.

He struggled to find his form early in the tournament, playing the first 27 holes in three over par. In typical McIlroy fashion, he caught fire thereafter and played the remaining 45 holes in 15-under—an average of one birdie for every three holes.

McIlroy shared his thoughts on his play during a press conference, via Brian Wacker of PGATour.com: "I can take a lot of positives from it. I did a lot of things I wanted to do well. I played the par fives well. Just left myself too much to do after 27 holes of this golf tournament."

He added:

"

It's just a matter of putting it all together. When I missed it, I didn't miss it that much but when I missed it I missed it in the right spots and I was just a little more efficient and got it up-and-down. I holed out a bit better (Saturday) and today. So all those little things sort of add up and especially when margin of error is so small here.

"

While things didn't exactly click for McIlroy early on, he began to find his rhythm over the final two days of the tournament when he totaled 10 of his 12 strokes under par. His ball-striking was crisp and accurate both off the tee and on his approach shots, and his blemish-free round of 66 on Sunday was a testament to that.

In fact, if the world No. 1 had been able to get his putter going—he tallied 31 putts in each of the tournament's final two rounds—things may have been a little tighter toward the end of the final round. That's a pretty scary thought considering McIlroy was 12 strokes off the pace through 36 holes.

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It's easy to assume McIlroy will be disappointed with his overall showing at Augusta. His goal was the career Grand Slam and his first green jacket, and he was unable to complete the task. However, his ability to rebound after a rocky start and finish strong will provide him with a great deal of momentum and confidence heading into the thick of the season.

There are three more majors—the U.S. Open, Open Championship and PGA Championship—remaining this year, and along with other prestigious tournaments such as the upcoming Players Championship, Tour Championship and World Golf Championship events, there's still time for McIlroy to come away with yet another dominating year—and that's exactly what we should expect.

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In 2014, things began to click for McIlroy in the Open Championship, as he won the major for the first time and moved to second in the world. He continued to ride that momentum to win two more consecutive tournaments—the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and PGA Championship—en route to securing his position as the world's top player.

McIlroy is arguably in better form right now than he was at this point last year. He has already found his groove and has a win (in Dubai) and two other top-five finishes to his name, whereas in 2014, he didn't notch a victory until the European Tour's BMW PGA Championship in late May.

But what about the surging Spieth? Won't he steal some of McIlroy's thunder?

Probably. Although, this isn't anything new for the Northern Irishman. When he went on his phenomenal run late in 2014, he had to deal with Rickie Fowler's tremendous hot streak—the end result was zero wins for the American. Simply put, it's nearly impossible to overtake McIlroy when he's at the top of his game.

Considering the world No. 1's fast start to the 2015 season, expect him to notch at least one more major victory before the year is over. But which one?

The Open Championship is being played at St. Andrews this year. The last time it was held at the Old Course in 2010, McIlroy fired an opening round of nine-under to take the early lead. He wound up finishing tied for third due to a devastating 80 in Round 2. Still, he finished strong in the tournament and should have plenty of confidence when he returns in 2015. He'll get the win this time around.

At year's end, it would be difficult to see McIlroy winning fewer than five tournaments. He'll retain the world's No. 1 ranking and enter the 2016 Masters with the same goal in mind—the career Grand Slam.