Rory McIlroy has revealed how a conversation with Phil Mickelson around 15 years ago helped him to finally end his misery at The Masters.

The world No 2 became the sixth male golfer, and the first European, to complete the career Grand Slam when he beat Justin Rose in a play-off last April, ending an 11-year wait for his fifth major and the Green Jacket that had so long eluded him.

But it was Mickelson’s words of advice during a practice round in the past that helped change McIlroy’s perception of the iconic Augusta National course.

“I think Augusta over the years has made me quite tentative at times, especially with approach play, and I think once you get tentative, you can start leaving yourself in some really bad spots, and it’s hard to get up and down,” McIlroy said.

“I played a practice round with Phil Mickelson, maybe 10 or 15 years ago, probably closer to 15 years ago, and I always remember he said to me, ‘Rory, one of the reasons I love Augusta National is because I feel I can be so aggressive here’.

“I remember thinking, ‘what does he mean?’ I feel the opposite. I feel I can’t be aggressive here because there’s so many bad places to miss.

“But Phil had so much, still has probably, faith in his short game that if he does miss an approach shot by being aggressive, he still feels he can get that ball up and down.

“I think, I would say by becoming a better putter and by maybe working on my short game a little bit and becoming better around the greens, that probably allowed me to become more aggressive with my approach play at Augusta.

“I think that’s been a big part of the reason why, now that I’ve eventually won there, but why my play has gotten better there over the years.”

McIlroy described the morning after his victory as unparalleled in his career. “I woke up and I just had to make sure that it wasn’t a dream, people talk about those pinch-me moments and it really was like, ‘did that really happen?'” he added.

“I talk about the morning after getting the world No 1 and having this sort of empty feeling. I didn’t have that with this, it just made me feel incredibly grateful for everything that’s happened in my life.”

McIlroy had been hampered by a back injury ahead of The Players Championship last week and the defending champion drifted out of contention over the four days.

But he gave a promising update about his current fitness.

“I’m really pleased with how my body responded to that ‌little setback,” said McIlroy, adding that he planned to put in some work over the next few weeks before making further trips to Augusta National.

Who will win The Masters? Watch the opening major of the year this April exclusively live on Sky Sports. Live coverage of the opening round begins on Thursday April 9. Get Sky Sports or stream with no contract on NOW.

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