Rory McIlroy on the ‘problem’ with Patrick Reed and the duel with Cam Smith

There is no doubt that Rory McIlroy will be one of the favorites at this year’s Masters at Augusta. Having been waiting for this major for a long time, the Northern Irishman is now in a position to take advantage of an opportunity of this magnitude. As part of the conversation with the media, one of the topics that were discussed was McIlroy’s supposedly ‘bad’ relationship with Patrick Reed. In his comments to the press, Rory stressed that this does not have anything to do with Reed being part of the LIV Golf family.

“My problem with Patrick isn’t that he joined LIV,” he said, as quoted by mirror.co.uk

“It’s other stuff.”

During the interview, one of the topics was Cameron Smith, a young Australian player who is also a part of LIV Golf. It is Rory McIlroy’s opinion that their potential duel would be both interesting and exciting for the fans. In his mind, McIlroy is only focused on getting as far as possible, and ultimately trying to win this prestigious tournament.

“If Cam and I end up going at it in Augusta, is there an added element for the viewing public? 100%.. But for Cam and I, it will only be about trying to win the Masters. That’s what it comes down to. I’ve been asked about getting paired with any of the LIV guys. We are all in our own heads enough, trying to be prepared and trying to win arguably the biggest tournament in the world that the other stuff pales in comparison to the achievement of winning a Masters.”

Rory McIlroy and his confidence

The Northern Irishman emphasized that this season he is even more confident before the Masters.

“I’m a lot more confident going into Augusta than I was last year, and last year was my best-ever finish,” he continued.

Although he is aware of the ‘confidence trick’, Rory believes that it can help him with this difficult challenge.

“The one thing about Augusta is you can’t go in too over confident. But I feel like I’m driving the ball better, I’ve got a driver I’m more comfortable with and my putting really progressed as the week went on here.”