With trip to Butch Harmon, late Augusta arrival, Rory McIlroy hopes for Masters success

SAN ANTONIO – What feels like wholesale change is nothing more than an attempt to keep things simple, according to Rory McIlroy.

Before flying to Texas for this week’s Valero Texas Open, McIlroy spent Monday and Tuesday at Augusta National Golf Club for a scouting trip to prepare for next week’s Masters.

Last week, the world No. 2 met with legendary swing coach Butch Harmon in Las Vegas for a “second set of eyes” on his swing and he explained on Wednesday at TPC San Antonio that he plans to limit his preparation next week at the year’s first major.

For McIlroy, it’s his most recent attempt to find the right formula that will pay off and deliver the career Grand Slam.

“The one thing with Butch is, you go spend time with him and you’re always going to feel better about yourself at the end of it whether you’re hitting it better or not,” McIlroy said. “He’s sort of half golf coach, half psychologist, in a way. It’s fun to go out there, I went and spent probably four hours with him in Vegas. He said a couple of things to me that resonated. It’s the same stuff that I’ve been trying to do with my coach, Michael [Bannon].”

As for his schedule and the decision to add this week’s event, McIlroy said it’s part of a broader process that he hopes will pay off at the Masters and beyond.

“The results haven’t been what I would have liked, but I’ve learnt a lot about where my game is,” he said. “If I hadn’t had played as much over the past couple of months, I maybe wouldn’t have started going down this path that I’m on and just sort of trying to clean up the technique a little bit. I’m working on a couple of slightly different things than I was working on before.”

McIlroy also said he doesn’t plan to arrive at Augusta National until Tuesday and will limit his practice to two nine-hole practice rounds to be rested and ready for what is the year’s most demanding week, both physically and mentally.