Paul McGinley has questioned whether Rory McIlroy possessed the required 'energy levels' to compete with Patrick Reed on the final day of the Masters.
McIlroy began the final round three shots off the lead but faded badly with a closing round of 74 at Augusta.
Following Reed’s triumph, McIlroy’s wait to complete a career grand slam will have to continue as he seeks to acquire the final piece of his golfing puzzle.
And McGinley believes media duties may have taken more out of McIlroy than he would have expected.
“His confidence dissipated very quickly which was surprising. I don’t know what he did on Saturday night,” McGinley told OTB’s Joe Molloy.
“I think Saturday took a lot out of him, going toe-to-toe with Patrick Reed, the golf that went in, the adrenaline that was going through, the chip-ins, the highs that he was getting that day.
“Then he went in and he had a huge press conference on the Saturday night. And I would question his energy levels, where they were on the Sunday.
“The thing about professional golf at this level – particularly when you’re in the heat of trying to win a major championship – it’s not the physical stuff; it’s the mental stuff – it’s incredibly demanding.
“The demands on your time are huge. The pulls on your mental capacity are huge, particularly for someone like Rory.
“I just saw a guy on Sunday, to be honest – I don’t think it was the pressure – who was out of gas. I just wonder where he’s going to look to say: ‘yes, I gave so much on the golf course and then I had to do another hour and a bit.
“He did a big sit-down with CBS as well as his own press conference. And I just wonder how much that took out of him. He just didn’t seem to have the same mental appetite and competiveness on Sunday that he did for the other three days.”
Written by James Hopper
Download the brand new OffTheBall App in the Play Store & App Store right now! We've got you covered!
Subscribe to OffTheBall's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.
