McIlroy marked his debut appearance at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge with a share of 11th position at 11 under, eight shots behind back-to-back champion Matt Every on Sunday. The 25-year-old McIlroy carded a two-under-par 70 in the final round of the PGA Tour event, having gone 70, 66 and 71 previously.
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Ideally, McIlroy would have preferred to be closer to Every at the end of play, but the four-time major winner was happy with his game as he gears up for next month’s Masters at Augusta.
“I feel like I got what I wanted out of the week, four good competitive rounds,” McIlroy told Sky Sports 4. “I saw some progress on some of the things I was working on last week, but I still need to work on some things ahead of Augusta.
“It would have been nice to get into contention and feel what is was like to have a chance to win but I am happy with my progress and have another couple of weeks to work on some things and hopefully go to Augusta ready.”
McIlroy heads to Augusta on April 9 with a career grand slam on his mind.
With a U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship already under his belt, McIlroy is just one victory away from claiming all four majors. Only six men boast a career grand slam — Bobby Jones (pre-Masters era), Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gary Player and Gene Sarazen.
“I am excited going there with the opportunity to achieve three in a row, the career grand slam,” McIlroy said. “It’s a nice position to be in. I’m going to embrace it, try not to build it up too much. I know it’s a big deal but hopefully I can get my game as good as I possibly can.
“It wasn’t quite the way I wanted to finish but it gives me what I need the next couple of weeks preparing for Augusta. I definitely feel like I’ve taken some strides in the right direction. There’s still a few things in my game I need to tidy up and work on but what I was working on last week, I feel like I’ve made progress in that and I’ve got a couple of weeks to work on some more stuff and hopefully be ready for the start of April.”
