McIlroy sets sights on completing Grand Slam at Masters

AUGUSTA, Georgia :Talk of Rory McIlroy winning the Masters has become an April tradition in the golf world and the Northern Irishman ensured that chatter will continue at Augusta National this week after putting together his best-ever start to a PGA Tour season.

Given his talent, stature and course fit, McIlroy naturally commands attention at Augusta but this year feels different as wins at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship gave him two PGA Tour titles before April for the first time in his career.

In addition to McIlroy's confidence being sky-high, some experts feel there are other things lining up in his favour, including his main adversaries perhaps not being quite at the top of their game.

"The ones that are apt to give him his greatest challenge, you could all say are a little off their game and Rory has never been in a better spot going into the Masters," said Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee. "From a technical standpoint and a mental standpoint, this is Rory's."

A win this week would not only give McIlroy his first major since the 2014 PGA Championship but also put him in the company of Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan and Gary Player as the only players to complete a career Grand Slam.

The 35-year-old McIlroy, who possesses a game considered ideally suited for Augusta National, feels he is a more complete player now than at any other stage of his career.

"I'm a better putter. I'm better around the greens. I can flight my ball better in the wind. My ability to shape shots both ways," he said after The Players Championship.

"Really I'm managing myself more around - by no means did I have my best stuff this week, but I was still able to win one of the biggest tournaments in the world. That's