Phil Mickelson issues telling Rory McIlroy comments as star faces Masters 'challenge'

Phil Mickelson has expressed sympathy for the pressure Rory McIlroy is under as he aims to secure his first Masters title and complete the career Grand Slam - but he's in no doubt that his European rival can block out the noise.

The coveted Masters title remains the only major championship missing from McIlroy's impressive resume, which boasts four major wins between 2011 and 2014. However, since his second PGA Championship victory at Valhalla over a decade ago, the Northern Irish golfer has been in pursuit of his fifth major win.

McIlroy's quest for the elusive green jacket has been widely covered, and he carries plenty of pressure on his shoulders every time the Masters comes around.

As this year's tournament approaches, chatter about McIlroy finally breaking his Masters drought has intensified, particularly given his recent form on the Tour, which includes two victories this season. After winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, he clinched The Players Championship last month, and he'll now be aiming for a third win in Georgia next week.

Mickelson, a three-time Augusta champion and six-time major winner, waited several years before claiming his first major victory at the Masters in 2004. He recognises the similar pressures McIlroy is facing but believes his rival has the skill to rise above the surrounding buzz.

"Yeah, that's challenging," Mickelson acknowledged when discussing McIlroy's efforts to ignore the talk about his Masters hoodoo. "But he's done it so many times in his ability to win tournaments. He's been able to compartmentalize that. I don't think that's going to be an issue for him. I think he drives the ball so long and straight that he has a huge advantage on that golf course.

"He and about 20 guys that drive it like he does will have an advantage of playing it a certain way. They can play it a certain way that is much more aggressive and take advantage of holes than some others, than guys like myself."

Mickelson further commented on McIlroy's skill to focus on his game and cut out the background noise.

"You still have to execute, you still have to hit the shots, and I think that's what he's focused on," he continued. "I think his ability to compartmentalize all the things that have transpired in the past is a strength of his, so I don't think it'll be an issue or I don't think that's what's holding him back from winning the Masters."

As LIV Golf members prepare to join their PGA Tour counterparts at Augusta, Mickelson seized the opportunity to express confidence in his own performance: "I'm always just absolutely blindly confident in my abilities.

"I think all of us up here, every time we tee it up, we think we're going to win, and that's why they have accomplished a lot of what they have and everything that they have."

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