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McIlroy says improved swing will click at Masters

Associated Press
Published | Updated

LONDON – Rory McIlroy is confident the changes he's made to his swing will work in time for the Masters in April.

The 22-year-old Northern Irishman has been working with longtime coach Michael Bannon on improving his swing setup.

"I still feel it's going to take a couple more weeks to fully click in," McIlroy said Wednesday. "But it's definitely on the right track."

McIlroy leaves for the United States on Monday to play in the Accenture Match Play Championship, which starts Wednesday. The Masters begins April 5.

McIlroy opened his season by finishing second in Abu Dhabi and fifth in Dubai last week, when he revealed he'd been working on a "few fundamentals" in his swing.

"Posture was one of the key things, and just a little bit of swing plane," McIlroy said. "I was setting the club a little steep on the way back, so the club was getting a little bit across the line at the top.

"So Michael and I have been working on me getting more feel, and getting the club pointed a little more left at the top so it's on the right plane. That's basically it."

He added: "I should be well and truly ready for Augusta."

McIlroy famously collapsed on the final day of the Masters last year, blowing a four-shot lead with a closing round of 80. But two months later, he won his first major at the U.S. Open and finished the year at No. 2.

After a strong season in 2011, McIlroy believes he's on track at the start of the new year.

"I feel like I have taken big strides this year in my game and in the way I am swinging the club and in my consistency as well," he said. "So I've had a second and now a fifth. And even if you don't have great weeks, but then you still managed top-fives, that's not a bad thing."

He's still got seven weeks to perfect his swing before the Masters.

"Hopefully, there will be a day when it all clicks and it comes easy to me," McIlroy said. "As for the time being, I still have plenty of swing thoughts I am thinking about out on the golf course."