McIlroy to 'shield myself from outside noise'

Rory McIlroy has said he will try to "shield myself" from the "outside noise" as he prepares for his latest bid to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters this week.

The Northern Irishman, 33, says that putting himself in a "bubble" is key to his preparation at Augusta.

"I try to shield myself from it," he said when asked about expectations.

Speaking to BBC Sport Northern Ireland, the world number two added that he tends not to read news articles or watch the build-up to the year's first major on television.

When asked if he finds it easy to insulate himself from speculation about his chances of finally conquering Augusta, McIlroy said: "Yeah, it's something I've just had to do here over the last few years. It's actually, a bit of a digital detox. I don't look at my phone as much.

"Whenever I go home, I'm certainly not watching anything to do with golf, it's usually a movie Poppy (his daughter) wants to watch, so it's actually a nice way to get away from it.

"I try to put myself in my own bubble for the week. It's the only way that I know how to shield myself from all the noise."

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McIlroy's had a complicated relationship with Augusta over the years. In 2011, he held a four-shot lead going into the final round only to shoot himself out of contention.

Last year, he finished his tournament with an eight-under 64 to finish second to Scottie Scheffler, and while he encountered another major near-miss at The Open, he arrives at Augusta with four wins since June and a third-place finish in his last start, at the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play Championship.

"I'm excited and I'm pretty confident too," he added ahead of his 15th Masters appearance, which sees him grouped with American Sam Burns and South Korea's Tom Kim for the first two rounds.

"I feel like my game's rounding into good form. Started the year off pretty well, struggled at The Players but played well at the Matchplay and figured a couple of things out.

"My game's in good shape. I don't feel like I need to do anything differently here. The way I've played over the last 18 months, if I play like that I'll have a good chance."

Only five players - Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods - have won the career Grand Slam and McIlroy admits the prospect of joining that elite club makes him more nervous at Augusta than at any other course.

"I think with the experiences I've had at this place, I definitely feel more nervous on the first tee here than I do at any other tournament.

"But I'd guess other players would say the same thing. There's such a build-up to this tournament, the last major championship was played eight or nine months ago.

"The build-up is huge for this one compared to the others and I think all of that culminates into a few more nerves on the first tee."