Rory McIlroy enjoyed another impressive year in 2023 and the Northern Irishman will head into the new year with arguably one clear goal.
By the time 2024 comes into view, it will be a decade since McIlroy last won a major, and the Masters, in particular, is the tournament he would surely love to win more than any other to complete the career Grand Slam.
Augusta has proven to be an agonising venue for McIlroy over the years, but he has potentially put himself in a position where he can head to Georgia in April with his best chance of finally ending his wait to put on the green jacket.
Vying for Masters favouritism
The golf sport betting markets currently have McIlroy as the 8/1 favourite alongside Jon Rahm to win the Masters, while his 15/2 price for The Open suggests that is marginally his best chance of winning a major in 2024. He is 10/1 for both the US Open and the US PGA and if you fancy him to win more than one, you can use a bet calculator to work out his odds of doubling or even tripling up.
McIlroy will head to Augusta on the back of missing the cut in the tournament this year when there was a huge sense of disappointment after he had appeared to go into the week in a positive and relaxed frame of mind. But a lacklustre second round in tough conditions, when McIlroy appeared a little tense, saw him miss out on playing the Masters weekend for only the second time since 2010.
He can, though, take heart from his overall performance on the last occasion he missed the Masters cut in 2021. The following year, McIlroy claimed his best finish in the tournament when a three-shot runner-up behind Scottie Scheffler. It is true that he was never in genuine contention to win the tournament as a final-round 64 shot him up the leaderboard but it is a demonstration of his overall mental fortitude.
Even after his infamous implosion in 2011, when McIlroy threw away a four-shot lead in the final round to eventually finish in a tie for 15th after shooting 80, he followed up later that year by claiming his first major when running away with the US Open.
McIlroy rued US Open runners-up finish
While his 2023 Masters performance was a disappointment at the time, McIlroy has acknowledged he most rues finishing second in the US Open this year, a shot behind Wyndham Clark, and he will certainly be fuelled by a desire to end his wait for a major title in 2024.
He claimed two tournament victories on the PGA Tour in the 2023 season, in addition to winning the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour, and he also won the Race to Dubai for the fifth time.
Resigning from his position on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board will also free McIlroy from much of the off-course burden and pressure he has carried over the past 18 months or so.
His game appears to be in solid shape and 2024 could finally be the year when everything comes together for McIlroy to try on the green jacket for size.