Rory McIlroy will be hoping history is on his side at this week's Masters Tournament, after the opening round at Augusta National was delayed due to weather conditions on Thursday.
The first 18 holes of the major season was set to get underway at 8:00 a.m. local time, but heavy rain and stormy conditions saw this delayed by over two hours. This is of course not the first time the Masters has fell foul of the weather, nor a major championship for that matter.
McIlroy is in Georgia this week keen to end his 10-year wait for a fifth major title, with the Northern Irishman gunning for his first green jacket in a bid to finally complete the career Grand Slam.
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Interestingly all four of McIlroy's major victories have involved a weather delay in the 2011 U.S. Open, 2012 and 2014 PGA Championship and 2014 Open Championship. There is no doubt the 34-year-old will need more than just a weather pattern to go his this way this week, as he looks to finally get over the line at Augusta.
The Northern Irishman comes into the opening major slightly under the radar, having finished inside the top-25 on four occasions, and the top-five twice so far this season. McIlroy does also have a win to his name in 2024, having won a record fourth Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club in January.
His latest outing came just last week, after the European star impressed at the Valero Texas Open by finishing in third at 11-under-par for the tournament. The Masters has proven to be somewhat of a monkey on McIlroy's back so far in his career, and in a bid to improve his chances this time around, is planning on treating the week like any other event.
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Speaking pre-tournament he said: "This is my 16th start in the Masters, so I feel like I've done it quite a few different ways, and I guess just trying to bring a little bit of normalcy into what I sort of try to do week in, week out. I play 25 weeks a year, and there's no point in doing anything different this week compared to other weeks, I guess.
"I wanted to play quite a bit leading up to this just to feel like my game was sharp or, if it wasn't sharp, to try to get it in the best shape possible. I feel like I made a couple of good strides in that direction last week in Texas. Yeah, it's just sort of nice to get home after a week and reset.
"And then I usually try to get into tournaments either Monday nights or Tuesday mornings, and that's sort of what I've done this week. I came up here last week to play two practice rounds at the start of the week. So I feel like I've already got most of my prep work done.
"So it's just about going out there and being relaxed and being in the right frame of mind. And the more I can do that, the more I'll be able to execute on the golf course." The Northern Irishman will kick off his opening round at 6:12 p.m. (BST) on Thursday alongside Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.
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