Here’s a light bulb moment for Rory McIlroy. Thomas Alva Edison, the man who dispelled darkness from our lives with the invention of the electric bulb, is said to have succeeded after failing more than a thousand times.

Well… the 34-year-old McIlroy may not have that much time, but his quest for a first Masters Green Jacket, which would also complete his career grand slam, continues. The travails of the sentimental favourite are becoming as much a part of Masters folklore, as some of the successes we have seen in the past.

Ever since that morbid Sunday in 2011 when he hooked his tee shot into oblivion on the 10th hole, and along with that his chances to make Masters his first major win, it’s been a grind for the Northern Irishman.

To be fair, McIlroy has been brilliant at Augusta National Golf Club. In 15 starts, he has 12 cuts and seven top-10s. But he hasn’t been able to sustain that brilliance over the four rounds.

Since 2014, the year he won the Open and the PGA Championship, the Masters has become as elusive as the Holy Grail for the world No.2.

He has tried various things in his build-up to the tournament – he has played fewer tournaments last year, and he has played more tournaments this year. He has read books with deep insight, and sought out psychologists who can peek deep into his mind. He has concentrated hard on his weaknesses (extended putting sessions with Brad Faxon and Phil Kenyon), and he has tried to elevate his strengths further.

It has all proved futile so far.

With his second place in 2022 to a runaway Scottie Scheffler the best finish of his Masters career – and that included his all-time low round of 64 on Sunday – McIlroy is itching to go one step better.

The changes this week include a trip to Las Vegas to hook up with Butch Harmon, the former coach of Tiger Woods, and coming as late as Tuesday afternoon to the golf course and limiting his pre-tournament press conference to barely 10 minutes.

“This is my 16th 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,” McIlroy said.

“I play 25 weeks a year, and there’s no point in doing anything different this week compared to other weeks. 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 (finished third in Valero Texas Open).

“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. It’s just about going out there and being relaxed and being in the right frame of mind. The more I can do that, the more I’ll be able to execute on the golf course.”

What’s definitely held McIlroy back at the Masters is his inability to get off to a hot start. That would be the key this year in the weather-disrupted opening round, which is now expected to be completed only on Friday morning.

Since 2009, McIlroy has had only two sub-70 Thursday rounds, with his best being a 65 in 2011 that gave him his best chance to slip into a Green Jacket.

McIlroy is playing his first two rounds in the company of world No1 Scheffler and Xander Schauffele.

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