We're just six days away from the Masters and, as always, that means a whole lot of focus on Rory McIlroy.
You know the spiel at this stage. The Irishman has won every other major but has never been able to claim a green jacket. He's been close on many an occasion but it's never fallen right for him.
Every single year, golf fans across the world, and Irish sports fans, will convince themselves that this is Rory's year (this author included).
It's not jus the Masters where we have these discussions. In reality, it is almost 11 full years since McIlroy last won a major, at the 2014 PGA Championship.
He has been in contention at almost every major in the intervening period, especially over the last three years. His near-misses at the 2022 Open and last year's US Open were particularly gut-wrenching, especially as he was not blameless in his own demise.
And so, as we fast approach the biggest week of the year at Augusta, one podcast has drawn attention to an uncomfortable comparison between Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods.
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Gap between Rory McIlroy major wins approaching Tiger numbers
As Rory McIlroy enters the Masters, he will be hoping to finally end his 11-year drought at majors and finally claim his first green jacket.
The Foreplay podcast had a remarkable stat that puts the length of time since McIlroy's last major win into perspective.
At the beginning of his career, McIlroy was compared to a young Tiger Woods, and was tipped to take his place as the new main man on the PGA Tour, as Tiger faded out of contention at the top level.
One of the greatest golf stories of recent years saw Woods win his 15th major at the 2019 Masters. It was an extraordinary, unexpected triumph, after years of injury issues and private problems had effectively nullified Woods as a threat at the top level.
Most golf fans had accepted that Woods would never win another major, such was the length of time since his last win.
The wait between Woods' win at the 2008 US Open and his win at the 2019 Masters was 3,954 days. Remarkably, McIlroy is fast approaching that total.
A hat-tip to the Foreplay golf podcast, who revealed earlier this week that McIlroy had waited over 3,880 days since his win at Valhalla in 2014.
@foreplaypodINSANE stat of the day: Rory’s major drought is approaching the same number of days as TIGER WOODS from ‘08-2019.
Astonishingly, if McIlroy does not win at either the Masters next weekend or the PGA Championship in May, the time since his last major will surpass Tiger Woods' on June 8th.
It puts into perspective just how long Rory McIlroy has been waiting for that elusive fifth major.
And, despite it all, we'll all go into next weekend's Masters with a touch of hope that maybe, just maybe...this one could be the one.
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