London:
Northern Irish Rory McIlroy has branded his missed cut at the Honda Classic as a 'kick in the backside', but insisted that it has given him clarity on what he needed.
Speaking in the build-up to the WGC-Cadillac Championship which starts at Doral, Miami, on Thursday, the world number one said that sometimes one needs a little kick in the backside to make them realize what they need to do.
The four-time major winner's 2015 PGA Tour debut lasted just two days after rounds of 73 and 74 at PGA National. He said that he was disappointed but feels that it has given him clarity on what he needed, the BBC reported.
McIlroy said that he could have approached it two ways, insisting that he could have got really down on myself and wondered where that had come from, or thought that this was the first event after a three-week break and there were things that needed to be sharper.
The Northern Irishman claimed that it was his mother's birthday on Friday so they went out for a nice dinner and then got back to work on Saturday.
McIlroy admitted that he struggled to play his usual controlled draw in the wind at the Honda Classic. However, he appeared to have quickly ironed out the issue by shooting a 63 to win a pro-member event at Seminole Golf Club on Monday.
Following the Miami tournament, McIlroy would play in the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Orlando, before turning his full attention to trying to complete the career grand slam at the Masters in April.
McIlroy said that there is always excitement and anticipation and hype surrounding Augusta and he feels it regardless of whether he is going in there as favourite or under the radar.
