'It's just a matter of me' - Rory McIlroy makes honest assessment of his form after disappointing Masters week

Rory McIlroy conceded he needs to get his game ‘in better shape’ following his latest Masters disappointment.

The popular Holywood ace was well off the pace at Augusta National as two over-par rounds - including a 77 on Friday - saw him finish the tournament in green numbers on four-over.

His 292 strokes over the four days represents his second highest in the 16 attempts he’s had at winning the season’s opening majot, falling just short of the 293 total he ran up in 2012 to finish tied-40th.

McIlroy finished tied for 22nd this year as he was unable to get to grips with the strong winds that affected his game on Thursday and Friday. His putter then let him down on both Saturday and Sunday as the low scores many had hoped for never materialised.

The Ulsterman, whose best finish on the PGA Tour this season came at the Texas Open last week - admitted work needs to be done in order to get himself in position to challenge for this year’s other remaining majors. Nothing significant is needed straight away, he said. Nevertheless, McIlroy knows there’s improvements must be made.

Speaking after his one-over-par final round at this year’s Masters, he said: ‘I guess (my Masters performance) is more the same of what I've shown this year. It's not as if it's been a down week in comparison to the way I've been playing. It's just a matter of me trying to get my game in a bit better shape going towards the rest of the season.

‘I need to take a little bit of time and reflect on this week and what I did well, what I didn't do so well, and sort of try to make a plan for the next few months, especially from here going through obviously to the end of July.

‘Because all these disappointing weeks are 20ths, 25ths. They're not terrible weeks by any stretch, but there's a lot of room for improvement.

‘I'm close in some ways, but then I feel quite far away in others. It's a bit of a - once I get one thing, sort of put that to bed, then another thing pops up, and it's just one of those at the minute.’

McIlroy has added next week’s RBC Heritage at Hilton Head to his schedule in an attempt to play his way back into form. The season’s next major is the USPGA at Valhalla between May 16-19.

When asked what was currently missing from his game, the world No2 said: ‘Just a little bit of control, I think, with the ball-striking, especially in those sorts of winds. It really exposes any weaknesses that you may have. That Friday definitely exposed a few things.

‘As the golf course changes here, you just have to be so precise, and I wasn't quite precise enough this week.

‘(It’s) probably not the right time to be analytical at the moment, but I think as well if you're really going to make wholesale changes it's hard to play a lot of golf and make them at the same time. 

‘I don't feel like I need to make wholesale changes. That's why I'm playing a lot. But if the time comes that I need to make wholesale changes with my golf swing and really try to reassess, it could be a six-month to a year process.

‘(I’m) not saying I wouldn't play any tournaments in that time, but the focus would be on the sort of technical side of things and really not result driven at all. I don't think I'm there yet, but there may come a time where I need to address that and really go back to the drawing board.

‘But I think right now it's little tweaks here and there and managing my game. I really feel like I can sort of play my way into form here over these next few weeks.’