Brandel Chamblee Bullish on Rory McIlroy Finally Winning ‘Nemesis’ Masters

Since 2011, the golf world has been anxiously waiting for Rory McIlroy to slip on the green jacket—and this year might be his best opportunity.

Rory McIlroy winning the Masters would make him the sixth player to complete the career grand slam. / Adam Cairns-USA TODAY Network

Since his final-round 80 in the 2011 Masters, the golf world has been anxiously waiting for Rory McIlroy to slip on the green jacket at Augusta National. 

And Golf Channel’s Brandel Chamblee feels like this could finally be the year. 

“This Masters is his to win or lose,” Chamblee said on an NBC/Golf Channel Live From conference call. “From a technical and mental standpoint, this is Rory’s. There has never been a better week for him to win the Masters.”

McIlroy, who won his fourth and last major title in 2014, has won two of the PGA Tour’s biggest events this year: the AT&T Pebble Beach-Pro Am and Players Championship. He also placed T5 last week at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, despite an ailing elbow. 

The 35-year-old Northern Irishman has seven top 10s in 16 appearances at the Masters, but close only counts in horseshoes. 

“I would say that Augusta National is the Miranda Priestly to Rory McIlroy's Andrea Sachs," Chamblee said, referencing The Devil Wears Prada. “It is literally his nemesis. It brings out the worst golf in Rory annually that we see. He annually underperforms there. He hits on average about 42 greens. On average, the winner hits about 52. There are things about that golf course that have been very problematic for him.”

Paul McGinley, another Golf Channel analyst and 2014 Ryder Cup captain, echoed Chamblee’s sentiment. 

“The biggest challenge for Rory is the mental one,” McGinley said. “And I know that (golf psychologist) Bob Rotella has been a huge influence on him in the last 18 months and I think he’ll have him very well-prepared now. This is not his first rodeo going into the Masters working together. They’ve had two or three runs at this now, and I think they will be coming up with a plan in terms of taking that pressure and decimating it and putting it aside.”

Chamblee also notes that many of the top players in the world, such as Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, haven’t had their A-game this season. 

“(McIlroy’s) chief opponents are all a little off their game,” Chamblee said.

If McIlroy doesn’t become the sixth player to complete the career grand slam at this year's Masters, there will still be more chances. But this might be his golden opportunity.

“We keep saying he’s got plenty of time, and he does,” Chamblee said. “This is a golf course that bows a little bit to age and experience, and from a power standpoint, he’s never been more powerful, metaphorically and literally. It’s his if he takes care of business.”