��һ�ǿ�����

With the Masters monkey off Rory McIlroy’s back, it might be time for the rest of the PGA Tour field to watch out.

On Monday, the 35-year-old Northern Irishman completed his career grand slam when he won his first Masters title in his 17th appearance at the famed tournament, having to beat Justin Rose in a playoff to get the job done.

Last week’s event was McIlroy’s 11th attempt at completing his career grand slam of major championships, after adding the 2014 PGA Championship and Open Championship to his 2011 US Open title.

With that now completed, Kiwi PGA Tour player Ryan Fox told the Herald we could see the best of McIlroy moving forward.

“I’m chuffed for him. He’s such a nice dude, he’s had heartbreak at Augusta multiple times, he’s had heartbreak in majors multiple times since his last win in 2014 and I can’t think of anyone who had more pressure on them to win a golf tournament than he had on Sunday [local time],” he said.

“He went through so much adversity on that Sunday and still managed to get through it. I’m chuffed for him and I hope he has a damn good celebration.

“It might be time to watch out. That weight’s off his shoulders now and I wouldn’t be surprised if he goes on a bit of a tear and throws a few more majors under his belt now that the pressure’s off.”

Fox, who for the first time in the past three years did not qualify for the Masters, watched through McIlroy’s rollercoaster final round and admitted he felt at times like it was going to be another one that got away from McIlroy.

“That’s the most nervous I’ve been watching golf for a long time,” Fox said. “Granted, I probably don’t watch a lot of golf anymore, but I was riveted to that all of Sunday. I really wanted Rors to win for a lot of reasons. I felt like several times he had the tournament completely done, then all of a sudden he’d hit a couple of bad shots and you’d think, oh no, he’s going to fail again and it’s going to be heartbreak.

“The mental strength and resilience he showed was pretty incredible, to be honest. It was a rollercoaster of emotions to watch. I’m sure most of the golfing world thought the same thing. I can’t imagine what he was feeling inside the whole time on that back nine. It was up and down, that’s for sure.”

After a week off, Fox will return to the PGA Tour tee boxes this week, playing in the alternate field event in the Dominican Republic.

It’s the first time Fox has visited the Caribbean nation, and looms as a good opportunity to bank some points towards his FedEx Cup ranking with the top-ranked players featuring in the RBC Heritage signature event, which is limited to a field of 72 with no cut.

The tournament wasn’t always on Fox’s schedule, but about a month ago he decided to pencil it in, and it was easy to commit to after he missed the cut in the Valero Texas Open in San Antonio a fortnight ago.

With the Corales course at Puntacana Resort being next to the sea, the wind can cause a bit of trouble if it gets up. During a practice round early in the week, Fox was surprised to find himself teeing off with a three-wood on a par three – and that being the right club for the hole in the conditions.

“It’s a cool part of the world. At my age and with how much golf I’ve played, you don’t really get to go to new places that often, so I’ve been enjoying the Dominican Republic so far, that’s for sure,” he said.

“It’s one of those golf courses, I think if the wind stays down, you can definitely shoot some good scores and take the golf course on. If the wind gets up, it’s going to be a bit of a brute this weekend, so I’m definitely expecting it to play a decent factor in the tournament.”

 joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.