• European Tour

McIlroy faces 'very difficult' period - Montgomerie

ESPN staff
April 12, 2011
Rory McIlroy finished ten shots behind Charl Schwartzel at The Masters © PA Photos
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Rory McIlroy will have to cope with the scars of his Masters meltdown for months, according to Ryder Cup captain Colin Montgomerie.

McIlroy was on course for his maiden major title when he begain the final day at Augusta with a four-shot lead - but he finished ten strokes off eventual winner Charl Schwartzel.

The 21-year-old imploded on the back nine, with a triple-bogey at 10 the low point, as he struggled to cope with the pressure being heaped on his shoulders by the chasing pack.

He has the chance to bounce back immediately this week at the Malaysian Open, which begins on Thursday, but Montgomerie is not expecting a positive response to the Masters disappointment.

"I just hope he has as many sympathetic voices as possible over the next few months," Montgomerie said. "It's going to be a very difficult few months for him and I hope he gets the support he requires for his career to move forward from this. This is a huge learning curve for Rory McIlroy."

Although McIlroy can take consolation in the likelihood he will contend at Augusta again, Montgomerie has warned that there are no guarantees he will find himself in such a promising situation in future.

"You can never say that," he said. "We said [Sergio] Garcia would win multiple majors. You have to be fortunate. Everybody who's won here has had a real stroke, or strokes, of luck. There's never a person who's stood up here and said they were unlucky.

"With Nick Faldo's first two wins, Scott Hoch had a two-foot putt to beat him. Ray Floyd hooked it in that pond. That's luck on the other side. You've got to have fortune in that way."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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