Wary McIlroy Out To Master Destiny

Northern Irishman stays 'in own bubble' ahead of Augusta finale with career Grand Slam at stake

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AUGUSTA - Rory McIlroy left the Masters on April 12 with a bull's eye on his back and one arm on an elusive Green Jacket after a sparkling performance that put him in the driving seat to complete the career Grand Slam he has been chasing for over a decade.

To join golf's exclusive club as the sixth player to complete the Grand Slam, McIlroy will not only need to outplay his pursuers in the biggest round of his life but tame a course that has caused him plenty of heartbreak over the years.

But McIlroy, who will have Bryson DeChambeau breathing down his neck two strokes back, is a much different player now than the baby-faced version of himself who blew a four-shot lead in the final round of the 2011 Masters with a back-nine collapse.

"I still have to remind myself that there's a long way to go. I, just as much as anyone else, know what can happen on the final day here," McIlroy said after a six-under 66 that left him at 12-under 204 and two shots clear of DeChambeau.