Mcllroy admits wife and daughter are helping him block out Augusta noise

RORY MCILROY will block out the noise surrounding his latest bid to win the Masters by watching Bridgerton with his wife and reading a John Grisham novel.

- BY NEIL MCLEMAN at Augusta

And the relaxed and smiling Ulsterman revealed his young daughter Poppy, who is also with him in Augusta this week, is only now realising he is famous.

This was a very different McIlroy from the player who arrived at the Masters last year and took only seven questions in his tetchy pre-tournament press conference.

Then, the weight of his historical bid to complete his career Grand Slam here appeared a huge weight on his shoulders.

Speaking about trying to win a Green Jacket again - and joining the exclusive career Grand Slam club - seemed like a trial.

Fast forward 12 months, and the world No.2 is back in Georgia after winning two PGA Tour events before the Masters for the first time.

And open and engaging, he was ready for the questions about another year of expectation before his 17th appearance here.

"It's just narratives," said McIlroy. "It's noise. It's just trying to block out that noise as much as possible.

"I need to treat this tournament like all the other tour-naments that I play throughout the year.