Rory McIlroy will bounce back despite his inexperience

Rory McIlroy will be feeling it right now. I am sure everyone at home watching on television felt for him. I know I did. It was a horrible thing to happen. It is important in moments like these not to panic and to remember the positives.

McIlroy is one of the most talented players in the game. He has time on his side. His age and inexperience counted against him in the Augusta crucible. That is understandable. He is 21 for goodness' sake. When I was his age I was in my second year of university, not taking a four-shot lead into the last day at the Masters.

A benefit of youth is that you bounce back quickly. One hopes the experience of losing will instruct him next time around.

Rory spoke about controlling his own ball. He was right. I would have been ramming that message home to him on Saturday night. You can only play your own ball.

Remember that you are going out last. Someone will eat into your lead by the time you tee off. But you have holes in hand. Play your own game and do not let the environment influence you.

Rory knew all this but did not have the wherewithal to put theory into practice. That is what we call experience. And there is only one way to get that. The standard of play is so high at the top echelon of the game. There is never going to be an easy win, but he will learn from this, and I hope he will come back stronger for it.

I felt he was caught between stools: whether to attack or defend. From the first hole he did not seem to know how to respond. After 15 minutes his lead was gone. I was thinking before he started that if he could hang on through Amen Corner it would be great. But his lead was gone in a hole and a half. It was not so much what Rory had done wrong at that point. Yes, he bogeyed the first. That can happen. But he could not have foreseen Charl Schwartzel's start, chipping in at the first and holing his approach at the third.

Under pressure

Rory was under pressure from the whistle almost. The first thing to go under pressure is the putter. And that showed. You can still swing freely off the tee, but when the flat stick goes you are in trouble.

He still had a lead at the turn and that is when he made a big error in judgment, going with the driver. I know he was driving it well but under pressure a straight-faced club is just more difficult to control.

The previous 11 players through the 10th used a three-wood, including Angel Cabrera, who drives the ball with a high hook, perfect for that hole. Rory was unlucky. It could have kicked out. But it went left and a seven resulted.

The four-putt at 12 was all about what happened at the 10th. He was white when he stepped on the 12th tee, you could see he was mentally shot. He said he would be back in a couple of days, but wow!

That is something to come back from. If he is back and ready to compete at the US Open in June that will be great. After the 10th his state of mind was all wrong. He was consumed with a fear of what he had lost rather than what he might gain.

A one-shot lead became a two-shot deficit. The hole was gone. Instead of focusing on that he should have been thinking positively about the holes still to come.

Bo Van Pelt eagled 13 and 15. That's four shots. It wasn't terminal at that point but Rory's head was crowded with disappointment. His response was emotional.

Again I don't blame him for that. For those who are not familiar with the Masters, this is a massive tournament, arguably the biggest deal in golf.

You cannot ignore the weight of trying to win this event. I have been in the last group on Saturday and I led after the first round once. I can tell you it is not easy to control everything in those circumstances. Every fibre of your being is under the cosh. And situations like these have to be managed. When you are leading an event and the field closes in it is absolutely hellish.

But Sunday proved too big a hurdle for a young man of 21. He showed great character to set aside his anguish to congratulate the champion on his win. Schwartzel did brilliantly to finish with those four birdies. He reached out to win the Masters. That's what champions do. Rory is good enough. He will be back all the stronger for this.