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As time goes on, it will only get harder for Rory McIlroy. The four-time major champion embarks on his 15th appearance at the Masters this week as he tries for the ninth time at Augusta National Golf Club to complete the career grand slam. Just five men before him -- Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen -- have claimed golf immortality by winning all four majors in their careers.

The Northern Irishman, meanwhile, has been bookmarked as the next to knock on heaven's door for more than a decade. Though he has been unable to come through to this point, the 33-year-old McIlroy has one prominent name so deep in his corner that he nearly guaranteed a green jacket victory at some point before Rory wraps his career.

"He will [win the Masters]. It's just a matter of time," said Woods of McIlroy. "Rory has the talent. He has the game. He has all the tools to win here. It's just a matter of time. A lot of things have to happen to win at this golf course. A lot of things have to go right. I think Rory has shown over the years he's learned how to play this golf course, and you just have to understand how to play it.

"He's been there. Last year, he made a great run, put himself there. But I think that it's just a matter of time -- whether it's this year or next or whenever it comes -- he will get it done, and he will have a career grand slam. It's just what year it will be; it will definitely happen."

McIlroy arrives at this year's tournament in as good of form as ever, both physically and mentally. Fresh off a third-place finish at Match Play where he defeated 2022 Masters champion Scottie Scheffler in the consolation match, the 33-year-old is among many prognosticator's selections to don the green jacket come Sunday evening.

While the West Coast Swing on the PGA Tour, plus The Players Championship, did not yield the desired results, it may have actually brought McIlroy closer to winning the tournament he desires most. Switching from a TaylorMade spider putter to an old Scotty Cameron Newport blade model, McIlroy cited the ability to be "creative" on the greens. The results in Austin, Texas, gave substance to his words. 

A new shaft in his driver gave McIlroy's greatest ally a renewed freshness and a returned pop we have grown accustomed to seeing (and hearing). The metrics, the equipment changes, the words, they are all great. But that's usually the case. It has never been or will be about that for McIlroy. Not at this tournament at this time of year.

"I think you have to go through everything, right?" said McIlroy recounting his experiences at Augusta National. "Like it's not -- I don't think -- not every experience is going to be a good experience. I think that would lead to a pretty boring life. You know, you have to learn from those challenges and learn from some of that scar tissue that's built up. 

"I felt last year that I maybe shed some of that scar tissue and felt like I sort of made breakthroughs. Yeah, I'm feeling as sort of relaxed as I ever have coming in here just in terms of I feel like my game is in a pretty good place. I know the place just as about as well as anyone. But yeah, good experiences, bad experiences, it all adds up at the end of the day, and you probably learn a bit more from those bad experiences, and I feel like I've done pretty well at sort of putting those lessons into my play and being better because of them."

McIlroy fired one of the most memorable rounds in recent Masters history last year by a non-winner. Alongside Collin Morikawa on Sunday, he signed for a bogey-free 8-under 64, tying the final round scoring record in the process. It was capped off by mayhem rarely seen on the 18th green at Augusta National when both he and Morikawa holed bunker shots mere moments apart.

Childlike exuberance engulfed McIlroy. His arms flailed like an inflatable tube man at your local car dealership. A smile as wide as the Lower 48 was painted on his face. McIlroy had no chance to catch Scheffler in last year's tournament, but for those who watch that shot without context, one might think it was he who claimed the title.

"I don't think I've ever walked away from this tournament as happy as I am today," McIlroy said at the time. "I've played a really good round of golf, and it's my best-ever finish at Augusta. It's not quite enough, but I'll certainly look back on this day with very fond memories."

It is in that manner in which McIlroy must play if he is to claim the final leg of the career grand slam. He must play like a young Rory McIlroy -- the one sponsored by Oakley with curly hair and a chubby face -- not necessarily in his mind or the way he methodically attacks this golf course but in his heart. 

His knives have sharpened, his knowledge has grown and while experience can be a beautiful thing to lean on when times are tough, innocence and natural instinct at a place like Augusta National for a player like McIlroy may actually be more suitable.

"Bob Rotella tells me all that time. When you were 6 years old, did you read a putt? No, you went purely on instinct," said McIlroy. "And usually instinct is -- as you proceed to get smarter and get more wisdom, you start to question that instinct more and more. But every time you go back to it, it seems like that instinct is the right answer at the start. So yeah, the more we can -- you know, there's a lot of us that play golf in this room. The more that we can be childlike on and around the greens, the better, I think."

Despite what McIlroy's tournament record may suggest -- he has seven top 10 finishes in his last nine appearances -- rarely has he struck a shot on the second nine on Sunday at the Masters with substantial meaning. That was until the 72nd hole in 2022 when the kid in him finally returned at Augusta National. 

Sometimes you must be willing to look back in order to move forward. McIlroy is no different, and if able to harness the joy and euphoric feeling from that one single shot a year ago and channel it towards 72 holes of brilliance, the experiences (both good and bad) will all be worth it.