AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy had every reason to believe the Masters would be the first major he won. He was 21 with no scar tissue, only brown, curly locks spilling out of his cap. And most importantly that Sunday afternoon in 2011, he had a four-shot lead.

Now it’s the only major he hasn’t won. That’s been the chatter chasing McIlroy down Magnolia Lane for the last 11 years. And it’s never been louder.

Is this the year he joins the most elite club in golf with the career Grand Slam?

“It’s noise,” McIlroy said Tuesday at Augusta National. “It’s just trying to block out that noise as much as possible. I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play throughout the year.”

Right.

“Look, I understand the narrative and the noise, and there’s a lot of anticipation and buildup coming into this tournament each and every year,” he said. “But I just have to keep my head down and focus on my job.”

He has tried playing the week before the Masters. He has taken off the week before, sometimes three weeks before. Nothing seems to work. This year brings something new — winning. For the first time, McIlroy comes to Augusta National having won twice this season, both against strong fields on famous courses (Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass).

Is this the year?

History is not on his side. Only five players have the career Grand Slam of all four professional majors. Only three of them knew what they were playing for — Gary Player (1965), Jack Nicklaus (1966) and Tiger Woods (2000).

None of them had to wait longer than three years to get the final leg.

Arnold Palmer, who cooked up the notion of the modern Grand Slam in 1960, played the PGA Championship 34 times without ever winning to complete the slam.

Tom Watson had 24 cracks at the PGA Championship and ended his career one leg short of a slam.

Phil Mickelson gets one more try at the U.S. Open.

McIlroy is playing the Masters for the 17th time. Only one player has made more appearances before finally wearing the green jacket — Sergio Garcia on his 19th try.

Perhaps more surprising than McIlroy not already being a Masters champion is how few chances he has had since he lost that four-shot lead with an 80 in the final round in 2011.

He was runner-up in 2022, but that was the year Scottie Scheffler blew everyone away and walked up the 18th fairway with a five-shot lead. He was in the last group with Patrick Reed in 2018 and had practically all of Augusta National throwing their support behind him. McIlroy shot 74. Reed won the Masters.

No, this is not just another tournament, and McIlroy knows it.

McIlroy is an avid reader and said he now has brought fiction into his world. He’s reading a John Grisham novel.

“The Reckoning,” he said with a smile. “It’s got off to a pretty good start.”