McIlroy, Kaymer Head to Malaysia After Masters Collapses

Rory McIlroy isn’t taking any time off after his epic implosion at Augusta last week as he’ll tee it up at the Maybank Malaysia Open along with world number one Martin Kaymer and Charl Schwartzel, the newly crowned Masters champion.

Most are well aware that McIlroy went into the final round at Augusta National with a four shot lead and held the lead thru the front nine, but a disastrous triple on the 10th hole was the beginning of an unraveling that saw him plummet to a 15th place finish.

It would be logical to think the young Northern Irishman needs some time to get over such a painful finish, but McIlroy was surprisingly realistic and upbeat after his collapse and it looks as though he had already begun putting the disaster behind him.  Of course, we’ll find out early in Malaysia just what effect, if any, his Sunday at Augusta will have on him going forward.

A lot was expected from Martin Kaymer in his first major championship as the world number one, but his performance was more than forgettable.  Kaymer opened with a 6-over 78 and never recovered easily missing the cut.

Regardless, Kaymer still exudes mountains of confidence and has already posted a series of quality results this year, including a 2nd at the Accenture Match Play where he lost to Luke Donald in the final. His performance at the Masters can be chalked up as a bad week and not signs of any systemic problems with Kaymer’s game.

One shouldn’t expect a whole lot from Charl Schwartzel this week.  The man who donned the green jacket on Sunday has got to be exhausted after a career changing week, followed by a considerable celebration and then a flight to the other side of the globe.

If he is in contention in Malaysia, it would hardly be surprising if he fades late in the tournament as the adrenaline from his major win is bound to run out at some point.

Schwartzel’s countryman Louis Oosthuizen is also in the field in Malaysia adding to a considerable group of players who made the global trek from America to Malaysia.

Certainly, he’s a notable player in the field as the defending Open champion, but his recent results have created some concern as to Oosthuizen’s current form.

He missed the cut at the Masters and has only one top-25 in his last five events, an 18th at the Cadillac Championship.  However, it’s not really time to push the panic button as the South African already has a European Tour win under his belt in 2011 taking down the African Open in early January.

Golf is a puzzle without an answer. I've played the game for 40 years and I still haven't the slightest idea how to play    - Gary Player