Gary Player believes 'fitness, patience' will enable McIlroy to win Masters

Golf legend Gary Player, who has won the Masters three times, believes that fitness and patience would enable world number one Rory McIlroy to handle the back nine Sunday pressure at the Augusta National better than the Northern Irishman's infamous 2011 collapse.

And the nine time Major winner hopes to welcome McIlroy alongside him onto the list of career Grand Slam winners this weekend at Augusta National.

McIlroy is seeking his third Major triumph in a row this week and would complete a career Grand Slam if he wins the Masters, where he led by four strokes entering the final round four years ago only to stumble on the back nine and fire an 80, Sport24 reported.

Player said that McIlroy has had his adversity on the golf course having led, so now the Northern Irishman has got a big challenge. He added that the world number one is going to feel that stretch, but insisted that he's ready to tackle it and is very, very fit.

Player believes that fitness and patience are key.

If McIlroy wins the Masters he would not only join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Ben Hogan, Gene Sarazen and Player as the only golfers to complete the career Grand Slam, he would also become the first European to achieve the feat.

Player also expects McIlroy to know the final holes of the Masters all-too well and expects him to have no tension there. He said that McIlroy could be experiencing that to a great degree this week because he obviously has a chance to win the Grand Slam, which would be a marvelous thing for golf to enhance the Grand Slam.

Player claimed that McIlroy is such a wonderful golfer and such a wonderful young man, adding that he believes the world number one is prepared and his story is the answer. He insisted that McIlroy has worked out extremely hard and he's very fit.