43 days until golf: McIlroy's meltdown at the 2011 Masters

The PGA Tour plans to restart its season June 11 after halting due to the coronavirus pandemic. Each day until then, we'll highlight key moments, people, or facts relating to where we are in the countdown.

This was it. Rory McIlroy - the heir to Tiger Woods' throne - was going to win the 2011 Masters for his first major title at the age of 21. He was leading by four going into the final round, with the weight of the golf world on his shoulders.

Despite an opening bogey and looking nervous to start, the Northern Irishman was able to stay ahead as he made the turn at Augusta National. By then, his lead had dwindled to a single shot over Angel Cabrera, Charl Schwartzel, and K.J. Choi, with Tiger lingering two back.

It still appeared to be his time though, as he played nearly flawless through 63 holes. If McIlroy could get through holes 10-12 unscathed, the green jacket would be his to lose.

But it wasn't meant to be.

McIlroy began his meltdown by hooking a drive on No. 10 between two houses people didn't even know existed near the Augusta property. He wound up making a triple-bogey seven to open the second nine, dropping outside of the top five.

After the triple, McIlroy bogeyed No. 11 and made a double-bogey on the par-3 12th, all while seeing his best chance to win a green jacket slip through his hands over three holes.

McIlroy carded a 7-over 43 on the back nine en route to a final-round 80. His disastrous Sunday put him in a tie for 15th and 10 shots behind Schwartzel, the eventual winner.

Augusta haunts McIlroy to this day, as the Masters is the only major championship standing between him and the career grand slam.