McIlroy can handle any Masters pressure - Lowry

McIlroy and Lowry are both aiming to win the Masters for the first time in their careers

Rory McIlroy can "handle" any pressure that comes his way as he looks to complete a career Grand Slam at the Masters, Shane Lowry says.

The Masters is the only major missing from McIlroy's collection and the Northern Ireland golfer is looking to win a first major since the PGA Championship in 2014.

Lowry, who won the 2019 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, has a best finish of tied for third at Augusta in 2022.

"Obviously there is a lot of pressure on him, but I think he's at a stage now where he's able to handle it," Lowry said on McIlroy.

"He's won everything there is to win at golf and I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to give it a run this week."

Lowry says both he and McIlroy are "in good form" and have prepared well for the annual major at Augusta.

McIlroy starts his bid at 18:12 BST on Thursday alongside Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia, while Lowry tees off at 18:23 with Bryson DeChambeau and Hideki Matsuyama.

'If it's not me I hope it's him'

Shane Lowry's best finish at the Masters came in 2022 when he finished tied for third

Despite the attention being on McIlroy's Grand Slam hopes, Lowry says he still feels a lot of pressure and winning the Masters would "be a very special thing to happen".

"If it's not me, I hope it's him," Lowry said on McIlroy.

"I've spent a lot of time with Rory over the last few years, coming into this week [ahead of the Masters].

"He's won everything there is to win at golf and I wouldn't be surprised if he was able to give it a run this week.

"I think there are a couple of players, who if you finish ahead of them then you'll have a chance. He's one of them."

Irishman Lowry added he plans to take the "bull by the horns" as he looks to win his second major title and says he is "feeling good" about his game.

"I'm excited for the week. The biggest thing for me this week is I need to lower my expectations a little bit and just go and play my game and see where that leaves me at the end of the week," added Lowry.

"I've been doing well over the last while and put myself in contention, but that doesn't give me any given right to go and do it this week.

"It's about going back to basics and see what happens."