Rory McIlroy says his Lasik eye surgery to help his golf game has worked saying it enormously helps his putting and short game he told the Daily Telegraph in an interview. Lasik corrects nearsightedness or farsightedness. McIlroy has worn contact lenses for poor vision for years.

Tiger Woods had the surgery in 1999 and won three majors the year after. “No pressure then!” McIlroy laughed. “Listen I’ve wanted to do this since I was 18, but I wanted to be in position that if anything did go wrong I’d still be OK. I’ve always struggled with my eyes, especially in the summer with hay fever, when you’re rubbing your eyes and sometimes things get under the contact lens and so it becomes blurry. But, I mean, it’s only been a week since I had it done and it’s amazing.

“My vision is so sharp. It has to help putting, help me read the lines on the greens, where there is definitely room for improvement. What the doctor said was that it might just be the same vision as you have with your contact lenses when you are far away but close up - 20, 30 metres - is when people notice the sharpness.”

Speaking of his  arch rival Jordan Spieth, McIlroy said he will find it far more difficult in 2016.

“It will feel completely different for Jordan,” McIlroy said. “If you look at the stats at how those who have had a double-major season have performed the next year… well, it’s hard to back up. It just is. There’s so much expectation, so much attention and focus. And I think it is more self-inflicted pressure really as your expectations are so high.

“This time last year mine were through the roof coming off a great season, winning those back-to-back majors and although I started well I never felt I really got into my stride with the injuries and stuff.”Augusta and the Masters will be his major target in 2016.

“A lot of the goals will be of a similar nature to the ones I set out last year. Obviously Augusta is important and I will be playing two extra events leading up to it,” McIlroy said. “I want to get in a full rhythm where it doesn’t feel like the start of the season, but feel like I’m ‘played in’.

“There have been times there where I’ve thought I’ve been playing well, but only making par and then you looked up and Jordan Spieth is 12-under for two days. I’m not saying I was undercooked this year, but I definitely won’t be next year. I’m playing [the Northern Trust Open at] Riviera for the first time and with the WGC Matchplay moving dates, Augusta will be my eighth event.”