( CNN ) -- Rory McIlroy has been reflecting on his meltdown at the Masters , after the 21-year-old squandered a four-stroke lead going into the final round at Augusta , eventually carding an eight-over-par 80 to finish 10 strokes behind winner Charl Schwartzel . Speaking to the official Masters website , the Northern Irishman said : `` I 'm very disappointed . `` I was leading this golf tournament with nine holes to go , and I just unraveled . Hit a bad tee shot on 10 , and then never really recovered . It 's going to be hard to take for a few days , but I 'll get over it . '' McIlroy is not alone in crumbling on the back nine whilst leading the Masters and joins a famous list that includes great names such as Ben Hogan , Arnold Palmer , Scott Hoch and Greg Norman . Can McIlroy conquer mental minefield ? And McIlory admitted that when he missed the fairway on the 13th hole , he knew his Masters dream had died . `` I 'd knew that unless I birdied my way in , I realized I did n't have a chance , '' McIlroy said . `` I realized that was it then . `` But this is my first experience at it and hopefully the next time I 'm in this position I 'll be able to handle it better . `` I did n't handle it particularly well obviously , but it was a character-building day , put it that way . I 'll come out stronger for it . '' And , speaking on his Twitter feed , McIlroy quoted Muhammad Ali , saying : `` It 's repetition of affirmations that leads to belief -- and once that belief becomes a deep conviction , things begin to happen . '' McIlory also received some words of encouragement from Schwartzel who said : `` Golf is a really funny game -- one moment you 're on top of it , the next moment it bites you . `` Rory is going to feel hurt . It 's not easy what he went through . He is such a phenomenal player and he will win one . `` The first just happens to be the toughest , and that may be the biggest lesson of all , '' added the South African .
Rory McIlory has spoken about his final round heartbreak at the Masters . The 21-year-old wasted a four-stroke lead to finish 10 shots behind Charl Schwartzel . The Northern Irishman also quoted boxer Muhammad Ali on his Twitter page .