Rory McIlroy’s Journey to the Masters
Rory McIlroy is set to drive down Magnolia Lane at Augusta National as a Masters champion for the first time, and he’s determined to savor every moment of the experience. While he has now completed his career grand slam by securing the green jacket, this achievement does not mean that his competitive spirit has diminished. In fact, McIlroy believes that winning the Masters once will make it easier for him to do so again.
“This is going to be the first time I drive down Magnolia Lane and it’s all going to be about enjoying my week,” said the world number two. “You know, enjoying the perks that come along with being a Masters champion: having a parking space in the champions car park to using the champions locker room, hosting the dinner on Tuesday night.”
Once the festivities settle on Thursday, McIlroy will switch into game mode and aim to join an elite group of players, including Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, and Nick Faldo, who have won back-to-back Masters titles. He acknowledges that his form in recent events hasn’t been ideal, but he hopes that returning to the course where he achieved his most emotional victory will help.
“I’ve won it once, and I feel like that will make it a bit easier for me to win again,” he added. “I don’t think there was any round of golf that I’d played before that can compare to the feelings and the emotions I went through that Sunday.”
While the pressure may not weigh as heavily on McIlroy, he is still expected to contend, just like world number one Scottie Scheffler, a two-time Masters champion whose form has been inconsistent over the past two years. Scheffler recently withdrew from the Texas Children’s Houston Open due to family reasons, as his wife Meredith is expecting their second child. If he was looking for a good omen, their son Bennett was born just weeks after Scheffler’s second Masters victory in 2024.
Time at home, which Scheffler values above all else, might allow him to reset. Despite his record at Augusta — he has finished fourth, first, 10th, and first in his last four appearances — rivals may see this as a potential weakness.
One player eager to take advantage is Bryson DeChambeau. Last year, he was in the final group with McIlroy but saw his chances slip away when he double-bogeyed the 11th hole. The American, who has toned down his previous brash claims about Augusta National, comes into the tournament with some form after back-to-back wins on the LIV Golf circuit. However, questions remain about the quality of the Saudi breakaway tour.
Jon Rahm, another LIV Golf player, has also been performing well. Unlike DeChambeau, Rahm already has experience of wearing the green jacket, having won it in 2023 before defecting to the LIV Tour.
Contenders for the US Masters
Here are some of the likely contenders for the 90th Masters:
Rory McIlroy
As the defending champion and world number two, McIlroy is a must-include. However, his form has not been where he would like it to be, following a back problem that forced his withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational. His return to the Players Championship ended in a disappointing joint 48th place. McIlroy has said he will enjoy his return to Augusta, but the occasion may prove too big for him.
Scottie Scheffler
Scheffler aims to win a third green jacket in five years. Known as Golf’s “Mr Consistent,” he started the season with a win, a third, and a fourth place in his first three starts. However, he has struggled with poor first rounds in his last two events. Despite this, his knowledge of Augusta and strong recent performances make him a serious contender.
Bryson DeChambeau
DeChambeau is one of two in-form LIV Golfers after winning back-to-back events in Singapore and South Africa. The American, who finished sixth in 2024, started last year’s final round in the last group with McIlroy but eventually dropped to joint fifth. His game appears to be trending in the right direction.
Jon Rahm
As the other LIV Golfer, Rahm is also in with a chance. This year, he failed to convert 54-hole leads in Saudi Arabia and Adelaide but won in Hong Kong and lost a play-off to DeChambeau in South Africa. He has had three top-10s in his last five major starts and has a win and four top-10s in nine Augusta outings.
Ludvig Aberg
The 26-year-old Swede saves some of his best performances for the Masters, finishing runner-up on his 2024 debut and seventh last year. Two top fives in his last two events suggest he is starting to find his form again just in time for the ride up Magnolia Drive.
Matt Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick, Aberg’s Ryder Cup team-mate, is arguably the player with the best trajectory. He entered last year’s Masters outside the world’s top 70 but returns in a career-high fifth after two wins and nine other top-10s in his last 19 starts. Agonisingly lost the Players at the 72nd hole but bounced back the following week to win the Valspar Championship. Fitzpatrick has not missed a Masters cut since his debut 12 years ago and if he can find some form with the putter, the 2022 US Open champion is in with a shout.
Xander Schauffele
After his double-major-winning 2024, the American struggled last year after being hampered by an early-season injury but has returned to something close to his best form. Has the ability to find a hot streak and shoot low, evidenced by rounds of 65 in five of his seven events this year. Five top-10s in eight appearances suggests he knows how to handle the course.
The Course at Augusta National
The 90th Masters will take place at Augusta National from April 9-12. Here, the Press Association provides a guide to the course and ranks the holes from one (most difficult) to 18 (least difficult) based on how the course played in 2025.
1st (Tea Olive), 445 yards, par four: A deep bunker on the right of the fairway and trees both sides make for a daunting start, while long and left of the undulating green both spell big trouble. Played the hardest hole on the course in 2012 and again in 2017.
2025 average: 4.166 (rank 6)
2nd (Pink Dogwood), 585 yards, par five: A new tee adds 10 yards to a hole which cost Padraig Harrington a nine in 2009, but Louis Oosthuizen memorably holed his second shot for an albatross in the final round in 2012. An important early birdie chance and the easiest hole in 2016, 2020 and 2023.
2025 average: 4.615 (rank 18)
3rd (Flowering Peach), 350 yards, par four: Shortest par four on the course but a pear-shaped green with steep slope in front allows for some wicked pin positions. Charl Schwartzel pitched in for eagle in the final round en route to the title in 2011.
2025 average: 3.909 (rank 15)
4th (Flowering Crab Apple), 240 yards, par three: The back tee – not always used – turns it into a beast, with the green sloping from back to front. Phil Mickelson took six in the final round in 2012 and finished two shots outside the play-off. Jeff Sluman’s ace in 1992 remains the only hole-in-one.
2025 average: 3.209 (rank 5)
5th (Magnolia), 495 yards, par four: Jack Nicklaus twice holed his second shot in 1995 and Colin Montgomerie did it in 2000, but it is another devilishly difficult green. To clear the fairway bunkers requires a 315-yard carry and the hole was lengthened by 40 yards for 2019.
2025 average: 4.324 (rank 1)
6th (Juniper), 180 yards, par three: From a high tee to a green with a huge slope in it. There have been five holes-in-one – including Jamie Donaldson in 2013 – but Jose Maria Olazabal took seven in 1991 and lost by one to Ian Woosnam.
2025 average: 3.020 (rank 11)
7th (Pampas), 450 yards, par four: What used to be a real birdie chance has been lengthened by 35-40 yards, while trees were also added and the putting surface reshaped. A very narrow fairway and more bunkers – five – around the green than any other hole.
2025 average: 4.091 (rank 10)
8th (Yellow Jasmine), 570 yards, par five: The bunker on the right, about 300 yards out, pushes players left and from there it is harder to find the green in two up the steep hill. Still a good birdie chance and Bruce Devlin made an albatross in 1967.
2025 average: 4.618 (rank 17)
9th (Carolina Cherry), 460 yards, par four: The tee was pushed back 30 yards in 2002. The raised green, with two bunkers on the left, tilts sharply from the back and anything rolling off the front can continue down for 50-60 yards.
2025 average: 3.956 (rank 13)
10th (Camellia), 495 yards, par four: A huge drop from tee to green on this dogleg left and over all the years of the Masters the second most difficult hole. It was here that Rory McIlroy began to fall apart in 2011 with a seven, while Bubba Watson clinched the title in 2012 by making par in the play-off from the trees.
2025 average: 4.162 (rank 7)
11th (White Dogwood), 520 yards, par four: The start of Amen Corner. Toughest hole in 2011, 2014, 2015, 2018 and 2024 and extended by 15 yards in 2022. Best remembered for Larry Mize’s chip-in in 1987 and Nick Faldo’s back-to-back play-off wins.
2025 average: 4.240 (rank 3)
12th (Golden Bell), 155 yards, par three: Probably the most famous par three in golf. Narrow target, water in front, trouble at the back, it has seen everything from a one to Tom Weiskopf’s 13 in 1980. Jordan Spieth took seven in the final round as defending champion in 2016 in a dramatic back-nine collapse and Tiger Woods made 10 in the final round in 2020.
2025 average: 3.139 (rank 8)
13th (Azalea), 545 yards, par five: The end of Amen Corner. Massive dogleg left, lengthened by 35 yards for 2023, with scores ranging from Jeff Maggert’s albatross in 1994 to Tommy Nakajima’s 13 in 1978. Sergio Garcia saved par after a penalty drop from a bush in 2017, went on to beat Justin Rose in a play-off and named his first child Azalea 11 months later.
2025 average: 4.828 (rank 16)
14th (Chinese Fir), 440 yards, par four: The only hole on the course without a bunker, but three putts are common on the wickedly difficult green. Course-record holder Nick Price took eight here in 1993, while Mickelson holed his approach en route to his 2010 victory.
2025 average: 3.993 (rank 12)
15th (Firethorn), 550 yards, par five: Often a tough decision whether to go for the green in two across the pond on the hole where Gene Sarazen sank his 235-yard four-wood shot for an albatross in 1935. There have also been three 11s here and the hole was lengthened by 20 yards in 2022.
2025 average: 4.926 (rank 14)
16th (Redbud), 170 yards, par three: Woods’ memorable chip-in in 2005 came the same year as 73-year-old Billy Casper’s 14, while Harrington, Ian Poulter, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood are among the players to record holes-in-one.
2025 average: 3.139 (rank 8)
17th (Nandina), 450 yards, par four: The famous Eisenhower Tree was removed after suffering storm damage, making for an easier tee shot on the hole Rose double-bogeyed when one off the lead in 2007. Nicklaus birdied here to take the lead as he won his 18th major in 1986. The only hole to be lengthened – by 10 yards – for this year.
2025 average: 4.230 (rank 4)
18th (Holly), 465 yards, par four: The drive was made much harder when the tee was moved back 60 yards in 2002, and 2023 champion Jon Rahm failed to reach the fairway in the final round after pulling his drive into the trees. The fairway bunker from which Sandy Lyle got up and down to win in 1988 is now 300 yards away.
2025 average: 4.243 (rank 2)
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