A Green Jacket-shaped boulder fell off Rory McIlroy‘s shoulders when he won The Masters to complete his career grand slam.
McIlroy suffered an 11-year major drought before emerging victorious in a playoff over Justin Rose at Augusta National last April. So, while he still feels pressure to uphold a standard as the No. 2-ranked golfer in the world, McIlroy mostly feels like he can breathe.
“For the past 17 years, I just could not wait for the tournament to start, and this year, I wouldn’t care if the tournament never started,” McIlroy said when meeting with the press on Tuesday. “So, that’s the difference. It’s completely different. I feel so much more relaxed.”
McIlroy continued, “I know that I’m gonna be coming back here for a lot of years, gonna enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and win the tournament, but just more relaxed about it all.”
When the first round of the 2026 Masters tees off on Thursday, McIlroy will try to become the first golfer to win back-to-back Masters championships since Tiger Woods did so in 2001 and 2002. Only Woods, Jack Nicklaus, and Nick Faldo have been back-to-back Masters champions in golf history.
In early March, McIlroy withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational with back spasms, but ESPN’s Marty Smith reported that McIlroy shouldn’t be limited this week.
“I’m told he’s full-go, no issues with his back,” Smith said. He added that McIlroy feels emboldened by “a sense of belonging he’s never had before.”
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is favored to win it. Scheffler won in 2022 and 2024 before finishing fourth behind McIlroy, Rose, and Patrick Reed last year.
“I feel like I’m still young, but I’m very experienced,” McIlroy told reporters on Tuesday. “I’ve been doing this for a long time. This is my 18th start. So, I think I do feel like I’ve got another hopefully 10 good shots at this.”
