Rory McIlroy might have won in two of his last four starts worldwide and regained the world number two ranking, but he remains second favourite behind Masters champion Scottie Scheffler as the world’s best start to sharpen their focus for the game’s opening major.
For McIlroy, the Masters remains the Holy Grail as it’s the only major he needs to complete the career Grand Slam and join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods on golf’s Mount Rushmore.
The weight of expectation remains his biggest handicap in that regard, but he also knows there are aspects of his game that need to improve if he’s to achieve his lifetime dream.
In finishing 15 strokes behind Scheffler at Augusta last year, it was clear from McIlroy’s statistics that not only did the Texan lap him in terms of strokes gained from tee to green, especially with his irons, he also left him in his exhaust fumes around the green.
“I would say short game was very up and down last year,” McIlroy said earlier this year. “I had some excellent weeks, and then I’d have some stinkers, as well, around the greens. I want to try to just get that a little bit more consistent.”
It remains to be seen how many more tournaments McIlroy will play before Augusta but this week’s $20m (€18.5m) Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, where Scheffler won by five shots last year en route to a nine-win season, will be a good indicator of where he stands.
Unsure if he will play again before the Masters after next week’s Players Championship — “I don’t like the idea of having three weeks off going into the Masters, so I may add one event,” McIlroy said yesterday — he’s made major changes to his bag this week, changing out his driver, three wood and five wood.
“I think it’s all come from the ball change a few weeks ago,” McIlroy said, referring to his decision to switch to a ball that spins more. “This three wood carries 300-305 in the air, which is enough, which is a really good club for me to have.
“And then I’ve gone from a five wood to a four wood that bridges that gap. And then I’ve got the three iron that sort of replaces the five wood. So I’ve got a club that flies 260, a club that flies 280, a club that flies 300 and then the driver.
“It just sort of gives me more options off the tee, especially with being so comfortable at the other end of the bag with the wedges and hitting those three quarter shots.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler. Photo: Getty
How McIlroy fares with his wedges could hold the key to his Masters hopes and his chances of overcoming Scheffler, who is making just his fourth start of the season after suffering his hand injury at Christmas.
The world number one would like to open his 2025 win column as soon as possible but he sounded as relaxed as ever as he prepares to defend at Bay Hill, TPC Sawgrass and Augusta National.
“I have had success on these golf courses, and so I can lean on those good memories, but at the end of the day it’s like last year doesn’t mean much when it comes to this year,” Scheffler said.
When it comes to Masters favourites, the bookies put Xander Schauffele just behind Scheffler and McIlroy after winning the PGA and The Open last year. But he too remains an unknown quantity as he returns after eight weeks out with a rib injury.
Swede Ludvig Aberg, who was Scheffler’s biggest threat before finishing second on his Masters debut last year, looks a great bet for the Masters this year.
But few are talking about Shane Lowry, who looks to be easing into the kind of under-the-radar form that preceded his 2019 win in The Open at Royal Portrush.
He was third to Scheffler at Bay Hill last year and if the putter is remotely warm, he looks to have the precision iron play and short game skills required to add a green jacket to his wardrobe.
He’s one to watch this week as Scheffler, McIlroy and Schauffele grab all the limelight in the battle for the $4m cheque.
Masters talk, rather than the PGA Tour’s potential deal with the PIF, looks likely to dominate the narrative for the next month.
McIlroy certainly sounded less than convinced yesterday that a deal was in any way imminent.
“I don’t think it’s ever felt that close, but I don’t… it doesn’t feel like it’s any closer,” he said. “I think it would still be the ideal scenario for golf as a whole. But from a pure PGA Tour perspective, I don’t think it necessarily needs it.”
With LIV Golf boasting only a handful of players that would improve the PGA Tour, he doesn’t see urgency, even if he would like to see what could be done with an extra billion dollars of Saudi money.
“Look, I think it takes two to tango,” he said. “So if one party is willing and ready and the other isn’t, it sort of makes it tough.”
