The guard has truly changed. Rory McIlroy’s return down Magnolia Lane as champion and Scottie Scheffler’s long-standing position atop the world rankings has the two men firmly, and rightly, installed as the headline acts headed into this 90th edition of the Masters.
For the first time in forever – well, since 1994 – neither one of Phil Mickelson nor Tiger Woods are in the field and, although their fiercely competitive days are behind them, their absence seems almost like a side note to the main drama that will play out over four days on the pristine turf in ideal weather conditions.
McIlroy’s bid to defend the title he won in a playoff against Justin Rose last year has the Northern Irishman bidding to become just the fourth player to go back-to-back, last achieved by Woods in 2002, but with absolutely none of the baggage that accompanied him for a decade in his pursuit of the career Grand Slam.
Seeking to defend is a pressure for McIlroy, yet nothing compared to that historic feat achieved a year ago. This is a more manageable type of pressure, even if the world number two – without a win so far this season, in contrast to the momentum of his two victories ahead of last year’s tournament – has not managed to hit top form so far.
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McIlroy has also had to deal with a back muscle injury which forced his withdrawal from the Arnold Palmer Invitational, disrupting his preparations. But thankfully for him the issue has been successfully treated, with the lack of game time perhaps the greater concern.
Still, McIlroy has looked in fine fettle in his carefully mapped out practice rounds and is poised to bring a strong defence of the green jacket. He’s joined in the field by Tom McKibbin and Shane Lowry, who rightfully has serious ambitions of his own.
Now in his 18th Masters, McIlroy has the benefit of all that experience, along with the glowing, feel-good factor of last year’s win, and a game plan to be even more aggressive.
“You’re always going to have to pick and choose your spots around here, where to be aggressive and where not to, but I definitely think there’s places where I could be more aggressive off the tee,” said McIlroy.
“I’ve talked about how uncomfortable I felt on some tee shots last year, so like the 7th through the 14th and the 17th. For me, if I’m going to hit 5-wood or 3-wood into the trees anyway, I may as well hit driver and get it close to the green.
“There’s a few tee shots out here where I’ll just try to be a bit more aggressive, and then if you do hit a good tee shot, you turn a potentially tough hole into a birdie hole.”
That aggressive template would seem to fit neatly in McIlroy’s psyche.
Lowry showed great form in the early part of the season, but allowed two titles in Dubai and the Cognizant to slip from his grasp with self-inflicted late round failings. For him, aggression is not part of the plan. Instead, patience and strategy are his key points.
“When it comes down to it, you have to go around the back nine on Sunday and do some really good stuff,” said Lowry. “I do feel like I have what it takes, but does that mean I will win? No. But do I have belief that I can give it a run around here? Yeah, obviously.
“If it’s your time to shine, it happens. And if it’s not, it doesn’t. It’s a course where the margins are really, really small, where good shots can get really punished. You don’t get away with too many bad shots. There’s just a lot of patience, but there’s also a lot of acceptance that needs to go on and happen this week. I think I’m ready to give it a go.”
Still, this Masters would appear as open as it has been in recent years. New faces have emerged, none more so than Cameron Young, who has risen to world number three on the back of a strong run of form, highlighted by his win at the Players. Playing in his first Masters, Chris Gotterup comes to Augusta with two wins on the PGA Tour already this season, while an in-form Matt Fitzpatrick is also strongly fancied.
Add in the LIV players, most notably Jon Rahm and Bryson DeChambeau, and the leading cast gets deeper and deeper.
Like McIlroy, Scheffler comes in a little uncooked in terms of tournament play after three weeks away from tour life following the birth of his second child. “My game feels like it’s in a good spot. I got some rest the last few weeks at home,” he said.
With two wins from six appearances, Scheffler is rightly the favourite, but not by much. McIlroy, Young, Fitzpatrick, Rahm, Rose, Lowry – all are in the mix.
