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McIlroy 6/1 for Masters after Players Championship win
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Scheffler the Augusta favourite but reasons to hope Rory can finally do it
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US Masters takes place 10-13 April at Augusta National
Can Rory complete Grand Slam?
A second Players Championship victory for Rory McIlroy also gave him his second PGA Tour title of the year and instantly sent hopes rocketing of him finally ending his long major drought at The Masters, and there are more signs than just the trophies that this could at least be the year he slips on that famous Green Jacket at Augusta National.
The Northern Irishman won his fourth major back in 2014 but despite some agnosing near misses has failed to add a fifth in the decade that followed, but after his play-off win at TPC Sawgrass he's the 6/17.00 second favourite to win The Masters behind Scottie Scheffler.
There's always huge pressure on McIlroy at The Masters as it's the opening major of the year with an extended build-up period and his major drought has now extended over a decade - but most of all is that this is the one he needs to complete the career Grand Slam.
With two USPGAs, an Open and US Open in the bag, victory at Augusta would etch McIlroy's name into golfing immortality as only the sixth man to win all four - joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods in golf's most exclusive club.
That's what he's up against, but the signs this year are positive...
Form this year - putting & grinding
Becoming the first European to win two Players Championships was brilliant - and McIlroy has never before won twice on the PGA Tour in a season ahead of The Masters so just purely on getting those in the bag, that's a great sign.
The manner of the wins are even more positive though, as his triumphs at Pebble Beach and at Sawgrass both came in testing windy conditions that McIlroy's never been known to thrive in.
He's had to dig in, grind, be patient, play different shots - and most importantly limit those mistakes and keep big numbers off his card. At Sawgrass especially we saw him do that better than most as big numbers were everywhere. That's a sign of a new, more focused McIlroy.
Stats-wise, McIlroy's driving was poor by his standards at Sawgrass but the big positive this season has been with his approach play and especially his putting - finishing 7th at Pebble Beach and 10th at Sawgrass in Strokes Gained: Putting and 17th and 5th respectively in approach play.
For the season he's 17th in approach (from 52nd last season) and 15th in putting having finished 65th-59th the last two seasons. At a renowned second-shot golf course like Augusta National you have be on your game with your approach play and you always have to putt well.
McIlroy's Augusta National record
Course form is everything at Augusta National - knowing where you can and can't miss can save you plenty of shots. Although McIlroy's recent run is mixed he's largely been excellent once he gets down Magnolia Lane.
Yes, he's missed two cuts in the last four years, but expand it further and he has seven top 10s in his last 11 trips to The Masters so you can't say he doesn't go well on this course.
McIlroy's best Augusta round is the Sunday 64 he shot in 2022 so he knows he can go low, and with his driving coupled with the high ball flight he can get on his irons then he certainly has the game to succeed. He just has to put it all together.
The opposition
Things can change very quickly of course but a big positive for McIlroy comes in the form of his major challengers for that Green Jacket, who all have question marks of some sort around them.
Latest Augusta odds
- 9/25.50 Scottie Scheffler
- 6/17.00 Rory McIlroy
- 12/113.00 Ludvig Aberg
- 14/115.00 Jon Rahm, Xander Schauffele
- 16/117.00 Collin Morikawa
- 20/121.00 Bryson DeChambeau
Scheffler hasn't hit his usual heights this year and was unusually agitated at Sawgrass which was not a good sign - defending The Masters is also notoriously difficult with all the extra responsibilities that come that week as defending champion.
Only Nicklaus, Woods and Nick Faldo have won two in a row.
Ludvig Aberg won The Genesis this year and was brilliant on his Masters debut last year, but missed the cut at Sawgrass, while double major champion last year Xander Schauffele is only just getting over a tough rib injury.
Collin Morikawa threw away the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Jon Rahm's form is difficult to judge playing in LIV Golf - leaving right now Bryson DeChambeau as arguably his biggest threat.
McIlroy's Sawgrass victory was his fifth in 25 worldwide starts that have seen him finish top five 14 times - that's the sort of brilliant consistency few can match.
The big negative: Can new attitude trump scar tissue?
It started at Augusta National in 2011 with McIlroy's Masters meltdown - but he proved then he can bounce back as he went on to dominate the very next major to run away with the US Open at Congressional.
It will take every ounce of resolve for McIlroy to get over the line this time though after so many near misses, which culminated with those agonising short putts he missed at Pinehurst that cost him last year's US Open.
McIlroy's too good in a way as he keeps finding himself in position to win, but as with St Andrews at the Open and the 2023 US Open in Los Angeles he's just fallen short on Sunday.
Signs have been positive this year though, he's got a more solid, measured approach and he's talked about his mindset on more than one occasion - he's also backing off shots more as he showed at Sawgrass. That shows a clarity of thought and a sense of calmness under pressure that he'll need to win The Masters.
He looks to have his game on the right track, but the mental task will be far tougher for McIlroy to get over the hump and slip on that Green Jacket at Augusta.
But if he possibly shake off that scar tissue and ignore those nagging doubts and demons in his head to get the job done, you fancy a few more could quickly follow.