1 of 5 | Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland walks up the fairway on hole No. 8 during a practice round for the 2026 Masters Tournament on Tuesday at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
Rory McIlroy said he is much more relaxed than he was before earning his first Masters victory last year, but remains motivated for a 2026 title defense.
McIlroy, who completed a career grand slam by winning a green jacket last April in Augusta, Ga., will tee off Thursday on his quest to become the fourth golfer in history to win consecutive Masters Tournaments.
“For the past 17 years, I just could not wait for the tournament to start,” McIlroy told reporters during his pre-tournament news conference. “This year, I wouldn’t care if the tournament never started. That’s sort of the difference.
“It’s completely different. I feel so much more relaxed. I know I am going to be coming back here for a lot of years. I’m going to enjoy the perks the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to try and win the tournament, but I’m just more relaxed about it all.”
The first major of the PGA Tour season will run through Sunday and air on ESPN and CBS. Additional coverage will be available on Masters.com, Paramount+, Prime Video, CBS Sports Network, CBSSports.com and the CBS Sports app.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who won two of the last four green jackets, is the betting favorite for a third title. No. 24 Bryson DeChambeau, No. 30 Jon Rahm, McIlroy (No. 2) and No. 10 Xander Schauffele are among the other Top 5 betting favorites.
No. 17 Ludvig Aberg, No. 6 Matt Fitzpatrick, No. 3 Cameron Young, No. 4 Tommy Fleetwood, No. 14 Hideki Matsuyama and No. 8 Robert MacIntyre are among the other Top 10 expected contenders.
The 91-man field features 18 former champions who will compete for a prize purse of more than $21 million. Tiger Woods and Jon Rahm are among the other living 17 former champions not in the field.
“It’s arguably, maybe not the largest field in golf, but it’s the strongest,” McIlroy said. “There are so many great players and so many players with so much experience on this golf course. It’s not quite like some of the other major championships. … That’s the challenge. I feel conformable on the golf course. I feel conformable with my game. It’s been a good three weeks at home getting ready, physically and mentally, and just trying to prepare mentally for everything this week is going to throw at me.
“I know I can do it now, so that should make it a little easier for me to go out and play the golf I want to play.”
McIlroy said he arrived a day or two earlier than he did in the past because of his duties as a defending champion. He said he plans to pick his spots about where to “be more aggressive” when he tees off for this year’s tournament. Scheffler said the obligations can make a title defense difficult.
“I think defending can always be difficult,” Scheffler said. “But I think that’s mostly just the odds of winning a tournament in back-to-back years. I think that’s just extremely challenging, especially when you look at these major championships. There are some obligations. At this tournament there is some stuff that’s completely new. I think everything is new when you are first-time defending. There are certain things going on that make it a touch more difficult, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything too substantial.”
The eyes of the elite field, as well as those of golf fans, will be kaleidoscopes of Augusta National Golf Club’s brilliant color palette of Bermuda green, titanic brown tree trunks and the pink, purple, white, red and yellow explosion of three dozen varieties of flowers.
The tournament forecast includes four sunny days, with moderate winds expected from Thursday through Sunday. Golfers said they expect a firm and fast course in the low humidity environment.
“I’d imagine they’d like the greens to get fast,” Scheffler said of tournament organizers. “I think that increases the challenge of the golf course. I’m excited to see how it plays this week. We might get a little bit of wind too. The golf course is shaping up nicely.
“This is the best forecast I’ve seen for this tournament in a while. I’m definitely excited to get the week going.”
DeChambeau said he took a “great learning lesson” from last year’s Masters. He was two strokes behind McIlroy to start the final round and briefly held a lead, but struggled down the stretch and tied for fifth on the final leaderboard.
“It was a great learning lesson,” DeChambeau said. “Being tied for the lead and having the lead in that last group in the final round gave me a lot of great perspective on it. Losing it and having things not go my way as they finished out. Rory completing the grand slam. Like I said last year, he earned it. It was really cool to see in person.
“Secondarily, as I reflect back on it, the one thing I take from it is that I can put myself in those positions. … I certainly hope to give it my all and put myself back in that position because I want to feel it again.”
No. 64 John Keefer and No. 84 Hatong Li will be in the first group, which will tee off at 7:40 a.m. EDT Thursday at Augusta. DeChambeau will tee off with Schauffele and Fitzpatrick at 10:07 a.m. in Group 13.
McIlroy, No. 3 Cameron Young and 18-year-old amateur Mason Howell will tee off at 10:31 a.m. in Group 15. Scheffler will tee off alongside MacIntyre and No. 52 Gary Woodland at 1:44 p.m. in Group 30.
Top golfers practice for 2026 Masters
Scottie Scheffler hits from the tee on the 12th hole during a practice round before the 2026 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga., on April 6, 2026. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo
