The 36-year-old bids to match Woods, Nicklaus and Faldo with consecutive titles
\n AUGUSTA
\nRory McIlroy, whose emotional 2025 Masters victory completed an incredible career grand slam, chases an even rarer feat this year \u2014 repeating as champion at Augusta National.
\nThe 36-year-old from Northern Ireland hopes to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo as the only golfers to capture back-to-back green jackets when the 90th Masters tees off Thursday.
\n\u201cI know defending the Masters tournament is a pretty rare feat, and it\u2019s something I\u2019d love to do.\u201d McIlroy said.
\n\u201cI\u2019ve won it once and I feel like that will make it a bit easier for me to win again.\u201d
\nMcIlroy delivered an image for the ages when he fell to his knees last April after ending a 10-year major win drought by defeating Justin Rose in a playoff to win the Masters.
\nMcIlroy joined a career grand slam group that also includes Nicklaus, Woods, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
\nOddsmakers have made top-ranked Scottie Scheffler a slight favorite over world number two McIlroy, even though the defending champion said he has recovered from a back injury that forced him to withdraw last month at Bay Hill.
\nAmerican Scheffler, a two-time Masters winner, took the American Express title in January and last year\u2019s British Open and PGA Championship.
\nScheffler, who withdrew from last month\u2019s Houston Open as he and his wife are expecting their second child, is working on mental aspects of his game.
\n\u201cMy expectations all are based around what I want mentally,\u201d Scheffler said. \u201cSo far throughout this season I\u2019ve been really good in some spots and some other spots I feel like I can improve in terms of my commitment to the shot.\u201d
\nTiger Woods, a 15-time major winner, will not attend after pleading not guilty to DUI charges stemming from a March 27 car crash.
\n\u201cI know and understand the seriousness of the situation I find myself in,\u201d Woods said. \u201cI am stepping away for a period of time to seek treatment and focus on my health.\u201d
\nMasters chairman Fred Ridley and the PGA Tour supported the 15-time major winner\u2019s decision.
\nFive Americans with multiple major titles seek their first green jacket \u2014 Justin Thomas, Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, who withdrew from the PGA\u2019s Texas Open with a sore back.
\nDeChambeau and Jon Rahm from LIV Golf also are fancied by oddsmakers. DeChambeau won titles last month in South Africa and Singapore while Rahm won in Hong Kong.
\n\u201cI know I have to dial in my wedges. That\u2019s going to be a big thing for me,\u201d DeChambeau said when asked about the Masters.
\n\u201cIf I\u2019m five more percent consistent, I have a better chance than what I did last year at the Masters.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The 36-year-old bids to match Woods, Nicklaus and Faldo with consecutive titles AUGUSTA Rory McIlroy, whose emotional 2025 Masters victory completed an incredible career grand slam, chases an even rarer feat this year \u2014 repeating as champion at Augusta National. The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland hopes to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":540293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-540267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n