Rory McIlroy hopes patience pays off at Augusta National

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Rory McIlroy arrived at Augusta National midday Tuesday, the last man to register for this year’s Masters. As he drove down Magnolia Lane, he tried to recapture the gratitude he felt the first time he made golf’s most famous drive.

The passage of time can turn the miraculous into the mundane, eroding those feelings of awe. Add in the inherent pressure that McIlroy has felt here over the past decade, and it’s easy to see why he had to work to regain that spark he felt at first. This year marks McIlroy’s 10th attempt to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters.

“If I cast my mind back to 18-year-old Rory and I'm driving down Magnolia Lane for the first time, how would I feel and I think, it's just always trying to go back to being grateful and feeling incredibly lucky that you can be a part of this tournament and you get to compete in it every year,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “Thankfully, I've improved a bit since my first start here, and I feel like I've got all the tools to do well this week. But, again, to bring those tools out, I think one of the most important things is to enjoy it and smell the – I guess not the roses – the azaleas along the way.”

McIlroy’s late arrival is part of his plan to bring a sense of normalcy to the most important tournament on his calendar. This year marks McIlroy’s 16th Masters appearance, and since 2015 he’s played with the added attention that comes with his quest for the career Grand Slam.

After finishing third in the Valero Texas Open on Sunday, McIlroy returned to South Florida to spend Monday with his family. He flew up to Augusta National on Tuesday and arrived minutes before his scheduled 12:30 p.m. ET press conference, which lasted about 10 minutes.

“I play 25 weeks a year, and there's no point in doing anything different this week compared to other weeks, I guess,” said McIlroy, who visited Augusta National last week to augment his pre-tournament prep in light of his scheduled late arrival this week.

McIlroy has already played eight times this year. Last week’s finish in Texas was his best since he started 2024 with a victory and runner-up in consecutive DP World Tour events in Dubai. It also ended a streak of five consecutive PGA TOUR starts without a top-15 finish. McIlroy visited Butch Harmon in Las Vegas before the Valero Texas Open for a lesson, and it resulted in improved iron play, a positive sign for this week, where a precise approach game is of utmost importance.

“I think I'm a little more in tune with where my game is and where my misses are,” he said. “I think, once you play a lot, you learn just how to manage your game a little bit better instead of if you haven't played that much and you're a little rusty.”

Now that the preparations are almost complete, McIlroy said a more conservative approach will be necessary to win this week. Last week in Texas, he said that aiming to shoot 72 at Augusta National can often lead to a score in the 60s while taking the inverse approach can result in shooting over par.

“This golf course gets you to chase things a little more than other golf courses, if you make a bogey or if you get yourself out of position, because it always tempts you to do something you think you can do,” McIlroy said. “I'm pretty confident in my golf game. I think I can do most things, but sometimes you just have to take the conservative route and be a little more disciplined and patient.”

McIlroy waited until Tuesday to arrive at Augusta National. He’ll find out Sunday if it was worth the wait.