AUGUSTA, Ga. — There was a moment in the second round of the 2024 Masters where Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy stood mere feet apart in a literal sense. They were worlds apart in the figurative sense. Up on the hill on No. 11 peering down on the surface below, the two stood as wind whipped around Amen Corner amid a crispy, crusty day of difficult scoring.
Scheffler flighted his approach to the fat of the green and walked away with par. McIlroy’s attempt ballooned into the high heavens; he could only watch as it sunk to a watery grave, his green jacket chances along with it. McIlroy went on to sign for a 77. Scheffler went on to claim his second green jacket in three years only a couple days later.
McIlroy stood atop that same hill Thursday amid a leaderboard that was then topped by the same man. Only a year removed from his latest disappointing start to his Masters quest, McIlroy looked worlds apart from that version of himself … until he did not.
While Augusta National is filled with blissful memories for some, nightmares for others, what is sometimes forgotten about is who it can turn you into. What it can make you think. What it can make you do.
That version of McIlroy was seemingly long gone — at least that’s what the first three months of the 2025 season suggested. It reappeared Thursday evening at the worst of times.
The Northern Irishman opened his 2025 Masters with an even-par 72 to sit seven strokes behind first-round leader Justin Rose. On paper, the score actually improves his first-round scoring average during his career grand slam quest and marks just the third time since 2018 that he has carded a round of par or better on a Thursday.
But this game isn’t played on paper, especially as it relates to McIlroy at the Masters.
The four-time major champion got as deep as 4 under and looked as if he could do no wrong. Turning in 3 under, he navigated Amen Corner in expert fashion thanks to a beautiful flighted mid iron from atop the hill on No. 11 and a sensible sawed-off short iron on the devilish next.
He let his distance do the talking around the bend on the par-5 13th and cemented during that short three-hole stretch that his game is no longer what it was in his last 10 strolls around Augusta National. The physical tools are different. The course management even more so. The slow starts out the blocks gone with them.
And then the mess ensued. After three hours of reminding us what Rory McIlroy is capable of doing to Augusta National, we were reminded what Augusta National can do to Rory McIlroy.
A picture perfect first 14 holes turned into a morbid piece of art in a span of 30 minutes. The brush strokes were no longer light and free flowing but filled with angst, violence and thoughts of the past. Although the canvas remained pristine, the artist was no longer the same.
Standing in the 15th fairway, McIlroy held firm at 4 under. Walking off the 18th green, he slumped to even.
After striking his approach into the par-5 15th onto the green and watching it roll over the back edge, McIlroy must have been thinking four. Instead, he was met with a seven as he chipped his third into the water and failed to get up and down for bogey from the other side of the water.
Some damage was done, sure, but still standing at 2 under, McIlroy was far from out of frame. And he may still have a chance — in all fairness — but it sure felt like his tournament washed away after what transpired on the 17th.
Finding the first cut off the tee, McIlroy found out why many suggest to not miss long of that green. His approach landed past the back pin location and careened below the surface beyond. An aggressive chip was struck with too much mustard; his par attempt the same. The putt trickled 6 feet past. It led to a six and another double bogey.
A par on the last put the finishing touches of McIlroy’s disappointing day that resulted in a score nearly two strokes better than the field average. Most tournaments, he would find solace in that. He would take the good with the bad and know there are still 54 holes to go. This 2025 version of himself can chase anyone down from seven back. This version of Rory is different.
But at the Masters? At Augusta National Golf Club? With a chance to complete the career grand slam?
Maybe, this isn’t that Rory.
Rose rolls back the clock
Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and Gary Player combined to win 13 Masters. None of them led or co-led after the first round as many times as Rose, who now has the tournament record with five such advantages. The Englishman was simply sensational around Augusta National on Thursday — particularly on the greens where gained over five strokes on the field as he reached 8 under in his first 16 holes before a blemish on the last.
Rose has done just about everything but don that green jacket. The first-round leads are notable, yes, but the playoff with Sergio Garcia in 2017 comes to the top of the mind. He knows how to plod his way around this property, and he knows his game is still good enough to win a major championship at age 44.
While the opportunities may be fewer, as Rose admitted following his round, what’s most important is that they are still coming. The former U.S. Open champion contended not in one but two major championships last year highlighted by the runner-up result to Xander Schauffele in The Open Championship at Royal Troon.
Does the closing window add more pressure … or does it add more appreciation?
For Rose — the major winner, the former world No. 1, an owner of an Olympic gold medal — he says it’s all upside from here.
“I think you always feel self-pressure to add more for sure. I do feel that I could make a statement with how well I played the back end of my career,” Rose said. “That’s a great opportunity, though, for me, not pressure. I think to answer your question, yeah, I see it all as upside now. I think my résumé is nicely rounded out. There’s a few big glaring gaps. Obviously three major championships I haven’t won. Maybe a Players Championship as well.
“So, there’s tons of opportunity to do things I haven’t done before, but the major headlines are kind of all in place for me. So, I should use that as freedom to take these opportunities and use them to kind of freewheel and use it all as upside.”
The champ is here
Augusta National loves its past champions, and that could not have been made more apparent following Scheffler’s opening 68 Thursday morning. Methodically picking his spots, knowing when to ease off the gas and trust a different area of his game, the world No. 1 made his 4-under performance look like the highest possible score he could have signed.
The patrons approved.
To sound like a dad making a bad joke, it was masterful, and it has positioned him to do what few have ever done before. Scheffler seeks to become the first golfer since Tiger Woods and the fourth ever to go back-to-back at Augusta National. He also looks to join Jack Nicklaus and become the second player to slip on the green jacket three times in a four-year window.
“It’s funny because this is a golf course where there’s a lot of opportunities,” Scheffler said of being close to the lead. “There’s a lot of opportunity over the weekend. There’s a lot of opportunity on Sunday with where they put the pins. I’m a bit surprised that it’s like that, but I wouldn’t say that it can’t be done.”
Å boy, here we go again
Ludvig Åberg’s demise may have been greatly exaggerated. Finishing runner-up in his debut at ANGC last year, the Swedish superstar came into this year’s tournament a far cry in terms of form but clearly not in confidence. Fresh off two missed cuts, Åberg did not miss a beat in his opening refrain.
He played his first 11 holes in even par and then caught fire down the stretch. Åberg hit beautiful feelers into both Nos. 12-13 to set up birdies and got up-and-down from just long of the surface amid McIlroy’s demise and shortly after Patrick Cantlay did the same. The birdie on the last served as a good reminder: This kid is different. (Calling him kid may be disrespectful at this point.)
“Augusta is a place where experience plays a big role and sort of know where to leave it,” Åberg said. “I’m sure we’re going to see some different winds and pins to last year so that will be more in the sort of experience bank, if you will. Yeah, looking forward to get some more experience on the golf course, and playing in this tournament on this venue is always a treat.”
Hatton or Hat-off?
The grouping of Tyrrell Hatton, Jordan Spieth and Tom Kim trundled up the short par-4 3rd with varying degrees of stress. Speith was fidgeting (so par for the course), Kim was lumbering along after his tee shot rolled up and bounced against a spotter’s shoe. Hatton had looked as if he had just received the worst news of his life as his hat was removed and he was rubbing the top of his head.
That news turned out to be a 1-under start.
The Englishman continued to carry his cap in hand between shots, and it continued to work out for him. A year after lamenting about the setup and the conditions (so par for the course, like Spieth), Hatton has a great opportunity after an opening 69 to overcome his manufactured demons.
“I don’t know if I’ve worked on my patience. I think it just depends what side of the bed I get out of, if I have a little bit or none, Hatton said. “Obviously, today was a good day — drove the ball pretty well, which in years gone by is something that I’ve struggled with. Last year, obviouslym was my best finish, and I said that week I felt like I couldn’t have driven the ball much better than what I did.
“It was nice to go out there today and play a pretty solid round. Naturally, I’m disappointed with making bogey on 17. I don’t feel like I did a huge amount wrong there. But I think that’s kind of this place, as well. You don’t really have to do anything wrong to drop shots. Yeah, as I said, a little bit disappointed with that, but happy to shoot another round in the 60s.”
The Big One
The first-round leader a season ago, Bryson DeChambeau is back at it again. While it was not the 65 from 2024, his opening 69 puts him right in the thick of it. He was far from a one-trick pony, too, which should draw confidence to DeChambeau’s camp as he gained throughout the bag and remains hard at work as the last man on the practice area Thursday night.
Whether rain falls heading into Friday morning may not be a big deal for some, but it could be notable for the two-time major champion. He noticeably struggled on and around the greens during the weekend of last year’s championship. With players already commenting this is as firm, fast and slick they have seen this place on Thursday, any moisture in the greens — although it will be a distant memory come late Saturday and into Sunday — plays into DeChambeau’s hands.
