For 17 years, Rory McIlroy dreaded the pressure of the Masters so much that he’d avoid showing up at Augusta until the last possible minute. That 17-year weight finally disappeared last April when he drained a playoff birdie on the 18th hole to win the tournament and complete the career Grand Slam.

On Tuesday at Augusta, a reporter asked McIlroy to put into words how different it feels to arrive as a defending champion, with that weight finally gone. His answer was something we didn’t expect.

“For the past 17 years, I just could not wait for the tournament to start, and this year, I wouldn’t care if the tournament never started. That’s sort of the difference.”

He arrived Saturday, the earliest he has ever come to Augusta, not because the pressure is mounting, but because, for the first time, there is none. “I feel so much more relaxed,” he added. “I know that I’m going to be coming back here for a lot of years.”

But McIlroy was candid on Tuesday about something that the celebrations glossed over. The months after April weren’t quite the liberation everybody had assumed it would be.

“You think every time you achieve something or have success that you’ll be happy, but then the goalposts move,” he said, and they keep nudging just a little bit further and further out of reach. He also explained the fact that winning the Masters didn’t automatically free him the way he had expected. Instead, what he does feel is that it was a destination. It was a goal that he wanted to reach, but he realized that it wasn’t the only destination.

Rory McIlroy
250413 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses with the Masters trophy during the Green Jacket Ceremony after winning the 2025 Masters Golf Tournament on April 13, 2025 in Augusta. Photo: Petter Arvidson / BILDBYRAN / kod PA / PA1010 bbeng golf masters the masters augusta us masters *** 250413 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland poses with the Masters trophy during the Green Jacket Ceremony after winning the 2025 Masters Golf Tournament on April 13, 2025 in Augusta Photo Petter Arvidson BILDBYRAN kod PA PA1010 bbeng golf masters the masters augusta us masters PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxFINxDEN Copyright: PETTERxARVIDSON BB250413PA188

The contrast from previous years is quite stark. McIlroy had described getting more nervous on the first tee at Augusta than anywhere else in the world. His father, Gerry, had said that his son was “very edgy” every Masters week, that he tried too hard and was weighed down by expectations.

Now he is here early, attending the Drive, Chip and Putt competition on the weekend, hosting the champions’ dinner on Tuesday, and parking in the champions’ car park.

“This is going to be the first time I drive down Magnolia Lane, and it’s all going to be about enjoying my week,” McIlroy said.

He also made clear that contentment has not softened his ambition. “I still want to achieve things. I still want to win things,” he said. “This isn’t the end.”

The rarest club in Golf is waiting, but the path has obstacles

What McIlroy is chasing this week sits beyond the Grand Slam in terms of rarity. Only three players in Masters history have successfully defended the title: Jack Nicklaus in 1965 and 1966, Nick Faldo in 1989 and 1990, and Tiger Woods in 2001 and 2002. No one has done it in 24 years. A win on Sunday would put McIlroy alongside that group, and it would also bring his major tally to six, level with Faldo.

The problem is his game coming in. McIlroy withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational in early March due to his back injury and did not contend at The Players, finishing tied 46th. His three-week layoff entering this Masters is tied for the longest of his career at Augusta. McIlroy ranks 104th on tour in strokes gained this season, a dramatic fall from ninth entering the 2025 Masters.

Analyst Paul McGinley also commented on his recent game. “I don’t think he’s primed the way he was this time last year, coming off wins at the Players and Pebble Beach. The injury has derailed him a little bit.”

The numbers cut both ways. McIlroy is only the second player in 25 years to complete the career Grand Slam, following Woods. When Woods came back to defend in 2002, he described it as a physical grind that involved different pressure and different demands. McIlroy’s mind is free in a way it has never been at Augusta. Whether his body and his putter are ready is the question that we’ll be answering starting Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

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