It is now just three weeks to the first major championship of the New Year – The Masters.
As well, it will defending Masters champion Rory McIlroy’s next tournament given the World No. 2 has chosen, and after finishing well down the field in defence of last week’s Players Championship, not to contest either this week’s Valspar Championship, the following week’s Houston Open nor the Valero Texas Open in the week prior the year’s maiden major.
Looking at this time a year ago, McIlroy had contested six 2025 tournaments and headed to the hallowed Georgia grounds having won twice in capturing the AT & T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and also winning a second Players Championship.
THE ‘A’ WORD ….
And @McIlroyRory revealing with just three weeks remaining as the key to a successful defence of @TheMasters
Read: https://t.co/z5jzSzYMBS
AugustaNational
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— Fatiha (@TOURMISS) March 18, 2026
This year, McIlroy’s already played six events capped by a T3rd in his opening season event in Dubai but also clearly struggling to secure the ‘W’ in eventually finishing runner-up at the Genesis Invitational.
Many observers have been singling out McIlroy’s putting and we now have McIlroy remarking this morning that in looking back on last year’s success, it was the shortest club in his bag as a key to his success a year ago.
“I think, I would say by a better putter and by maybe working on my short game a little bit and becoming better around the greens, that probably allowed me to become more aggressive with my approach play at Augusta”, he said.
“Being aggressive, and when I played aggressively, I was rewarded and I played well,” he said.
“I was being rewarded for being aggressive, and then I obviously got the lead and then the first time that my mindset or my tactics went a little bit defensive, like trying to protect the lead, that’s when I got into trouble.
“Obviously what happened on 13 and on 14, and when I got to 15 again, I needed to be aggressive. I needed to make a birdie again, and I was able to do it so there’s probably a lesson in there somewhere of not taking your foot off the gas.”
Rors revealed also what he gleaned many years ago in playing a practice round with three-time Masters winning Phil Mickelson.
“I played a practice round with Phil Mickelson, maybe, I don’t know, 10 or 15 years ago, probably closer to 15 years ago, and I always remember he said to me, ‘Rory, one of the reasons I love Augusta National is because I feel I can be so aggressive here.’
“I remember thinking, “What does he mean?” I feel the opposite. I feel I can’t be aggressive here because there’s so many bad places to miss, but Phil had so much — still has, probably, so much faith in his short game that if he does miss an approach shot by being aggressive, he still feels he can get that ball up-and-down.”
