An Irishman was wearing a Green Jacket sitting in the press room on Masters Tuesday.
It was John Carr, a Dublin-based oil executive and Augusta National member. Next to him was Rory McIlroy, dressed in black.
The compatriots were positioned on a congress-like platform between two portraits of two other figures donning golf’s most famous garment. McIlroy was the odd one out.
Taking his spot at the front of the semi-circle of media, eyes and ears were focused on the four-time major champion’s every word like always at the start of another attempt, his 17th, at winning the Masters.
So what dynamics follow McIlroy this time? He won at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February, what he labelled a cathedral of golf, and again at The Players at Sawgrass in March. He has plenty of PGA Tour wins, but this pair have timely significance when Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele, owners of three of golf’s four major trophies, haven’t caught fire yet in 2025.
But, given the expectation and pressure trailing his every step down Magnolia Lane every 12 months, the 35-year-old might have missed the cut at those events, and the same weight would strain his shoulders.
I was one of the press members dispersing in the doors seconds before McIlroy took his first question, the first of nine players on the podium conveyor belt two days before the start of the 2025 Masters, and his 11th attempt at the career grand slam. Here is what stood out:
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Rory McIlroy Masters Press Conference Highlights
‘Daddy, are you famous?’
The first thing that stood out and drew laughter from the press was McIlroy’s answer to a question about the role his four-year-old daughter Poppy plays in his career when coping with highs and lows, as she grows older and wiser to the golf star her father is.
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“It definitely makes the lows a little easier to take – the highs are going to be high anyway, but it’s amazing – I think especially after The Players, I think it was the first time that she realised what I did, which was really cool. Also a little scary at the same time. It’s amazing that I can share these things with her and with Erica.
“The day after The Players, she went into school and there were a couple of kids that had said some stuff to her, and she came home to me that day and said, ‘Daddy, are you famous?’ I said, ‘It depends who you talk to.’ It’s a bit of a double-edged sword. You have to temper the expectations sometimes – As everyone knows that’s had children, it’s an amazing addition to life, and it’s great that she’s here this week.”
Falling in love
After winning the 2025 Players Championship in a playoff against J.J. Spaun, McIlroy recalled recent memories of having his heart broken at golf tournaments. He specified the years after the 2019 season which he said was his “best statistical year ever,” but one could imagine he was thinking of coming close at the 2022 Open at St Andrews and losing the 2024 US Open to Bryson DeChambeau.
McIlroy spoke about coping with these disappointments:
“It happens in all walks of life. At a certain point in someone’s life, someone doesn’t want to fall in love because they don’t want to get their heart broken. People, I think, instinctually as human beings we hold back sometimes because of the fear of getting hurt, whether that’s a conscious decision or subconscious decision, and I think I was doing that on the golf course a little bit for a few years.
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“But I think once you go through that, once you go through those heartbreaks, as I call them, or disappointments, you get to a place where you remember how it feels and you wake up the next day and you’re like, yeah, life goes on, it’s not as bad as I thought it was going to be.
“And I think – it’s going through those times, especially in recent memory, where the last few years I’ve had chances to win some of the biggest golf tournaments in the world and it hasn’t quite happened. But life moves on. You dust yourself off and you go again.”
Collin Morikawa was right
After being criticised for not speaking to the media after losing a three-shot lead with five holes left of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, Collin Morikawa later doubled down and said he didn’t “owe anyone anything.”
This led to an existential public debate about the relationship between athletes and the media. Shane Ryan of Golf Digest broke this down in a fascinating piece. Anyway, here is what McIlroy said when he was asked about it:
“Well, he’s right. Not that I think he could have worded it a little bit better, but look, every other athlete, whether it be in the NBA, NFL, they’re obligated to speak to you guys after a game. We’re not.
“Whether that’s something that the PGA Tour looks to in terms of putting that into their rules and regulations, but as long as that’s not the case and we have that option to opt out whenever we want, expect guys to do that from time to time.”
What Rory has learned about Augusta National in 2025
McIlroy played a practice round at Augusta National shortly after a member’s event on March 24, the Monday of the PGA Tour’s event in Houston.
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He commented on the four new greens at Augusta National and the changes forced upon the course by storm Helene in September 2024:
“The members had just had their Jamboree tournament, so the course was in great shape. It was dry. Probably a little more similar to hopefully how it’s going to play by this weekend. Then last Monday was a little soft and slow, probably what it’s like out there right now after the rain yesterday.
“I think that the biggest thing, I don’t think the course plays any differently. You’ve got the four new greens on 1, 8, 15 and 16, which I think everyone saw the ladies playing here on Saturday – those greens always are a little bit firmer, especially 15, for example, watching the balls shoot through that green.
“But from a tee shot perspective, there are a couple of tee shots that are maybe a little less visually intimidating, thinking like a tee shot like 10 with a little bit of that tree loss on the left side. Your target there is that TV or that camera tower down there at the bottom of the hill. You used to not be able to see that, and now you can see that pretty clearly.
“Visually, it looks like you don’t have to turn the ball as much as you used to. There’s a little bit more room on the right side of 3 if you want to hit driver up there. There’s a couple of overhanging trees that aren’t there anymore. But really, apart from that, I think it’s pretty much the same. But definitely a couple of tee shots that look a little bit different.”
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Rory’s first time at the Masters
McIlroy was asked to recall the first time he played at Augusta National. His debut at the Masters was in 2009 when he came tied for 20th.
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“I was just happy to be driving down Magnolia Lane. There was no thought of whether this was going to be good for me or bad for me. It was just an absolute thrill of a lifetime to drive down that lane at whatever it was, 19 years old, and be playing in my first Masters.
“With how I hit the ball, especially back then, I hit the ball a lot more right to left back then, so I felt like it was a golf course tee to green that set up really well for me. And as everyone knows, this golf course is all about the around-the-green shots and on the greens and making sure that you’re comfortable with those. But as I said, you’re going to face shots and putts on this golf course that you don’t necessarily face every other week of the year.
“So – that’s where the most thought and the most time has to be spent and just making sure that you’re comfortable on that part of the game. I’ve always loved this course. I’ve always loved – people ask me, if you could only play one golf course for the rest of your life, what would it be? And I think walking around this place every day would be pretty cool.”
Chasing a feeling on the golf course
McIlroy fielded the day’s first question by ruling out any issues with his elbow that he alluded to at the Texas Children’s Houston Open. But he did talk about the psychological side of his game, which he has been working on recently with sports psychologist Bob Rotella, whom he first met 15 years ago.
“We’ve always chatted, even if we haven’t worked officially together, we’ve always kept in touch – Talking about not getting too much into results and outcomes, we talk about trying to chase a feeling on the golf course. If you’re on the golf course, what way do you want to feel when you’re playing golf?
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“It’s not something I obviously just do here, but I do every week that I compete. If I can chase that feeling and make that the important thing, then hopefully the golf will take care of itself.”
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