Rory McIlroy finds himself in the spotlight once more as The Masters approaches, having failed to win the major thus far in his career.
McIlroy has been named as a Masters contender, entering the week as a two-time PGA Tour winner in 2025.
He has clinched titles at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Players Championship, and now sits on 28 career PGA Tour wins.
Gary Player thinks McIlroy can win The Masters at some point in the future, with second place in 2022 his best finish to date.
McIlroy is behind only Scottie Scheffler in the world rankings going into Augusta, where the latter is looking to defend his title.
Phil Mickelson’s former caddie tells Rory McIlroy he doesn’t need to be perfect to win The Masters
But the former has now been given advice for the tournament, with Phil Mickelson’s former caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay sending a timely reminder to the Northern Irishman.
“I would just remind him that he has won multiple majors before and this is a golf course where he doesn’t have to be perfect to win the tournament,” he said on CBS Sports.
“He is the best driver of the ball in the game. As everybody knows length is a great asset to have around Augusta National.
“While some guys who don’t hit the ball as far or get their irons stopped as quickly may have to be a bit more on point if you will, he can just kind of take it easy a little bit.
“Of course, you don’t want to get off to a poor start. But if he just dominates the par fives, which he should with his length, and do things like avoid double bogeys and three putts he should be there at the end of the week.”
What is Rory McIlroy’s form as he seeks elusive Masters win?
McIlroy has, of course, been there and done it on the biggest stages, having won the PGA Championship twice along with one win at both the US Open and The Open Championship.
But Masters success has constantly eluded the PGA Tour icon, who has now passed 10 years without a major win.
| Tournament | Position | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | 1 | 66 | 70 | 65 | 66 | 267 | -21 |
| The Genesis Invitational | T17 | 72 | 67 | 74 | 72 | 285 | -3 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | T15 | 70 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 285 | -3 |
| The Players Championship | P1 | 67 | 68 | 73 | 68 | 276 | -12 |
| Houston Open | T5 | 70 | 66 | 65 | 64 | 265 | -15 |
As mentioned, he has already won twice this season, with such wins certain to have given him a huge confidence boost for Augusta.
And his form in general should be enough to do that, with McIlroy impressing on all five of his starts in 2025.
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