Rory McIlroy’s immense opening two rounds at Augusta National stemmed from some scouting trips he took in recent weeks. “I honestly just don't like the three tournaments leading up to this event,” he said of his recent break. I did a couple of days where I dropped Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with her, or had dinner with Erica probably. Like my little mantra to myself today was keep swinging, keep swinging hard at it even if you're not hitting fairways, just keep swinging. "But yeah, I have a late tee time on Saturday afternoon is always a nice place to be in.”

Source: Irish Examiner April 11, 2026 14:58 UTC