Why Rory McIlroy Is The Man To Beat At The Masters

Rory McIlroy bounced back in superb fashion on Friday at The Masters after almost playing himself out of the tournament on Thursday evening with two late double bogeys - which incidentally are his only dropped shots of the tournament so far.

He returned on Friday morning to put together a bogey-free 66, the lowest round of the day, to go from seven back of Justin Rose's lead to within just two strokes at the halfway stage.

Thursday evening was certainly a blip but a remarkable performance in the second round was exactly what he needed and has sent a message to his fellow competitors.

McIlroy, who has been the best golfer in the world in 2025, looks like the man to beat this weekend as he searches for his first Green Jacket and the opportunity to become just the sixth man in history to complete the career grand slam.

He is pounding drive after drive down the middle of the fairway, striking his irons crisp and putting and chipping well on the Augusta surfaces that he has vast experience on.

He seems a more mature golfer than he ever has been and he looks ready to end his 11-year Major drought.

The Northern Irishman has two victories already this year at Pebble Beach and TPC Sawgrass, and he has carried his form into the year's first Major.

While he will face fierce competition at the top of the leaderboard this weekend from the likes of Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, Scottie Scheffler, Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton to name a handful, it feels like this could be his week to finally get over the line for his fifth Major for three reasons.

1) Heartbreaks.

No golfer in the world has faced more heartbreak in the biggest events over recent years than Rory McIlroy.

He was left behind in the 150th Open at St Andrews by Cameron Smith, who carded a 64 on the final day to become Champion Golfer of the Year.

He was agonisingly pipped by a single stroke at Los Angeles Country Club by Wyndham Clark in the 2023 US Open.

And he threw away the 2024 US Open at Pinehurst after bogeying three of the final four holes.

He said he'd go through 100 more Sundays like that one at LACC in 2023 to taste success again, and he's put himself right in the frame again this week.

He has experience of Augusta, playing in his 17th Masters, he has experience of beating the world's best golfers time and time again, and he has experience of winning, contending and losing Majors.

Maybe, just maybe, it's his turn to taste success this time around. He is certainly overdue.

2) Bob Rotella.

Golf is a game played on a six inch course between your ears, as Arnold Palmer once said, and McIlroy's work with renowned sports psychologist Dr Bob Rotella has been paying off in recent times.

He won three times last year as well as the Race to Dubai and he's already won two huge events in 2025. He revealed that he and Rotella had a chat before Friday's round, with the psychology guru telling his pupil to not go chasing early and remain patient.

It clearly worked.

"I had a good conversation with Bob Rotella this morning, mostly around not pushing too hard too early and trying to get those shots back straightaway. And you can sort of see how I started today with eight pars and a birdie on the front nine," he said.

"I just tried to stay really, really patient. I feel like that patience was rewarded with a nice little stretch there in the middle of the round."

After his patient start, he was rewarded with birdies at 10 and 11 before a sensational eagle at the 13th. He picked up another birdie at 15 to come home in five-under-par.

With Bob Rotella by his side, he is going to be tough to beat this weekend.

3) He's the best golfer in the world this year.

Nobody other than McIlroy has won multiple times on the PGA Tour this year, and his stats place him as the top player in the world so far after both Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele needed time off to deal with injuries.

The four-time Major champion ranks 1st in Strokes Gained: Total and SG: Off the tee on the PGA Tour this year and 2nd in SG: Tee to green. He is 1st in Scoring Average, 4th in Scrambling and 10th in SG: Putting.

Combine those stats with his recent Major close-calls and his impressive state of mind, and Rory McIlroy should be favorite to win the Green Jacket this weekend.

Whether he does it or not remains to be seen. But he might never have had a better chance.