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For 38 consecutive major starts that spanned a decade, Rory McIlroy didn’t win a major. Now, after his back-to-back Masters titles, he has won two in his past five starts.

So, what’s next? Another Irish star is predicting big things.

“Rory could win 10 of them at this stage, or five of them, anyway,” said Padraig Harrington, speaking at Concession Golf Club in Florida on Tuesday ahead of this week’s Senior PGA Championship. “He probably will still be competitive at 50 years of age around that golf course. For him, it was interesting that he won that one with his short game, which makes him even better a player.

“He’s always been a superb chipper, but now it’s with the putting and things like that,” he continued. “A very rounded game and a game that looks like it has a lot of longevity in it. So he’s in a very nice place going forward, particularly at that tournament that you would think. It’s amazing when you win one, that he’s now got two, and we’re thinking that maybe two or three or five would be realistic around that golf course.”

Harrington’s point that McIlroy, who turns 37 next month, could compete at Augusta National past his prime isn’t crazy. Jack Nicklaus famously won at Augusta National at age 46 in 1986. Tiger Woods was 43 when he won in 2019. Even Fred Couples, who plays little golf these days, became the oldest player to make a Masters cut when he made the weekend as a 63-year-old in 2023.

Last week, McIlroy held a six-shot, 36-hole lead at Augusta but lost it all in the third round Saturday. He started Sunday sharing the lead with Cameron Young but fell back after a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 4th hole, but he took control with back-to-back birdies on 12 and 13 and beat Scottie Scheffler by one.

“He showed some real good character there,” Harrington said. “You know, psychology-wise he really won that tournament. His mentality and how he went about things, that’s a very strong showing for him. He obviously still has the physical side of the game, but to show that short game and the mental side of the game means he looks like he would be a very strong force for a while to come in the game.”

While we won’t make our own claims regarding how many more Masters titles McIlroy might win, we will say he has work to do. Nicklaus holds the record with six Masters victories. Woods has five, and Arnold Palmer won four. If McIlroy wins one more, he’ll be the sixth golfer to win three.

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At the Masters last week, our fleet of content producers told a lotof stories — but not all of them! As ever, they came home with unused material still in their notebooks and noggins, which we’d couldn’t bear to see to go waste. So kick back, pour yourself one last Azalea and enjoy a few of our untold tales.

What Rory’s nervy moment looked like up close  

by Dylan Dethier

Rory McIlroy’s most stressful moment on Masters Sunday? It didn’t come until after he’d hit his tee shot on the 18th hole.

“I’d say walking off the 18th tee not knowing where my ball was,” McIlroy said post-round. “It could go anywhere. It could be anywhere.”

He was right to be concerned; he needed just bogey to win but had blasted driver so far right that it was well out of his sight and, as social-media griping will tell you, out of the reach of CBS’s cameras, too.

But based on sheer luck I was, at that moment, wandering up the right side of the 18th hole with a couple writers, including our James Colgan. A spotter found the ball first, a crowd began to swarm and form around it, and we joined the fray. 

When McIlroy arrived on the scene he seemed to sigh with relief. His ball had traveled so far right that he had a window. Punching back to the 18th fairway would have been treacherous, but an easier line existed: He could look up the 10th hole instead, allowing him to hit a high hook around and over the trees (and the massive leaderboard by the 18th green) to settle somewhere around the putting surface.

Two problems remained. The first was there were suddenly about a thousand people in his way. McIlroy and caddie Harry Diamond walked up their target line, working with marshals to try to push back the patrons. But McIlroy’s start line was so far right, and so many more people were flowing into the area, that eventually he seemed to just give up. He and Diamond had a short discussion: McIlroy confirmed that his ball would come out spinny, because it was sitting on pine straw. And then he readied to hit.

Then came the second problem: Actually executing that high hook, off pine straw, starting it over the heads of a massive group of patrons. I’m sure I see worst-case scenarios differently than one of the best golfers in the world, but I wondered if there would be any flinch from McIlroy, knowing that if he slipped and thinned one — or something similarly catastrophic — he could drill someone and blow the Masters all at once.

But McIlroy played quickly, as he had all Sunday afternoon. He hit a high hook, definitely a little hookier than necessary; I wondered if he’d started it a little further left, subconsciously, to avoid my catastrophic scenario. And then, as he strode after his ball, following its flight, the crowd began to close in around him.

This sort of swarm never really happens at the conclusion of the Masters, at least not in recent decades; the rope lines are well established. (Granted, Tiger Woods was nearly taken out at the knees in a similar situation in 2019.) But quickly, almost from nowhere, security appeared from the crowd and the trees, and an informal barrier went up to give McIlroy a lane to hustle back to the fairway. We headed up the right side of the hole and around the green, hoping for a glimpse of the final putt, glad to have had a front-row seat to the final full swing of an historic Masters.

The *other* happiest place on Earth

by Josh Berhow

At the Masters, you’ll find cheap sandwiches, really green grass and well-behaved patrons. Those are givens. But what always gets me is that everyone is so happy. 

And they should be! Think about it — where else on Earth is everyone universally thrilled to be in one place? (As a parent who went to Disney World a week before the Masters, I can promise you Magic Kingdom is not the answer.)

And that blissfully hypnotic state lingers well after patrons leave Washington Road. Because the second-happiest spot I found last week? It was the tiny bar at the Augusta Regional Airport, where, as I waited for my return flight home, a Masters after-party was in full swing.

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What's it like flying with Gary Player to the Masters? We found out

By: Josh Berhow

Few of the revelers knew one other but happily mingled at shared tables. Drinks were flowing, and the bartender generously poured doubles. Everyone shared stories about where they went and what they saw and what they ate and how it felt. Most were sunburned, several were clad in Masters gear and everyone agreed the course is — stop us if you’ve heard this one before — way hillier than it looks on TV.

One guy from Iowa paid John Daly $100 to sign his brother’s stomach and had the video to prove it. Another from Minnesota raved about his first time in swanky Berckmans Place. Plastic bags stuffed with thousands of dollars’ worth of Masters merchandise — hats, mugs, polos, posters — lined the floor.

“The only thing I didn’t get was a gnome,” one man said. “I’d offer anyone $200 for one right now.”

I smiled and nodded. He seemed so happy I didn’t have the heart to tell him what was hiding in my backpack. 

My favorite Masters Sunday tradition

by Alan Bastable

At a tournament defined by traditions, my colleagues and I have one of our own: Masters Sunday lunch in the Augusta National clubhouse.

Around 11:30 a.m., before the leaders have put their pegs in the ground in earnest, seven or eight of us pile into golf-cart shuttles outside the Press Building for the short ride to the shuttle drop-off by the leader board near the golf shop. From there, it’s a short hike up a tightly mown slope, a hard left turn at the famed old oak where golf’s sparkly people convene (is that . . . Sir Nick?!) and in through the back door of the clubhouse where a guard carefully eyes our credentials. Then it’s a few paces through a well-appointed dual-winged reception room and up a spiral staircase to a floor that houses, to your left as you exit the stairwell, the Champions Locker Room, and, to your right, a rectangular dining room that spills out on to a veranda that offers bird’s-eye views of all the sparkly people and even glimpses of the first tee.

If there’s a better way to start your Masters Sunday (other than smoothing balls on ANGC’s range in preparation for a starting time), I’d like to hear it! Some years we get a table outside; other years, like this one, the only available tables are in the dining room, which lacks the more casual al fresco appeal of the balcony but comes with its own perks such as having a front-row (table?) seat to such miscellany as the names on the Augusta National Jamboree honors board or the display case with President Eisenhower’s stylish knit polo.

The menu, like just about everything else at the club, is clean, simple and elegant. Green ink on white stock. The kitchen’s offerings aren’t fancy, either. Cheeseburger, flounder sandwich, spicy chicken nachos, a sampler plate with three of Augusta’s signature sandies, etc. In one of the dining room’s corners, a door leads to a small men’s room, where you’ll find a framed print of “Comme nos maîtres,” a famous cartoon by the French artist Boris O’Klein that playfully depicts seven dogs doing their business on their hind legs. The name of the piece translates to “Like their masters.” That’s another thing about Augusta, you notice something new on every visit.

But back to our meal. It’s always an in-and-out affair — maybe 45 minutes tops — but in the quiet of the clubhouse, away from the pressures of our keyboards and cameras, time has a way of slowing down. We share stories from the week, toast with Azaleas (pro move: swap out of the vodka for tequila) and generally enjoy one another’s company in a setting unlike few others. Then the check comes. Back to work.

Loitering with intent (around Tommy Fleetwood!)

by Michael Bamberger

Over the past maybe eight years I have noted, in the pages of this website, that my three favorite golfers are Tommy Fleetwood of England, Franceso Molinari of Italy and Jordan Spieth of Dallas. My guess is that Molinari knows my face and name, that Spieth knows my face but not my name and that Fleetwood knows neither, despite my various efforts. Once, for instance, I told him that, by coincidence and during the last British Open there, I was seated next to his aunt at an outdoor café on a Sunday in downtown, Birkdale, England, during a British Open. Tommy said he knew the café and that she likely was eating there after church. You may know that the Open is returning to Birkdale this year.

On Sunday, Fleetwood went off a full two hours before Rory McIlroy, his Ryder Cup teammate, but Fleetwood stayed around after his middle-of-the-pack finish to see how the whole thing would play out. When McIlroy won, Fleetwood was among the players hanging by the clubhouse to congratulate him. What a lovely thing to do — but what else would you expect from this golfing gent? There’s a reason he’s in my Top 3. By the way, and a quick aside, his final-round 63 at Shinnecock Hills at the 2018 U.S. Open has to be one of the best rounds of golf ever played. I would say that’s like shooting a 60 at Augusta National on Masters Sunday. You may know that the U.S. Open is returning to Shinnecock in June.

Maybe 20 or 25 minutes after McIlroy made his winning six-inch putt on Sunday, Fleetwood was standing on front of the clubhouse, waiting on a ride. By the front I mean the side of the clubhouse at the end of Magnolia Lane, facing Washington Road. I have heard some people refer to this as the back of the clubhouse, which I don’t understand, except that it is back if you have a course-centric view of the world. That part I do get.

Gear

Tommy and Rory traded clubs for a match. Here's what we learned

By: Johnny Wunder

Anyway, Fleetwood was standing there, by himself, waiting on a ride and not wearing anything with a Swoosh, as he is no longer a Nike brand ambassador or whatever the right term is for that. He was wearing what seemed to be a custom-made pair of sort of beige beltless pants with a billowy legs. The Eisenhower Era meets the Jerry Ford years.

“In the ‘70s a lot of guys used to wear pants like that,” I said. I was loitering with intent, looking for something to write about. That is, something to write about related to the winner. They did wear pants like that, to a point. The pants then were much tighter, often garish in color and made of polyester. Fleetwood’s pants seemed to be made of a fine lightweight wool. “They were called Sansabelts. Johnny Miller wore ’em. Tom Weiskopf. Lot of guys.”

“Sansabelts,” Tom said.

“From the French, sans belt.”

That is, without.

Tom nodded, with ever-so-modest enthusiasm. Soon, his ride arrived. He finished T33. — Michael Bamberger

Rory McIlroy’s good luck charm

by James Colgan

One of the unusual pleasures of watching the Masters broadcast is that most of the views are totally unobstructed. Nobody other than the players, the caddies, the camera crews and Dottie Pepper fill the camera shots inside the ropes — the throngs of golf dignitaries, sponsors, agents, managers and scribes are left outside the ropes with the rest of the people.

Pepper has an unusual honor in the center of the fold. Since 2020, she has served as the only inside-the-ropes broadcaster in Masters history, tracking the highest-leverage groups for the network and collecting datapoints from the middle of the action.

But that’s where this story gets funny. Over the last two years, nobody has seen more of Rory McIlroy at the Masters up close than Dottie, who followed the back-to-back green jacket winner for the seventh time since the start of the 2025 Masters on Sunday afternoon.

Yep, you read that right, Pepper has been on McIlroy’s bag for seven of eight tournament rounds since the start of his star-crossed 2025 Masters start, seeing all but Friday’s second-round rebound in 2025 from the best seat in the house.

In that time, she’s seen some underrated gems — like McIlroy’s second on the 5th on Sunday in 2025 — and some true stinkers, like his tee shot on the 18th with the tournament on the line last Sunday. That’s when Pepper and the rest of the CBS team were thrust into an unenviable position, when McIlroy’s mega-right drive resulted in a mad search for his chunky second-shot, which the broadcast team briefly lost as it traveled from the pine straw into the front-left bunker.

The moment was a reminder of the vagaries of golf TV broadcasting, though nobody at home struggling to make sense of the most consequential moment of the tournament had much patience for it. McIlroy didn’t help matters by playing his second and third shots as if he was worried the meter in the Champions Parking Lot was about to expire.

Eventually, Pepper restored order with a quick blurb on the location, the forthcoming shot and the quality of the lie. And McIlroy soon delivered a tournament-clinching tap-in.

No guarantees that Pepper will be on McIlroy’s bag at the beginning of next year’s Masters, but McIlroy surely won’t squeal if she is. They have a good thing going.

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Thirteen months ago, Rory McIlroy wondered if he’d ever win the Masters.

As of Sunday night, he’s now won it twice.

With a final-round one-under 71, McIlroy outlasted a crowded field of contenders to claim the green jacket for the second consecutive year. In doing so, he joins Tiger Woods (2000-2001), Nick Faldo (1989-1990) and Jack Nicklaus (1965-1966) as the only men to win at Augusta National in back-to-back years.

“I can’t believe I waited 17 years to get one green jacket and, you know, I get two in a row” McIlroy said. “I think all of my perseverance at this golf tournament over the years has really started to pay off.”

At the halfway point of the tournament, another McIlroy victory seemed all but assured. With a tournament-record six-stroke lead over the field — aided by six birdies in seven holes to close out his second round — there wasn’t a question of if he would win, but rather by how much.

But as Augusta National has shown so many times before, no lead is safe on these legendary grounds. And just 11 holes into his third round, his cushion had vanished. He eventually signed for a one-over 73, and he left the grounds at Augusta in a much different position than when he’d arrived.

“This golf course has a way of, you know — when you’re not quite feeling it, you struggle,” McIlroy said Saturday evening. “I just need to go to the range and try to figure it out a little bit.”

When McIlroy arrived for his final-round tee time, he had company atop the leaderboard. Cameron Young, the newly minted Players champion, stormed up the leaderboard on Moving Day with seven-under 65 that tied him with McIlroy at 11-under heading into the final round. Among the other contenders were world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, five-time PGA Tour winner Sam Burns, and last year’s Masters’ runner-up Justin Rose.

“There’s a lot of guys in with a chance tomorrow,” McIlroy said. “I’m still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can’t forget that, but I do know I’m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win.”

Through the early going, it didn’t seem as if McIlroy would have the mettle to join the historic ranks of Woods, Faldo and Nicklaus. With a three-putt double at the 4th, and another sloppy bogey at the 6th, he dropped out of the lead as Young surged ahead. As McIlroy found his footing and made birdie at the 7th, Rose began making noise up ahead, carding three-consecutive birdies to take control of the outright lead.

In the final group, McIlroy continued plodding along — avoiding the disastrous mistakes that plagued him in his maiden Masters victory a year ago. And as he made birdies at the 12th and 13th to climb back into the lead, those around him began to crumble.

Rose couldn’t hold onto the lead he’d built early in the day, while Young struggled to get any momentum going after carding two front-nine birdies. Scheffler made a spirited charge with back-to-back late birdies on his way to posting the 11-under clubhouse lead, but despite not making a bogey over the final 36 holes, he couldn’t pull even with McIlroy.

In the end, the kid from Holywood, Northern Ireland wouldn’t be denied. When he stepped to the tee box of the 72nd hole, he held a two-stroke lead. A few moments later, he tapped in for bogey, looked to the sky and let out a roar. What once seemed like an insurmountable mountain to climb has now become an annual occurrence.

Once again, Rory McIlroy is a Masters champion.

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The Masters isn’t life or death. Not for golfers.

But it is for grass.

To produce the conditions the tournament is famed for — firm, smooth, lightning-fast — Augusta National’s maintenance team pushes turf to the limits of survival, letting it go thirsty, cutting it as short as five o’clock stubble.

Haotong Li described the effects vividly.

“Greens were definitely baked out,” Li said after a third-round 69 that left him in a tie for seventh. “It’s just so firm and green runs so quick. The grass are almost died actually.”

Almost. And that’s the point. It’s all part of a risk-reward game that turns the course into a premium playing surface while placing the grass under enormous strain.

The results can be visible to fans, too. Though the Masters is practically synonymous with green, it’s not uncommon for faint hints of brown to appear around the course as the tournament progresses, particularly when the weather is dry and breezy, as it has been this week. Television can exaggerate those discolorations. Still, as one veteran superintendent told Golf.com, those hints of brown have shown up earlier than usual in 2026.

As with most club matters, Augusta National does not comment publicly on its maintenance practices. But another superintendent with experience in Masters preparations said that brown can result from many factors, and that color alone is not a sign of a conditioning problem.

“At a place like Augusta, soft is unacceptable and slow is unacceptable,” the superintendent said. “If you want elite performance, you’ve got to get right to the edge of agronomic failure without crossing it.”

To do that, he said, “you back off irrigation hard, use heavy rolling, and possibly regulate growth aggressively.”

At Augusta National, he added, everything “is by design.” If the course looks a shade browner in places this year, it doesn’t mean anyone has dropped the ball. But it might reflect a shift in maintenance philosophy since the departure of Brad Owen, the club’s longtime director of agronomy, two years ago. Even the smallest change in any number of practices — fertilizer applications, mowing and rolling patterns, more continuous use of SubAir, the underground system that regulates moisture in the greens — could have a subtle influence on aesthetics. Throw in factors beyond even Augusta National’s control, like high winds or sudden spikes in evapotranspiration, and some variation is inevitable.

It’s unrealistic to expect a golf course to never change. What is realistic is to expect elite playing surfaces. On that front, no one has complained. Per usual, the course has earned nothing but praise from players, including Jason Day, who hailed the course conditions as impeccable after his Saturday round.

As today’s final round gets underway, Day is part of a packed leaderboard. Every golfer in the mix will experience the pressure. But they won’t be alone in feeling the strain.

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Golf’s biggest tournament has increased its overall purse once again. Augusta National Golf Club announced on Saturday the total 2026 Masters purse will be $22.5 million, up $1.5 million from last year’s $21 million.

The Masters winner’s prize has also increased, from $4.2 million last year to $4.5 million this year. That makes the Masters payout the biggest in major championship history.

The top-four finishers all take home over a million dollars, with the runner-up receiving $2.43 million, third place $1.53 million and fourth $1.08 million.

After 54 holes at Augusta National, Rory McIlroy and Cameron Young are tied for the lead at 11 under.

McIlroy, the defending champion, led by six after 36 holes but shot 73 on Friday. Young, who won the Players Championship last month, shot 65 on Friday.

“I’d like to think that I’ll play a little bit freer [Sunday] and I’ll play, you know, like I’ve already got a green jacket, which I do,” McIlroy said. “Sometimes I maybe just have to remind myself of that, but I think as well that the stakes in terms of, like, the pairing will be just a little bit easier. You know, the atmosphere out there will be a little bit easier. I’m not worried about that at all. I wish I was a few shots better off, but I’m comfortable. I played with Cam the first two days. Playing with him again [Sunday]. I think it’s a comfortable group for both of us.”

Sam Burns is alone at 10 under, Shane Lowry at nine under and Jason Day and Justin Rose both eight under. Finally, at seven under and four back is World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.

The final pairing of McIlroy and Young tees off at 2:25 p.m. ET Sunday. You can watch on CBS, and click here to see all the other ways you can watch the final round.

You can find the 2026 Masters payout breakdown below. The remaining professionals who made the cut will receive payouts ranging downward from $55,350, and all professionals who missed the cut receive $25,000.

2026 Masters payout breakdown, total money

1st — $4,500,000
2nd — $2,430,000
3rd — $1,530,000
4th — $1,080,000
5th — $900,000
6th — $810,000
7th — $753,750
8th — $697,500
9th — $652,500
10th — $607,500
11th — $562,500
12th — $517,500
13th — $472,500
14th — $427,500
15th — $405,000
16th — $382,500
17th — $360,000
18th — $337,500
19th — $315,000
20th — $292,500
21st — $270,000
22nd — $252,000
23rd — $234,000
24th — $216,000
25th — $198,000
26th — $180,000
27th — $173,250
28th — $166,500
29th — $159,750
30th — $153,000
31st — $146,250
32nd — $139,500
33rd — $132,750
34th — $127,125
35th — $121,500
36th — $115,875
37th — $110,250
38th — $105,750
39th — $101,250
40th — $96,750
41st — $92,250
42nd — $87,750
43rd — $83,250
44th — $78,750
45th — $74,250
46th — $69,750
47th — $65,250
48th — $61,650
49th — $58,500
50th — $56,700

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Check in to GOLF’s Tour Confidential every Sunday night for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport. This week, with the Masters at Augusta National, we’ll hit one key topic every night.

After leading by a record six-shot margin at the 36-hole mark, Rory McIlroy now shares the lead with Cameron Young at 11 under par with one round remaining. Sam Burns is one shot back at 10 under, followed by Shane Lowry at 9 under, Jason Day and Justin Rose at 8 under, and Scottie Scheffler and Haotong Li at 7 under. So, who’s slipping into a green jacket on Sunday evening?

Jack Hirsh, associate equipment editor (@JR_HIRSHey): That feels like a loaded question at this point… I don’t know who else to rationally think will win this golf course if it’s not Rory. I would assume he’ll fix whatever is going on with his ball striking because he’s putting together a world-class scrambling effort. I think if he’s just a little better off the tee and with his irons Sunday, he gets it done. Otherwise, Scottie pulls off the unthinkable. 

Zephyr Melton, associate game-improvement editor (@zephyrmelton): My heart tells me Rory gets it done, but my brain tells me it’s going to be Cameron Young. Since shooting 40 on his opening nine of the tournament, Young has been far and away the best player in the field, going 15 under over his next 45 holes. It’s going to take some serious golf to keep up with Young’s torrid pace, and with Rory looking exceedingly shaky on Saturday, I don’t know that he’s up for the task.

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By: Alan Bastable

Jessica Marksbury, senior editor (@jess_marksbury): I’m not having a strong feeling about any player at this point — you could make a reasonable case for just about anyone within four shots or so of the lead. But if I have to choose someone, it’s going to be Rory. Assuming today was pretty much as bad as it could be for him, with a six-shot lead melting away in 12 holes, he’s still in front with one round remaining, and I believe has the fortitude and experience to right the ship and get this done.

Josh sens, senior writer (@joshsens): Because the golf gods have a wicked sense of humor, and because I see Scheffler posting another low round, I predict we get a three-way playoff, with Scheffler edging McIlroy and Young in sudden-death. There’s no doubt Rory has put the worst of his Augusta agony in the past. But it’s not going to feel great, slipping the green jacket back on the guy who helped him put it on last year. This game is cruel like that.

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@schrock_and_awe): “Well, pal, we would’ve taken this on Monday morning.”

Yes, Rory’s six-shot lead evaporated after 12 holes. But he still has a share of the lead and I think he’ll be able to rectify the right miss with the driver and left miss with his irons and wedges. I expect Cam Young and Scottie Scheffler to push him, but I think Rory once again gets this across the line. Like Nicklaus in ‘75, who blew a five-shot lead with a Saturday 73 and then rebounded to win, Rory figures it out and beats Scottie by one.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. — Come Sunday night at Augusta National Golf Club, someone will win the Masters green jacket and their life will change forever.

It’s the most coveted jacket in all of sports, but it’s definitely not your ordinary coat. Let us explain.

First, the color. You know you were wondering. It’s Pantone 342, also known as Masters Green. (Your new basement hue? Smart choice.)

The club bought its first jackets from Brooks Uniform Company in 1937, but members, who were encouraged to buy them so patrons could identify reliable sources of information, were not thrilled about how warm they were. There have been a few different suppliers since then, but Hamilton Tailoring Co. has made them since 1967. (No, you can’t buy one.) Besides the club logo on the left chest pocket, it’s also on the brass buttons.

The jackets weren’t given to Masters champs until 1949, when Sam Snead won. They were awarded to all previous winners retroactively.

And you probably know this one, but Masters tradition is that the previous tournament’s winner puts the jacket on the new champ every Sunday night. But what about back-to-back winners? In 1966, when Jack Nicklaus repeated as champion, club co-founder Bobby Jones suggested, jokingly, that Nicklaus handle both roles and slip it on himself. The last two times there was a repeat champion, with Nick Faldo in 1990 and Tiger Woods in 2002, the club’s chairman assisted with the jacket. Although, with the 2026 tournament nearing its finish, there’s a chance we have our fourth repeat winner in tournament history.

Jackets are reserved for club members and Masters winners. That’s it. And don’t even think about taking them off the grounds. That right is reserved only for the reigning champ after their victory. But when their year is up and they return next April to defend their title, the jacket stays put as soon as the new champion puts theirs on. Three-time champ Gary Player forgot the rule one year and took his back to South Africa. When he heard from chairman Clifford Roberts, Player joked, “Well why don’t you come get it?”

There are certain times when Masters champions get to wear their jacket off grounds, but it’s only when they might be representing the tournament or club at a function or event, and of course, they’d need permission to do so.

As the Masters nears its finish every year, the club selects a few jackets that might fit the potential winner. The jacket the winner gets the night of their victory is not usually the one they keep. They are fitted immediately after their win and receive a new one.

These jackets aren’t found in the wild often, but when they are, the price tag is high. Back in 2013, Green Jacket Auctions sold inaugural Augusta National Invitational winner Horton Smith’s jacket for $682,229.

So while you likely won’t win the Masters to get your own green jacket, you could always just get asked to join the club. Although that might be even less likely. The LA Times published a story in 2023 that detailed an exclusive vault beneath the members’ pro shop that the club calls the “Green Jacket Experience” and “Green Jacket Vault,” where new club members are joined by chairman Fred Ridley and a tailor to get fitted for their own jackets.

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The post 6-shot leads are no guarantee at the Masters. Ask Greg Norman appeared first on Golf.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Greg Norman will be back in circulation at the Masters this weekend. His last appearance at Augusta National was two years ago, when he bought a ticket and made the scene as a patron, cheering on his LIV Golf players. He was the CEO of the rogue golf league then. Patrick Reed was one of his star golfers. Rory McIlroy was a nemesis. For a while there, dissing Norman and LIV Golf was like a hobby for McIlroy. Norman returned volley as required.
 
Norman’s return to the Masters this weekend will be in spirit, not in body. At the 1996 Masters, through 54 holes, Norman had a six-shot lead. On Sunday, in the final round, he played with Nick Faldo, his closest pursuer. Norman struggled mightily through the so-called Clubhouse Turn, making bogeys on 9 and 10 and 11. The last three holes felt more like a winter funeral than a springtime golf tournament. The Englishman shot 67. He won not by 1 or 2 or 3 or 4. He won by FIVE. Norman shot 78. An 11-shot swing.
 
And now McIlroy, the defending champion, has a six-shot lead over his two closest pursuers. One is Reed, the 2018 Masters winner and now former LIV golfer, in the process of rejoining the PGA Tour. The other is Sam Burns, looking to win his first major title.

There’s a theory, and it’s a legitimate one, that says it’s easier to win a second green jacket than a first, because if you have one you’re already in the Tuesday Night Supper Club forever. You have your golfing immortality all sewn up. Now you’re piling on, and you’re swinging freely. If you played out that bit of string theory to its end, you’d be looking only at Reed and McIroy, the only two former Masters winners who are under par. Reed, at six under, and Justin Rose, last year’s runner-up and now at five under, are off at 2:40 p.m. on Saturday. McIlroy, 12 under through two rounds, goes off with Burns, six under, at 2:50 p.m.
 
Everyone is asking the same questions: Can Rory McIlroy do anything other than win this Masters? And is a six-shot lead bulletproof?
 
Six, not nine. In 1997, the year after the Norman-Faldo finale, Tiger Woods had a nine-shot lead through 54 holes. Six, not four, which was McIlroy’s lead through 54 holes in 2011.
 
“There is no chance humanly possible that Tiger is just going to lose this tournament,” Colin Montgomerie said Saturday night in 1997. He compared the event to the previous one, the famous/infamous 1996 Masters. “This is different — this is very different. Faldo is not lying second for a start. And Greg Norman is not Tiger Woods.”
 
Unless we’re talking about Woods and a nine-shot lead, the question in these situations is not whether a six-shot lead is safe, because we know from history that a six-shot lead is not close to safe. Faldo did what he did over 18 holes. Reed and Co. have 36 to chip away. The real questions are what will be the winning score and who can get there? If 12 under is the winning score, Reed of course can get there. (So can Burns.) Two rounds of 69 will do it. If McIlroy goes flat — it’s not likely but golf is a funny game — and shoots even par today and goes out in 36 on Sunday, the tourney will be wide open.
 
Again, not likely. But possible.
 
Greg Norman has been paying attention. In a text exchange, he was asked (in a manner of speaking) about what he had learned from his 1996 experience. Along the way, he was offering insight into this 90th Masters and where McIlroy is now.
 
“In any circumstance, all you can do is run through the finish line, no matter where one stands,” Norman said. “An impressive lead after 36 holes. Good for him.”
 
They both know how hard it is. How glorious, too.

Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael.Bamberger@Golf.com.

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The post Why does Fred Couples love Augusta National? He gives an ‘idiot’ answer appeared first on Golf.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Why do you love Augusta National?

Idiot question. 

Maybe it shouldn’t have been asked. Not after Thursday, when he rewound the clock for 14/18ths of his Masters first round, only to be undone on the par-5 15th (quadruple bogey), the par-3 16th (double bogey) and the par-4 17th (double bogey). Nine-five-four. You dial that on a phone, but never on a golf course, should you want to answer the bell. 

Maybe the idiot question shouldn’t have been asked following the cruel occurrences on the par-3 12th and the 15th. Thirty-four years ago on 12, on his way to winning, his ball somehow took a seat on the upslope to the green, leaving Rae’s Creek below thirsty. This Friday, after he backed away a couple of times before swinging, his ball landed around that same area, took around the same number of tumbles — and dove in. On 15 on Thursday, he found the pond that defends the front of the green twice on his way to that nine. On Friday, he dropped one ball into the water, but the hope, of course, is less than that. “I’ve never wedged it into the water or really wedged it 15 yards over the green,” he said. “In the old days, I went for it every time, but not for 10 or 12 years, and then now it’s water, water, water every time I look at the goddamn thing, and I don’t know why.”

Maybe the idiot question shouldn’t have been asked as he realizes that his singular identity to the masses — one of the best ever to hit a stationary ball — is becoming unrecognizable over time. In premier-level golf, birthdays add both candles and strokes. On Thursday at the Masters, he shot 78. On Friday, a 75. Maybe this year is the last one for the 66-year-old, though it’s unlikely. But perhaps next year. His goodbye is coming. 

And yet, maybe now is the ideal time to ask. He’d declared his feelings ahead of this year’s Masters. What do they say in marriage vows? For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health? Do you still love something when things aren’t going to your liking? You may get a bit of an anthem if he did. On him. On the Masters and Augusta National, which, while not necessary, is always welcome, given various states of world affair (and we’ll leave that at that).

And there he was on Friday, still smitten. He was practically prancing as he birdied the par-4 9th after a soft-landing wedge, and every man, woman and child got a fist-pound on the way to the 10th. En route to the 11th, he bypassed the rope-lined path, lifted another rope about 50 yards to the left of it and just walked among folks. Five dudes looked up from their green beer cups to see him in front of them. His swing on 14 was the epitome of “tempo.” But it was how he moved. Connection. A thump of the driver head against the hollow turf before he leaned on the club to grab his tee. A tilted-up head. The chest-forward strut toward the ball in the middle of the green floor under the blue roof. Walking up the 17th fairway, he also licked his finger to clean the face of his driver. Standing on the 18th tee, he licked his golf ball to remove a bit of dirt.

News

Justin Rose, in Masters hunt again, provides fodder for new Amen Corner

By: Michael Bamberger

But the patrons love it. They love him. If the Masters has a green jacket-wearing mascot, it’d be him, the 1992 green jacket winner. Ask a security guard at the 2nd tee how her day is going, and she’ll tell you about the “king” that came through earlier. Ask U.S. Mid-Am winner Brandon Holtz whom he’d want to play a practice round with, and his name comes out first. 

So let’s ask him this: 

Why does he think the patrons love him? 

“Well, I’m better off here than other tournaments. I can be real on that. I’ll give you a real answer.”

We wouldn’t take it any other way. He continued.

“I have a lot of respect for this place. I have a lot of respect for golf.”

And that’s part of what I heard when I asked:

Why do you love Augusta National?

Here are his first 114 words. 

“You know, as a kid you grow up watching it. I can’t tell you, you know, Sam Snead and what he did, Hubert Green, and then Jack Nicklaus winning and Tom Weiskopf. Those were all the greats. Weiskopf, Green, Sneed, they never won, and maybe they should have.

“Then you come here, and you finally see it, and you go, you know, it’s — I mean, the only other guy I’ve really heard use the same words is Phil [Mickelson]. It’s like paradise. People love it, but I consider it to be just the greatest walk you could ever have.

“There are great courses all over the world, but there are none of them like this.”

And here are the last 31 words to Fred Couples’ answer:

“First of all, you would have to be an idiot not to love Augusta National. I don’t know if you can use those words, but they might like that, hearing that.”

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Check in to GOLF’s Tour Confidential every Sunday night for the unfiltered opinions of our writers and editors as they break down the hottest topics in the sport. This week, with the Masters at Augusta National, we’ll hit one key topic every night.

We are at the halfway point of the 2026 Masters, and everyone is chasing Rory McIlroy. The defending champ poured in six birdies over his final seven holes to close out his second round, posting a seven-under 65 to open up a six-shot lead. Sam Burns and Patrick Reed are tied in second at six under, while the trio of Justin Rose, Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood sit another shot back. There are still 36 holes to play, but McIlroy’s six-shot lead at the halfway mark is the largest in Masters history. Can anyone catch him?

Sean Zak, senior writer (@sean_zak): Absolutely not. Patrick Reed is playing incredible golf. McIlroy got some incredible breaks. Get them in the final pairing on Sunday and anything is in play. That said, I’m definitely afraid that it’s over. I’m considering it. I’m hopeful it’s not because that’s no fun. 

Josh Sens, senior writer (@JoshSens): Agreed. Long coronations are only fun for the player being crowned. Hard to know which Rory we’ll see, though. Is it going to be the McIlroy who squeezed the life out of the U.S. Open at Congressional and the PGA Championship at Kiawah? Or the Heart Attack Kid of last year at Augusta? My guess is something in between. I expect him to win fairly comfortably in the end, but I also think he’ll make it interesting along the way with a loose, perplexing swing here and there — with some help from the guys chasing him.

Zephyr Melton, associate game-improvement editor (@zephyrmelton): As Rory knows all too well, no lead is safe around Augusta National. A six-shot cushion is great heading into the weekend, but there’s nothing harder than playing with a lead. He’ll now sleep on the lead for the second straight night — and I’d imagine sleep will be hard to come by. These next 36 holes will go a long way in defining Rory’s legacy, a fact I’m sure he is well aware of. Playing with that on his mind will be no easy task.

Josh Schrock, associate news editor (@schrock_and_awe): There’s still a lot of golf to be played, but I do fear that we are another good nine-hole stretch away from this being a coronation. Rory is 90th in driving accuracy out of 91 players in the field and leads by six. He has gotten some breaks but has also been patient, taken his medicine and taken advantage of the bounces when he has gotten them. Patrick Reed and Justin Rose are playing good golf and I would expect one of them to push Rory over the weekend, but we’re on the verge of this thing being over before we get to Sunday.

James Colgan, news and features editor (@jamescolgan26): Nope, definitely not over. In fact, there’s a persuasive argument that the story only just now gets interesting. I’m sorta amazed by how much time is left. If a six-shot lead becomes a three-shot lead tomorrow, nobody will bat an eye … but that’ll make Sunday afternoon tight. Rory isn’t just battling the field now, he’s battling complacency.

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