Rory McIlroy bemoaned the woeful pace of play after seeing his bid for a career grand slam blown off course on day two of the Masters.

McIlroy’s birdie-free second round of 77 took an incredible six hours and two minutes to complete alongside Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler, the world number one’s 72 giving him a share of the halfway lead with Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau on six under par.

McIlroy, who slumped to four over, said: “Tough day, really tough day.

“Just hard to make a score and just sort of trying to make as many pars as possible. I felt like I did okay. I made that bogey on 14, and even just to par the last four holes and get in the clubhouse and have a tee time tomorrow, I’m sort of pretty happy with.”

Asked about the pace of play, McIlroy said: “It felt long, yeah. Especially that 11th hole, it felt like it took an hour to play that hole.

“It was stop and start, hard to get into a rhythm with the conditions and obviously how slow the play was as well.”

He continued: “I won from 10 back [at halfway] in Dubai at the start of the year, but obviously the Dubai Desert Classic and the Masters are two very different golf tournaments.

“We’ll see. Hopefully the conditions are a little better tomorrow. Yeah, I still think I can go out tomorrow and shoot a low one, get back into red numbers, and have half a chance going into Sunday.”

Rory McIlroy admitted he faced an uphill task to play his way back into contention as Tiger Woods remained focused on an unlikely Masters triumph.

McIlroy struggled to a birdie-free second round of 77 at a windswept Augusta National to fall 10 shots off the lead shared by world number one Scottie Scheffler, Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau.

Woods was three shots closer to the leaders after a battling 72 saw him make a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters, with the whole field separated by 12 shots after the cut fell at six over par.

McIlroy said: “I won from 10 back [at halfway] in Dubai at the start of the year, but obviously the Dubai Desert Classic and the Masters are two very different golf tournaments.

“We’ll see. Hopefully the conditions are a little better. I still think I can go out and shoot a low one, get back into red numbers, and have half a chance going into Sunday.”

Woods sounded more optimistic than McIlroy when asked to assess his position.

“It means I have a chance to win the golf tournament,” Woods said.

“I’m right there. It’s really bunched. The way the ball is moving on the greens, chip shots are being blown, it’s all you want in a golf course.”

Shot of the day

Former champion Danny Willett holed his approach to the eighth for an eagle.

Statistic of the day

Top statistician Justin Ray highlights the tough task for the chasing pack.

Quote of the day

“You can be made to look like an idiot out there today by not doing too much wrong” – Shane Lowry on the difficulty presented by the strong, swirling winds.

Hardest hole

The 11th played as the hardest hole for the second day running with just one birdie, 30 bogeys and 10 double bogeys leading to a scoring average of 4.494.
Easiest hole

The par-five second hole was the easiest, yielding one eagle, 42 birdies and just six bogeys for a scoring average of 4.607.

Key tee times (all BST)

1555 Rory McIlroy, Camilo Villegas
1745 Tiger Woods, Tyrrell Hatton
1915 Ludvig Aberg, Matthieu Pavon
1935 Scottie Scheffler, Nicolai Hojgaard
1945 Max Homa, Bryson DeChambeau

Weather forecast

Mostly sunny with temperatures set to reach the mid-70s. A few wind gusts to 20mph may occur between 12-5pm. Mostly sunny and warmer on Sunday, with the temperature climbing into the mid-80s.

Tiger Woods refused to give up on his dream of a 16th major title after making a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters on another windswept day at Augusta National.

Woods completed 23 holes in more than seven hours on the course on Friday, a remarkable effort from the injury-ravaged 48-year-old which prompted a standing ovation from the spectators around the 18th green.

The five-time Masters champion had to shield his face from sand whipped from the bunkers on the last before tapping in to complete a second round of 72 for a halfway total of one over par.

That left Woods seven shots off the lead shared by playing partner Max Homa, world number one Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau, who could only add a 73 to his opening 65.

“It means I have a chance to win the golf tournament,” Woods said.

“I’m right there. I don’t think anyone is going to run off and hide right now, but it’s really bunched. The way the ball is moving on the greens, chip shots are being blown, it’s all you want in a golf course today.”

Asked about his 24th consecutive cut, Woods – who had shared the record of 23 with Freddie Couples and Gary Player – said: “I’ve always loved playing here.

“I’ve been able to play here since I was 19 years old. It’s one of the honours I don’t take lightly, being able to compete.

“The years I have missed, I wish I was able to play because there’s such an aura and mystique about playing this golf course that, unless you have played and competed here, you probably don’t really appreciate.”

Woods was one of 27 players unable to complete their first rounds on Thursday following a lengthy weather delay, the 15-time major winner covering his first 13 holes in one under par.

Play resumed at 0750 local time (1250BST) on Friday and Woods bogeyed the 14th and 18th to complete a 73 which left him with just 49 minutes to rest, refuel or practise before he got his second round got under way.

A rollercoaster front nine consisted of three pars, three bogeys and three birdies, including a superb chip-in on the sixth, with a more sedate back nine adding up to a battling 72.

“It’s been a long day,” Woods said with a smile. “It was a good fight.”

Asked what it was like playing alongside Woods after adding a 71 to his opening 67, Homa said: “It was awesome. It really is a dream to get to play with him here.

“I always wanted to just watch him hit iron shots around here, and I was right up next to him. It was really cool.

“His short game was so good. I don’t think I can explain how good some of the chip shots he hit today were.

“He’s special. We had a really quick turnaround, and if I was feeling tired and awful, I imagine he was feeling even worse.

“And on 18, we had sandblasts for 45 seconds, and I turned around five times so I didn’t get crushed in the face, and he’s standing there like a statue and then poured it right in the middle.

“So all the cliches you hear about him and all the old stories about how he will grind it out, it was fun to see that in person.”

With winds gusting up to 42mph, the pace of play was funereal and the penultimate group of Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele took six hours and two minutes to complete 18 holes.

Scheffler added a 72 to his opening 66 and Schauffele returned a second consecutive 72 to remain level par, but McIlroy struggled to a birdie-free 77 to slump to four over.

Defending champion Jon Rahm was a stroke further back following a 76, with the cut falling at six over to allow two-time winner Jose Maria Olazabal to make the weekend at the age of 58.

Tiger Woods refused to give up on his dream of a 16th major title after making a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters on another windswept day at Augusta National.

Woods completed 23 holes in more than seven hours on the course on Friday, a remarkable effort from the injury-ravaged 48-year-old which prompted a standing ovation from the spectators around the 18th green.

The five-time Masters champion had to shield his face from sand whipped from the bunkers on the last before tapping in to complete a second round of 72 for a halfway total of one over par.

That left Woods seven shots off the clubhouse lead shared by playing partner Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau, who could only add a 73 to his opening 65.

“It means I have a chance to win the golf tournament,” Woods said.

“I’m right there. I don’t think anyone is going to run off and hide right now, but it’s really bunched. The way the ball is moving on the greens, chip shots are being blown, it’s all you want in a golf course today.”

Asked about his 24th consecutive cut, Woods – who had shared the record of 23 with Freddie Couples and Gary Player – said: “I’ve always loved playing here.

“I’ve been able to play here since I was 19 years old. It’s one of the honours I don’t take lightly, being able to compete.

“The years I have missed, I wish I was able to play because there’s such an aura and mystique about playing this golf course that, unless you have played and competed here, you probably don’t really appreciate.”

Woods was one of 27 players unable to complete their first rounds on Thursday following a lengthy weather delay, the 15-time major winner covering his first 13 holes in one under par.

Play resumed at 0750 local time (1250BST) on Friday and Woods bogeyed the 14th and 18th to complete a 73 which left him with just 49 minutes to rest, refuel or practise before he got his second round got under way.

A rollercoaster front nine consisted of three pars, three bogeys and three birdies, including a superb chip-in on the sixth, with a more sedate back nine adding up to a battling 72.

“It’s been a long day,” Woods said with a smile. “It was a good fight.

“This golf course will expose any weaknesses you have, the greens are quick right now and this wind is all over the place. It was a great test.”

Coming into the week, Woods had played fewer than five-and-a-half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round.

He returned to action in the Hero World Challenge in December and completed all 72 holes, but was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness after six holes of the second round.

Asked what it was like playing alongside Woods after adding a 71 to his opening 67, Homa said: “It was awesome. It really is a dream to get to play with him here.

“I always wanted to just watch him hit iron shots around here, and I was right up next to him. It was really cool. His short game was so good. I don’t think I can explain how good some of the chip shots he hit today were.

“He’s special. We had a really quick turnaround, and if I was feeling tired and awful, I imagine he was feeling even worse.

“And on 18, we had sandblasts for 45 seconds, and I turned around five times so I didn’t get crushed in the face, and he’s standing there like a statue and then poured it right in the middle.

“So all the cliches you hear about him and all the old stories about how he will grind it out, it was fun to see that in person.”

Danny Willett’s bid for an unlikely second Masters title in his first event since undergoing shoulder surgery suffered a massive blow with a triple bogey on the 18th which dropped him five shots off the lead.

Tiger Woods completed 23 holes in a day to make a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters on another windswept day at Augusta National.

Woods had to shield his face from sand whipped from the bunkers on the 18th before tapping in for par to add a second round of 72 to his opening 73, a remarkable effort which prompted a standing ovation from the spectators around the green.

“I’ve been lucky enough to have been able to play this event for all these years,” Woods told ESPN.

“I did miss the cut as an amateur, but as a pro I’ve done well. It’s just an amazing aura that Augusta National has and I’ve been lucky enough coming here since I was 19 years old.”

Woods was one of 27 players unable to complete their first rounds on Thursday following a lengthy weather delay, the 15-time major winner covering his first 13 holes in one under par.

Play resumed at 0750 local time (1250BST) on Friday and Woods bogeyed the 14th following a clumsy chip from short of the green before scrambling for par on the 15th after another misjudged approach.

Woods then left birdie putts on the 16th and 17th short of the hole before dropping a shot on the last after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

That gave the 48-year-old an opening 73 and just 49 minutes to rest, refuel or practise before he got his second round got under way with two pars and a birdie on the third.

Woods bogeyed the par-three fourth after missing the green with his approach and dropped another shot on the fifth after finding a bunker off the tee but made amends in style by chipping in for birdie on the sixth.

A rollercoaster round continued with a bogey on the seventh and a birdie on the par-five eighth, followed by just a third par of the round on the ninth after hitting his approach into the spectators right of the green.

The back nine was a quieter affair with seven pars, one birdie and one bogey all adding up to yet another weekend of action at Augusta.

“It’s been a long day,” Woods said with a smile. “It was a good fight, we did really well out there and I’m still right there in the ball game with a great chance going into the weekend

“This golf course will expose any weaknesses you have, the greens are quick right now and this wind is all over the place. It was a great test.”

Coming into the week, Woods had played fewer than five-and-a-half competitive rounds since undergoing ankle surgery in April last year after withdrawing from the Masters during the third round.

He returned to action in the Hero World Challenge in December and completed all 72 holes, but was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness after six holes of the second round.

Playing alongside Woods, Max Homa added a 71 to his opening 67 to set the clubhouse target on six under par, with Bryson DeChambeau eight under after 13 holes of his round.

Tiger Woods was battling to make a record 24th consecutive cut in the Masters on another windswept day at Augusta National.

Woods was one of 27 players unable to complete their first rounds on Thursday following a lengthy weather delay, the 15-time major winner covering his first 13 holes in one under par.

Play resumed at 0750 local time (1250BST) on Friday and Woods bogeyed the 14th following a clumsy chip from short of the green before scrambling for par on the 15th after another misjudged approach.

Woods then left birdie putts on the 16th and 17th short of the hole before dropping a shot on the last after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker.

That gave the 48-year-old an opening 73 and just 49 minutes to rest, refuel or practise before he got his second round got under way with two pars and a birdie on the third.

Woods bogeyed the par-three fourth after missing the green with his approach and dropped another shot on the fifth after finding a bunker off the tee but made amends in style by chipping in for birdie on the sixth.

A rollercoaster round continued with a bogey on the seventh and a birdie on the par-five eighth, followed by just a third par of the round on the ninth after hitting his approach into the spectators right of the green.

At one over par Woods was two shots inside the early projected cut line, while playing partner Max Homa found himself in the outright lead after an early stumble from Bryson DeChambeau.

Homa, who had birdied the 16th and 17th on his way to completing an opening 67, birdied the second and fourth in round two to improve to seven under par, with DeChambeau following three pars with a bogey on the fourth.

Former champion Jordan Spieth was heading for just his second missed cut in 11 Masters appearances after running up a quadruple-bogey nine on the 15th.

Spieth hit his third shot long, chipped back across the green into the water and, after taking a penalty drop, hit his sixth shot over the green once more.

From there the 2015 winner three-putted and, after eventually signing for an opening 79, remained seven over par midway through his second round.

Open champion Brian Harman had fared even worse, dropping seven shots in the last three holes to post an opening 81.

Rory McIlroy had mixed emotions after carding a one-under-par 71 on a windswept opening day of the 88th Masters.

McIlroy, carded four birdies and three bogeys in his lowest opening round since 2018, but ended the day five shots behind playing partner Scottie Scheffler and six adrift of clubhouse leader Bryson DeChambeau.

“It’s satisfying in one sense because it’s a decent start compared to the way I’ve played here recently, but I felt like it could have been two or three better,” McIlroy, who is making his 10th attempt to win a green jacket and complete the career grand slam, said.

“I think after the slow start making a few birdies around the turn was good. A little wasteful coming in. I had a good chance for birdie on 15 in the middle of the fairway and didn’t take that.

“Missed a shortish one on 16 and then the bogey on 17. But overall still not a bad score, and obviously a lot of golf left to play.

“I’m definitely not out of the tournament and not chasing anything tomorrow. I’m playing with Scottie so can keep an eye on what he’s doing and I’m looking forward to getting back out there.

“If you look at Scottie compared to the rest of the field, the amount of bogey-free rounds he shoots is phenomenal, and that’s the secret to winning major championships.

“I made three bogeys today, which is fine out there in these conditions, but just need to tidy it up a little bit to try to keep up with him.”

Tiger Woods faced the prospect of completing 23 holes in one day as he looked to keep his hopes of a record-equalling sixth Masters title alive on Friday.

Woods was among the 27 players who were unable to finish their first rounds on Thursday at Augusta National after bad weather meant the start of play had been delayed by two and a half hours.

The 15-time major winner managed to complete 13 holes in one under par to lie six shots off the pace set by former US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, with pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler just a shot behind following a flawless 66.

Scheffler came into the week with form figures of 1-1-2 and the biggest obstacle to a third win in four starts would appear to be his wife Meredith going into labour with their first child.

“The nursery is not quite ready and we’ve had some issues at our house the last few weeks,” Scheffler said. “I think that’s the exciting part. I think we are definitely underprepared to be parents.

“As far as her going into labour, I wouldn’t say I’m very concerned. We haven’t seen any of the early signs. But pregnancy is weird. It can happen at any time.

“Yeah, [we have] open lines of communication and she can get a hold of me if she needs to. I’m ready to go at a moment’s notice.”

Shot of the day

Scottie Scheffler holed out from a bunker on the 12th for his third birdie in a flawless 66.

Statistic of the day

Top statistician Justin Ray highlights the tough task facing anyone carding one under par or worse in round one.

Quote of the day

“It feels like I’ve just gone 12 rounds against Mike Tyson” – Former champion Sergio Garcia after battling the windy conditions to shoot 72.

Hardest hole

With three players yet to complete the hole, the 11th was narrowly ranked the hardest hole ahead of the 18th, with six birdies, 32 bogeys and three double bogeys giving a scoring average of 4.372.

Easiest hole

The par-five eighth played downwind and yielded three eagles, 50 birdies and just three bogeys for a scoring average of 4.404.

Tee times

The first round will resume at 0750 local time (1250BST), with the second round getting under way at 0800.

Weather forecast

Slightly cooler and less humid conditions return Friday with mostly sunny skies and highs in the low 70s. It will continue to be windy out of the west at 15-20mph, with gusts up to 30mph throughout the day. After a cool start on Saturday morning, temperatures will rebound nicely this weekend with highs in the upper 70s Saturday and low to mid 80s on Sunday with plentiful sunshine.

Bryson DeChambeau beat his personal par by two shots as a relentless Scottie Scheffler made an ominous start to his bid for a second Masters title.

Almost three and a half years after claiming that Augusta National was a “par 67 for me” due to his prodigious hitting, DeChambeau carded a seven-under-par 65 on a windswept opening day which followed a lengthy weather delay.

But that was only good enough for a one-shot lead over Scheffler, the world number one and 2022 champion posting a bogey-free 66 that left playing partner Rory McIlroy trailing in his wake.

McIlroy, who is making his 10th attempt to win the Masters and complete a career grand slam, made four birdies and three bogeys in his 71, while defending champion Jon Rahm bogeyed the last two holes in a 73.

Former champion Danny Willett posted a superb 68 in his first event since undergoing shoulder surgery in September, the 36-year-old only deciding on Sunday that he was ready to compete in the year’s first major.

DeChambeau birdied his first three holes and bounced back from his only dropped shot of the day on the ninth with a back nine of 31, which included birdies on the 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th.

The 30-year-old’s par-67 comment came two months after he won the 2020 US Open, but left him open to ridicule after he could only manage a best score of 69 and finished 18 shots behind winner Dustin Johnson, now a fellow LIV Golf player.

“Regarding the 67 comment, you know, You mess up, I’m not a perfect person,” DeChambeau admitted. “Everyone messes up.

“You learn from your mistakes and that was definitely one.”

Asked if his comment actually had merit given his round today, DeChambeau was not about to take the bait.

“You’re trying to pigeonhole me into saying that again, aren’t you?” he said with a smile. I’m not going to comment on that.

“Sure, if you want to line the math up that way, that is a perspective you can take. It was a perspective I had, and it cost me a lot of slack, I guess you could say. It definitely hurt some things.

“But look, I’ll say this again. I shot 65 today, and that was one of the best rounds of golf I’ve played in a long time. There’s three more days to go, and I’m not losing sight of that fact.”

McIlroy will be pleased there are 54 holes remaining after battling to remain in red figures over the closing stretch, the four-time major winner having earlier been the subject of a mixture of criticism and encouragement from Jack Nicklaus.

Nicklaus said he believes McIlroy will win the Masters at some stage to complete the career grand slam, but also offered his opinion on why the Northern Irishman had failed to win a major since the 2014 US PGA.

“I only have one criticism of Rory,” Nicklaus told Golf Channel. “You have to concentrate 100 per cent of the time.

“For some reason, Rory always has a little bit of a lapse somewhere around the tournament. He’ll find a double bogey or triple bogey that sneaks in there.

“I don’t know how he does it or why he does it, but it happens. And I wish that wouldn’t happen.”

Former champion Danny Willett enjoyed a superb start when the 88th Masters belatedly got under way on Thursday.

Making his first start since undergoing shoulder surgery in September, Willett recorded the first birdie of the week on the opening hole and added another from close range on the third.

That took the 36-year-old from Sheffield to the top of the early leaderboard on two under par, a shot ahead of a four-strong group which included Bryson DeChambeau and Erik van Rooyen.

Van Rooyen had been due to hit the opening tee shot at 8am local time (1300BST) but rain was already falling when tournament officials announced at 5am that play would not get under way on time.

Play was initially delayed by at least an hour and, although most of the worst thunderstorms looked to have skirted the area, it was subsequently announced that play would start at 1030 local time (1530GMT).

Honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson kicked off proceedings 20 minutes earlier by each hitting a tee shot on the first hole before retiring to the clubhouse.

The delay meant the first round would not be completed on schedule, with the last group of Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood not teeing off until 1630 local time.

Fleetwood, who had been drawn in the final group in round one for the second successive year, had taken on weather monitoring duties in the absence of long-time caddie Ian Finnis, who is recovering from illness back in England.

“I generally wake up and take the weather for what it is, just go out and play with the conditions we get, but I’ve heard the forecast is pretty bad,” Fleetwood said.

“The conditions are going to play a part in how the golf course plays and what happens there, so we’ll see.”

Pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler will partner Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele in the first two rounds, with the star trio now due to tee off at 1312 local time (1812BST).

Defending champion Jon Rahm gets his attempt to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo in winning back-to-back Masters titles under way in the preceding group alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Nick Dunlap.

The start of the 88th Masters was delayed by two and a half hours on Thursday due to bad weather at Augusta National.

South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen had been due to hit the opening tee shot at 8am local time (1300BST) but rain was already falling when tournament officials announced at 5am that play would not get under way on time.

Play was initially delayed by at least an hour and, although most of the worst thunderstorms looked to have skirted the area, it was subsequently announced that play would start at 1030 local time (1530GMT).

Honorary starters Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson were scheduled to kick off proceedings by each hitting a tee shot on the first hole 20 minutes earlier.

The delay meant the first round would not be completed on schedule, with the last group of Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and Tommy Fleetwood not teeing off until 1630 local time.

Fleetwood, who had been drawn in the final group in round one for the second successive year, had taken on weather monitoring duties in the absence of long-time caddie Ian Finnis, who is recovering from illness back in England.

“I generally wake up and take the weather for what it is, just go out and play with the conditions we get, but I’ve heard the forecast is pretty bad,” Fleetwood said.

“The conditions are going to play a part in how the golf course plays and what happens there, so we’ll see.”

Pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler will partner Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele in the first two rounds, with the star trio now due to tee off at 1312 local time (1812BST).

Defending champion Jon Rahm gets his attempt to join Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo in winning back-to-back Masters titles under way in the preceding group alongside Matt Fitzpatrick and Nick Dunlap.

The first round of the 88th Masters has been delayed by at least an hour due to bad weather at Augusta National.

South Africa’s Erik van Rooyen was due to hit the opening tee shot at 8am local time (1300BST), but rain was already falling when tournament officials announced at 5am that play would not get under way on time.

“We continue to monitor the weather closely,” an official statement read.

“Gate openings and tee times have been delayed until further notice. The first round will not begin before 9 a.m.”

Thunderstorms, heavy rain and winds gusting up to 45mph were all forecast for Thursday.

England’s Tommy Fleetwood has been drawn in the final group in round one for the second successive year, but he will not let the uncertain weather affect his preparations.

“I generally wake up and take the weather for what it is, just go out and play with the conditions we get, but I’ve heard the forecast is pretty bad,” Fleetwood, who is without long-time caddie Ian Finnis this week due to illness, said.

“The conditions are going to play a part in how the golf course plays and what happens there, so we’ll see.”

Most people leave Las Vegas with considerably less money than when they arrived, but Rory McIlroy’s recent trip to Sin City could prove priceless.

Faced with a mediocre run of results by his standards and with the 88th Masters on the horizon, McIlroy headed west for a lesson with famous coach Butch Harmon, the man behind the first eight of Tiger Woods’s 15 major titles.

Harmon’s credentials mean McIlroy’s visit could not entirely be labelled a gamble, but it was a significant rolling of the dice ahead of his 10th attempt to complete the career grand slam by earning a fabled green jacket.

“I’ve done this a number of times in my career,” McIlroy said. “I met Butch when I was 14 years old, so we’ve always had a good relationship. If there’s one guy that I want to go and get a second opinion from, it’s him.

“It’s the same stuff that I’ve been trying to do with my coach Michael (Bannon), but he sort of just said it in a different way that maybe hit home with me a little bit more.

“It was a really worthwhile trip.”

Proof of that came with a final round of 66 and third place in the following week’s Valero Texas Open, albeit nine shots behind winner Akshay Batia, and McIlroy arrived in Augusta on Tuesday lunchtime as a firm second favourite behind world number one Scottie Scheffler.

Such a late arrival – McIlroy was the last of the 89 players to register – was another departure from the norm, as was a truncated press conference which saw the four-time major winner face just seven questions.

Woods had been far more expansive an hour or so earlier, reiterating his belief that McIlroy winning the Masters was just “a matter of time”, but also insisting that a sixth green jacket and 16th major title was not out of the question, despite his ongoing injury problems.

Odds of 150/1 on that eventuality suggest the bookmakers do not share such optimism, while prices of 4/1 on Scheffler winning a second Masters title in three years are the kind Woods regularly justified in his prime.

The 2022 champion has been in brilliant form this season, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots and seven days later becoming the first player to win back-to-back Players Championship titles at Sawgrass.

Only a short missed birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Houston Open cost Scheffler the chance of a third straight win and it would be a huge surprise if he was not at least in contention on Sunday.

The same can also be said of defending champion Jon Rahm, despite his shock defection to LIV Golf making it harder to objectively assess his recent form.

Rahm has finished third, eighth, fifth, 14th and fifth again so far this season, but knows from personal experience that previous success counts for a lot at the only venue which hosts a major championship every year.

Despite starting last year’s Masters by four-putting the opening hole for a double bogey, Rahm went on to win his second major title by four shots from LIV players Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson, with Patrick Reed another stroke back in fourth.

Koepka went on to win the US PGA Championship a month later and remains a different player in majors than regular events, while US Open champion Wyndham Clark and world number nine Ludvig Aberg are bidding to become the first player to win on their Masters debut since Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979.

A rookie winning would no doubt be galling to McIlroy, but he could yet hit the jackpot.

Scottie Scheffler intends to keep the secrets of Masters success to himself as he bids to justify his position as pre-tournament favourite with a second green jacket.

The 2022 champion has been in brilliant form this season, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots and seven days later becoming the first player to win back-to-back Players Championship titles at Sawgrass.

Only a short missed birdie putt on the 72nd hole of the Houston Open cost Scheffler the chance of a third straight win and the world number one has rightly been made favourite for the 88th Masters at the kind of odds last seen for Tiger Woods at his prime.

Scheffler’s victory two years ago was aided by a yardage book given to him by Ben Crenshaw’s former caddie Carl Jackson, who worked at Augusta National for 54 years.

Crenshaw arranged a meeting between the pair as bad weather delayed the pre-tournament par-three contest and, four days later, Scheffler secured his first major title by three shots, despite four-putting the 72nd hole.

“I’m not going to expand too much on Carl’s secrets in front of people but it was my third Masters and I sat in the back of the caddie house with Carl,” Scheffler said.

“Ben had suggested that I just sit down with him for a few minutes and he gave me a yardage book that had some of where I think he called it grain is, where some of the slopes are.

“And it’s just a yardage book that has some arrows in it. (But) I’m not going to tell you where the arrows are pointing.

“It’s something that I’ll kind of review at night and I always look at it in the lead-up to the tournament just because there is kind of some weird stuff that goes on around the golf course.”

Jon Rahm will defend his title when the 88th Masters takes place at Augusta National from April 11-14.

Rahm is bidding to become just the fourth player to win back-to-back green jackets after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main contenders for the year’s first major championship.

The 2022 champion has been in brilliant form in 2024, winning the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots and seven days later becoming the first player to win back-to-back Players Championship titles at Sawgrass. Switching putters on the advice of Rory McIlroy has proved vital, although missed short putts did cost him a third straight win in the Houston Open. Rightly rated favourite for a second green jacket at the kind of odds previously only offered for peak-era Tiger Woods.

Started last year with a four-putt double bogey on the first but still shot an opening 65 and ended up winning his second major title by four shots over LIV Golf duo Brooks Koepka and Phil Mickelson. Remarkably returns to Augusta as a fellow member of the Saudi-backed breakaway, a shock move which ensures his competitive sharpness will be under scrutiny. Will be hoping Koepka and Mickelson proved last year that experience of the course is more important than current form.

McIlroy’s 10th attempt to win the Masters and complete a career grand slam comes on the back of some underwhelming form since winning in Dubai in January, although the world number two remains second favourite behind Scheffler. His recent record at Augusta National includes a thrilling final round of 64 in 2022 and two missed cuts and the four-time major winner is reportedly set to skip the pre-tournament par-three contest to fully focus on his bid to make history.

Schauffele insisted the best was yet to come in his career after narrowly missing out on the Players Championship title, the Olympic champion taking a one-shot lead into the final round only to get overhauled by a charging Scheffler. Failing to get over the line perpetuated the belief in some circles that Schauffele has underachieved, although he has seven PGA Tour titles to go with his gold medal from Tokyo, along with 11 top-10 major finishes, including three in his last five starts at Augusta.

Most golf fans are well aware of the statistic which makes Aberg appear an unlikely contender, namely that Fuzzy Zoeller was the last player to win the Masters on their tournament debut back in 1979. In addition, the Masters will be Aberg’s first appearance in any major, but the 24-year-old Swede has defied the odds since turning professional in June 2023, winning on the DP World Tour and PGA Tour and justifying his wild card by helping Europe regain the Ryder Cup.