Their Master of Destiny: Schaffler leads the charges, McIlroy as the Masters start today
The Master Magic is not only in its mysterious process, but also in the moment – those brief examples of human excellence encountering the greatest stage of golf. 96 men will start the 89th competition and by Sunday night, only one person will wear green. The rest may be jealous of green.
The expectation in the field is bushy – no one has had more experience than Rory McIlroy. His Augusta story has developed into Shakespeare’s tragedy – a huge talent forever denies its final award. He has gone 17 times for those reasons, including the collapse of the era in 2011, but the green jacket remains elusive.
But the pine trees were whispering again – some said they called on Northern Irelanders. Will this end up being a McIlroy moment? He has momentum. He hasn’t finished outside the top 20 in five games this season. He won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Players Championship and won the Dubai Desert Classic and Houston Open. Importantly, McIlroy is 66 in Dubai and 64 in Houston. McIlroy, along with Collin Morikawa, got a real stroke this season – +2.92, according to Datagolf. If he can grasp the tension on Sunday, he has a real chance.
Scottie Scheffler mastered the symphony. He directed Augusta’s harsh orchestra with extraordinary balance. Schaffler crossed the azalea with firm confidence, struggling in 2022 and 2024, competing for accuracy in ability and victory comfort. He almost won the Houston Open, with his putt scored 1.77 on the court and 3.45 overall.
What makes Scheffler so powerful in Augusta is his comprehensive arsenal, especially the scramble, ranks third in the PGA Tour at 71.65%. He has also been ahead of every round of stroke over the past five years, making him an overwhelming favorite again. Morikawa is a surgeon and his iron is the skill of a master who often needs. He ended the top ten for three consecutive years. Morikawa’s outstanding goal matches averaged 5.2 birdies per leg and remained his strong point. Third place secures his legacy, adding to the 2020 PGA championship and the 2021 Open. History warns not to support inexperienced players, but some talents go beyond convention. ÅBerg is likely to be one of them.
Akshay Bhatia’s Master Journey has a quiet romance. Last year, he won the final invitation to Augusta for his outstanding playoffs at the Valero Dexas Open, Texas, where he ignored himself with a T35. Now he is back, not the last minute qualifier with wide eyes, but the established PGA Tour champion. Batia’s slim frame masks a powerful and artistic short game that could prove valuable assets in Augusta.
Few players capture imagination like Sahith Theegala – a creative producer whose expressive manner reveals every emotion that is induced through the golfer’s vein. His 2025 campaign has quietly begun, with only one top 35 in 10 games, but Augusta National may have provided the perfect canvas for his artistic approach. His ninth top of the Masters two years ago revealed a player’s imagination and was fully aligned with Augusta’s demands.
Jordan Spieth has been in the top ten since his debut in 2014 Masters. The 2015 champion seems to have made a turn lately and is still difficult to ignore. He is T4 at the Phoenix Open, with a shooting percentage of less than 70 per round.
Bryson DeChambeau continues to stick to the tough challenges of Augusta. Now stands for Liv Golf, he has the motivation to set the mark. The same goes for the previous champions Jon Rahm (2023), Dustin Johnson (2020), Patrick Reed (2018) and Sergio Garcia (2017), as well as Cameron Smith and Brooks Koepka. No one has ever had more strokes in the Masters in the past eight years, but for a decade.
Recently, the Masters prefer fresh faces – 8 of the last 10 champions are first-time winners. Corey Conners finished three top 10 and top 20 in his last four games. Xander Schauffele has been around the Masters rankings and is ranked in the top 10 in three of the past four years. Will Zalatoris’s match seemed perfect for Augusta’s nerd challenge, who finished the top ten in each of his three games. Smith also has five top 10 in eight games, and the 2022 champion will desperately seek to add another green jacket to his collection.
On Sunday, the heart will sink, hope will dissipate, and a person’s firm determination will win. Did McIlroy finish the set, did Scheffler cement his legacy, a Liffe golfer who escaped the robbery or a champion in an enduring legacy attempt?
