The hype, you suspect, will have abated somewhat. After all, Rory McIlroy achieved that long sought after career Grand Slam when winning the Masters last year. Yet, for his return down Magnolia Lane for the defence of the Masters tournament, the Northern Irishman will again be looking to gain entry to a rather elite club.
In all of the years of the Masters, this being the 90th edition of the Major, only three men have successfully defended: Jack Nicklaus, of course, won back-to-back in 1965 and 1966; Nick Faldo won in consecutive years in 1989 and 1990, while Tiger Woods achieved the feat in when backing up his 2001 win by reclaiming the title in 2002.
The numbers game – just three men – though demonstrates the difficulty of defending.
Nickalus, the Golden Bear, has the most Masters wins (6) and the most Major wins (18). The only time he managed to retain the green jacket was in 1966 when he defeated Tom Brewer and Gay Brewer in a playoff.
For his 1965 win, Nicklaus was a runway winner eventually finishing nine shots ahead of Arnold Palmer and Gary Player. In the Saturday’s third round, Nicklaus shot a 64 – “I had never before and have never since played quite as fine a complete round of golf in a Major championship,” he would recall – en route to a record low 72-hole scoring aggregate of 271. That low score stood for 30 years until Woods shot a total of 270 in 1997 for his first Masters win, achieved by a 12-stroke margin.
Faldo matched Nicklaus’s feat in 1990 when the Englishman – who’d won the previous year in a playoff over Scott Hoch – again went to extra holes before he defeated Raymond Floyd for his back-to-back wins.
Woods became the third – and last – man to go back-to-back when, a year after completing the so-called Tiger Slam at Augusta which meant he held all four Majors at the one time, he retained the title in 2002 with a three strokes winning margin over Retief Goosen.
AUGUSTA, : Tiger Woods (L) of the US gets his third green jacket from tournament chairman Hootie Johnson (R) 14 April 2002, after winning the 2002 Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, GA. Woods finished the round one under par for a four day total of 12 under par. AFP PHOTO/ROBERTO SCHMIDT (Photo credit should read ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Ahead of successfully defending the title in 2002, there was a humorous exchange in Wood’s pre-tournament press conference.
The tradition at the Masters is for the previous year’s winner to place the green jacket on to his successor.
When Woods was asked who would perform the duties, he was stuck.
“I don’t know. That’s a good question. You’ve got to ask these guys,” responded Woods.
To which the moderator, Billy Payne, replied: “I don’t know the answer to that.”
Woods, laughing, added: “I don’t really know what Nick did in ’89 and ’90!”
The answer was delivered on the Sunday night after the successful defence when Hootie Johnson, the chairman of Augusta National, placed the green jacket on Woods’s shoulders.
So, were McIlroy to go back-to-back, that tradition would see current Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley perform the honours.
Interestingly, Woods’s achievement of becoming just the third man to go back-to-back in 2002 didn’t move the dial as much as his two previous wins: in 1997, he was a runaway 12-strokes winner in shooting the lowest score in Masters history, while 2001 was historic in giving him that all-conquering Tiger Slam.
In his winner’s press conference, Woods indeed focused on the task of winning rather than the successful defence: “This year it’s different,” he said, of comparing it with the ’97 and 2001 wins. “This year was more of a physical test than it was last year, being a chance to win all four major championships in a row and retain them all; that was a mental test to try and block everything out.
“This year was just a physical grind. [On Saturday] I played 26 holes. That was a long day. I was here at the golf course before seven (am). I didn’t walk off until 7.30 (pm) and I was here for 13 hours. That’s a long time to be on your feet and playing, and be under this type of pressure and grind. It takes a lot out of you. This year was definitely a physical test, without a doubt.”
While Woods had all of that hype around completing the Tiger Slam in 2001, there are obvious comparisonsMcIlroy’s win last year in terms of similar hype and pressure, with the Northern Irishman chasing what would prove to be his own piece of Masters history, defeating Justin Rose in a playoff.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland celebrates on the 18th green. Photograph: Kieran Cleeves/Augusta National/Getty
This is McIlroy’s 18th Masters appearance but, with the monkey finally off his back, one which will be different. “This is going to be the first time I drive down Magnolia Lane, and it’s all going to be about enjoying my week, enjoying the perks that come along with being a Masters champion. Having a parking space in the champions’ car park to using the champions’ locker room, hosting the dinner on the Tuesday night.
“I get to go back to the Masters Tournament for the rest of my life, and that’s quite a freeing feeling.”
McIlroy’s eyes are on winning again, with no resting on laurels or anything like that.
“I think now going to win the Masters just to win the Masters is a nice thing. I haven’t really spoken to anyone about that. But I think 1775378288 that I’ve won it once, I feel like that will make it a bit easier for me to win again.”