Debate over whether Rory McIlroy gained an unfair advantage at the Masters continues to swirl on Tuesday after he clinched his second-straight green jacket.

At the centre of the furore is the Northern Irishman’s revelation that he skipped three-straight weeks on the PGA Tour in favour of flying his private jet to Augusta National for practice rounds.

FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports, is streaming The 2026 PGA Tour LIVE & Exclusive | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

The trip between his home in Jupiter, Florida and the Georgian home of the Masters is almost 700km each way — about two hours by plane.

McIlroy revealed mid-tournament that there were days in the build-up that he would fly to Augusta in his private jet, play a practice round, and be home in time for dinner.

That is despite UK reports that his jet — worth a reported A$70m — costs around $5,700-an-hour to operate, making a single day of practice at Augusta for McIlroy worth about A$23k.

Debate over whether Rory McIlroy gained an unfair advantage at the Masters continues to swirl.Source: Getty Images

But it was a sacrifice that McIlroy was willing to make, telling reporters on the weekend: “I honestly just don’t like the three tournaments leading up to this event.

“I’d rather come up here. I had a couple of days where I dropped (daughter) Poppy to school, flew up here, played, then landed back home and had dinner with Poppy and (wife) Erica.

“I did a couple of day trips like that where I felt it was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio. It wasn’t really about conserving energy, but I felt the more time I could spend up here, the better.

“I joked last week and going into this week, this place feels like my home course. I haven’t played anywhere else in the last two or three weeks, really. So I felt prepared in that way.

“I’m not going to take three weeks off before every major, but to get to the major venues early, do your preparation, actually play. Go out there with one ball, shoot a score, and try to do it that way.

“I did a little bit of that leading up to here, and I think that’s certainly a good way to prepare going into the next majors.”

READ MORE MASTERS

TALKING POINTS: Genius act that won Masters… and 17-yr history behind it; No.1 stirs fairness debate

RORY: The event that ‘kicked McIlroy in the teeth so many times’ may now define him. And it’s just the start

MAGIC McILROY: Fresh Rory thrillride stuns as Masters history sealed in final hole epic

Those words stuck for the remainder of Masters week, especially as the dust settled on McIlroy’s historic one-shot win over Scottie Scheffler.

Though it made him the first back-to-back winner of the green jacket since Tiger Woods in 2002, some commentators and golf fans have lined up to question the fairness of McIlroy’s win.

After the round, Scheffler stirred the pot by questioning whether the course set-up on Friday torpedoed his own chances — but the most controversial point remains McIlroy’s choice of preparation.

Masters Immortality – Rory reacts to win | 02:29

Renowned ESPN pundit Stephen A Smith said on First Take that an “unfair advantage” was at play.

“I’m like, wait a minute now, were you over there practising for two, three weeks getting set for The Masters when nobody else got to do that? I don’t know how anybody else feels about it,” he said.

“He didn’t break any rules, he didn’t violate anything, I’m not saying that, please don’t get me wrong.

“But what I am saying is, that does give you an advantage – not only familiarity with the course because you’ve been playing there for years, but you’ve been there over the past three weeks. That’s what he said.

“And saying that, I mean you have some people that would believe from a gentleman’s perspective, that was an unfair advantage.”

One of the leading voices to spark the controversy was OutKick commentator Jon Root, who called out McIlroy mid-tournament.

In an opinion piece, he wrote that McIlroy’s reveal about his practice rounds made him “come across as arrogant and demeaning”.

He further argued that though McIlroy had not broken any rules, he did gain an advantage at Augusta that demands further scrutiny.

“Access to the course is open from mid-October to mid-May, so winning does undoubtedly provide the champion special access to the course, which in some sense is earned,” he wrote. “In other ways, it creates a fairness issue, if left unchecked and unregulated. While we’d hope that Augusta wouldn’t allow past champions like Rory to abuse his special access, it is obviously subjective what constitutes “abuse.”

“Another important factor is that players who have qualified for The Masters may be invited to arrange practice rounds in the weeks/months leading up to the tournament, but it’s not guaranteed or even a standard option for those that qualified. These practice rounds are only if the club’s schedule allows and if they receive special admittance through an invitation.

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 12: Rory McIlroy lifts the Masters trophy during the Green Jacket Ceremony.Source: Getty Images

“Now it’s time for the PGA Tour to get clear answers on how often Rory played beforehand, how often players should be allowed to play beforehand…”

Multiple players past and present have since confirmed that anyone who has qualified for the Masters has the right to play Augusta National in the build-up.

Even so, it would appear not all players are equal.

Responding to unfairness claims on X, tour golfer Michael Kim appeared to confirm Root’s claim that Augusta National access is easier for a champion, or a big name, than it is for other players.

Masters thrilling final day review | 00:50

He wrote: “Yes, there’s a number of rounds that ANGC will say ‘no’ to for me to go by myself and play by myself. That number is prob a little lower for me than a guy like Rory.”

Nonetheless, he noted that if a player finds a member to host them, there is no limit.

He added: “I had plenty of chances to go to ANGC myself if I wanted to but didn’t go. Better use of my time practising at home or wherever I am to get my game in better shape for my next tournament. Course knowledge only gets you so far.

“Plenty of golfers have even more experience at Augusta than Rory like Justin Rose.”

Other golfers and pundits have been far more brutal in their reactions to the unfair advantage claims.

PGA Tour veteran Kevin Kisner said it was the “dumbest argument” he had ever heard.

That is despite also suggesting that an unspoken limit to practice rounds exists — and it’s likely different depending on who you are.

“As soon as you get your invitation, you’re a welcome guest. Obviously you just have to call and set it up with the pro shop,” Kisner told the Fore Play podcast.

“I’ve heard they’ve told you how many times you can come. Like, if someone is coming every day, they’re like, ‘alright bud, like you’ve been here 15 times. That’s enough’

“I can guarantee you they’re not going to tell a defending champion, ‘hey, you can’t bring your jet up here on a Tuesday morning and leave Tuesday afternoon every day this week.

“I don’t think it really matters. Who cares how many times he went? Everyone else can go as much as they want, they just can’t beat him

“I look at him this week and he still won the Masters with a B-minus game.

“I don’t think it matters at all. I thought it was the dumbest argument I’ve ever seen in my life.”

It’s worth noting that some of McIlroy’s biggest rivals on the final day — Scheffler, Cameron Young and Justin Rose — all missed the same tournaments as the champion between the Players Championship and the Masters.

As such, many golf experts are not buying into the claim that McIlroy’s win only came after a significant leg-up.

“Every single professional player who qualified for the Masters could go early and play as many practice rounds as they wish,” Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said.

“Just as so many others, including Jack Nicklaus, have done in the past.

“The only advantage Rory had over the field was his considerable skill.”