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\u201cThis is going to be the first time I drive down Magnolia Lane (as champion) and it\u2019s all going to be about enjoying my week and the perks that come along with being a Masters champion,\u201d McIlroy said on Wednesday in a conference call.<\/p>\n
Those include a champion\u2019s parking spot, a place in the champions locker room and hosting the champions dinner two days before the event tees off April 9.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know I get to go back to the Masters for the rest of my life,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cThat\u2019s quite a freeing feeling.\u201d <\/p>\n
FILE – Scottie Scheffler puts the green Jacket on winner, Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, at the Masters golf tournament, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo\/Ashley Landis, File)Source: AP<\/p>\n
After a third-place showing at Dubai in January and a share of second last month at the PGA Tour Genesis Invitational, McIlroy raised concerns by pulling out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational two weeks ago at Bay Hill with a back injury.<\/p>\n
World number two McIlroy, however, says those issues have been resolved as he makes final preparation to defend the green jacket.<\/p>\n
\u201cPrep has run pretty well,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cHad that little back issue at Bay Hill which threw a spanner in the works but I\u2019ve recovered from that pretty quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really pleased with how my body responded to that little setback.\u201d After a share of 46th defending his title at The Players Championship, McIlroy will be off until he tees off at Augusta.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m really excited to get to the week of the Masters and defend,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cI know defending is a pretty rare feat and I would like to do that for sure.\u201d <\/p>\n
Only Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Nick Faldo have captured the Masters in consecutive years, with Woods the most recent in 2001-2002.<\/p>\n
– Master McIlroy\u2019s menu –<\/p>\n
McIlroy revealed his menu for the April 7 Masters Champions Dinner on Wednesday, stacking the line-up with personal favourites and some Georgia delights.<\/p>\n
Appetisers will include bacon-wrapped dates with goat cheese (after his mother\u2019s recipe), rock shrimp tempura, Georgia peach and ricotta flatbread and grilled elk sliders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the build-up to the Masters last year, I was eating a lot of elk,\u201d McIlroy said.<\/p>\n
His first course is a yellowfin tuna carpaccio after his favourite New York restaurant\u2019s offering.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time we go to that restaurant that\u2019s the one thing I have to have,\u201d McIlroy said.<\/p>\n
Wagyu filet mignon and seared salmon were his main course picks with Irish champ, brussels sprouts, carrots and onion rings from Vidalia, Georgia, and sticky toffee pudding for dessert.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen my favourite part of the menu is you get access to the wonderful wine cellar at Augusta National,\u201d McIlroy said.<\/p>\n