Sign up now!!!<\/a><\/p>\nAmateur Mason Howell looks on while playing the fifth hole during a practice round prior to the 2026 Masters.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
That Nike golf ball Howell received from McIlroy spent years in Howell\u2019s room, serving as inspiration. Now it will be in his bag when he plays Augusta National alongside McIlroy.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve got his ball in my bag right now, one that he gave me in 2016,\u201d Howell said. \u201cIt says \u2018Rors\u2019 on the side.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m going to say I\u2019m going to play the first hole with a Nike, which I\u2019m not… That would be a power move, but yeah, that\u2019s kind of the plan. Hopefully it doesn\u2019t get back to him before Thursday.\u201d Howell was born in 2007, just weeks before McIlroy was low amateur in his major debut at the 2007 British Open at Carnoustie at age 18.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think about the time span,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cI\u2019ve been lucky that the people I looked up to took me under their wing when I was starting off. That\u2019s the incredible thing about golf that not a lot of other sports have.\u201d <\/p>\n
Rory McIlroy greets fans on the 18th hole during a practice round ahead of the 2026 Masters.Source: AP<\/p>\n
Howell, set to attend the nearby University of Georgia, stayed in the Crow\u2019s Nest, a housing area at the club for amateurs.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust being here at the Masters playing in front of this many people, it\u2019s awesome,\u201d Howell said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of a lot to handle. When Thursday comes, I know I\u2019ll be pretty nervous but excited at the same time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf I keep a smile on my face, I think the rest will take care of itself.\u201d His goal for the week is making the cut and having four \u201csolid\u201d rounds. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for it to get started, but I know when it does it\u2019ll be gone in the blink of an eye,\u201d he said. \u201cI wish it would honestly slow down. Just trying to soak it all in.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Masters: Full Australian preview | 07:56<\/p>\n
\ufeff\u2018WE\u2019LL TRY DIFFERENT THINGS\u2019: AUGUSTA TO SHY AWAY FROM TRADITION<\/p>\n
Augusta National Golf Club chairman Fred Ridley says the home of the Masters won\u2019t create fictional scripted dramas anytime soon but would look \u201coutside the box\u201d to grow the sport.<\/p>\n
And he wants distance limitation for elite-level golf balls, saying, \u201cIt\u2019s time to address this issue\u201d to \u201cprotect the integrity of what makes golf so great.\u201d Speaking Wednesday on the eve of the 90th Masters, Ridley noted a 2022 viral collaboration with YouTube\u2019s Dude Perfect but admitted the all-sports video left something to be desired.<\/p>\n
The video, made weeks before the Masters, featured Dude Perfect using hockey sticks, baseball bats, tennis racquets, pool cues and frisbees through Amen Corner — the famed 11th, 12th and 13th holes at August National.<\/p>\n
\u201cA few years ago we had Dude Perfect playing frisbee at Amen Corner. In retrospect, I like those guys, but that may not have been the best idea,\u201d Ridley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut it does point out that we try things every once in a while that are a little bit non-traditional, so we\u2019ll continue to look at things.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re certainly willing to look outside the box every once in a while.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fred Ridley speaks during the trophy ceremony for Maria Jose Marin of Colombia after she won the 2026 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n
Ridley indicated Augusta National hadn\u2019t pondered fictional shows set around the famed grounds in the way the NFL has embraced certain projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not something I think we\u2019ve considered,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s no shortage of examples of things that we\u2019re looking at. I think the last few years have pointed out we\u2019ll try different things.\u201d Ridley noted the tension between respecting tradition and innovation. \u201cI do think we need to be looking at non-traditional ways of promoting the tournament, but more so promoting golf,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
30 years since Greg Norman’s collapse | 04:03<\/p>\n
– \u2018Prodigious distances\u2019 –<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the same fine line involved in limiting golf ball technology, something Ridley and governing bodies support to reduce distance at the elite level.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur position is grounded on much more than protecting the Augusta National golf course,\u201d Ridley said. \u201cWe will continue to make modifications as are necessary to react to driving distances that in some cases exceed 350 yards.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe game has become much more one-dimensional. As players drive the ball prodigious distances and routinely hit short irons into par-fours and even some par-fives, this issue goes beyond competitive impacts.\u201d Ridley said shot shaping, risk taking and executing under pressure is at the heart of elite greatness, not just distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegulation of the golf ball is not an attempt to turn back time or stifle progress,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s an effort to preserve the essence of what makes golf the great game that it is.\u201d Ridley addressed comments by PGA Tour chief executive officer Brian Rolapp that, while majors like the Masters benefit from the tour, the tour has no ownership stake in the majors.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a number of golf organisations, including ours, that make the journey to the PGA Tour possible,\u201d Ridley said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really need to look at the entire ecosystem to get a full perspective of that issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
Day sympathetic for ‘selfish’ Woods | 01:58<\/p>\n
– No idea on gnomes –<\/p>\n
Ridley said that after adding six national open champions to Masters qualifiers, the club would consider others.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think there might be other national opens that should be considered,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Asked about reports this might be the last year for the popular collectable \u201cMasters gnome\u201d at the club gift shop, Ridley said even he doesn\u2019t have the answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been asking that question for several years, and they won\u2019t tell me the answer, so I can\u2019t help you,\u201d Ridley said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Four hole-in-ones and a host of heartwarming family moments highlighted the annual Masters Par 3 contest, won by…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[566],"tags":[6938,2620,290131,2095,1206,64,129216,11537,63,290128,6929,62094,5175,160247,290150,32976,290134,46866,290141,290143,2057,290140,101201,290125,281957,18664,290137,2105,755,8462,290138,9262,173694,1745,290129,289329,24416,290133,290135,6919,15813,44683,290139,290148,290142,290130,290144,206803,290146,277369,203307,9139,2041,2067,3583,5492,160302,265601,290126,103960,290149,756,1656,289333,11298,290136,85,42307,290132,290147,290145,9244,290127,38445,37088,120076,2614,48464,6959],"class_list":{"0":"post-594488","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-aaron-rai","9":"tag-agence-france-presse","10":"tag-all-sports-video","11":"tag-america","12":"tag-andrew-redington","13":"tag-au","14":"tag-augusta","15":"tag-augusta-national-inc","16":"tag-australia","17":"tag-boy-moment","18":"tag-brian-harman","19":"tag-brian-rolapp","20":"tag-chief-executive-officer","21":"tag-circle-moment","22":"tag-club-gift-shop","23":"tag-colombia","24":"tag-contest-highlights","25":"tag-cooper","26":"tag-distance-limitation","27":"tag-elite-level-golf-balls","28":"tag-europe","29":"tag-fictional-shows-set","30":"tag-frankie","31":"tag-franklin-fleetwood","32":"tag-fred-ridley","33":"tag-game-plan","34":"tag-generations-overlap","35":"tag-getty-images-inc","36":"tag-golf","37":"tag-golf-ball","38":"tag-golf-ball-technology","39":"tag-golf-course","40":"tag-golf-gods","41":"tag-golf-news","42":"tag-golf-organisations","43":"tag-golfing-legend","44":"tag-greg-norman","45":"tag-heartwarming-family-moments","46":"tag-incredible-thing","47":"tag-justin-thomas","48":"tag-keegan-bradley","49":"tag-kevin-hart","50":"tag-key-insights","51":"tag-live-ampamp-exclusive","52":"tag-live-ampampamp-exclusive","53":"tag-live-ampampampamp-exclusive","54":"tag-maria-jose-marin","55":"tag-mason-howell","56":"tag-masters-debut","57":"tag-masters-gnome","58":"tag-monster-putt","59":"tag-national-football-league","60":"tag-north-america","61":"tag-northern-america","62":"tag-northern-europe","63":"tag-northern-ireland","64":"tag-ownership-stake","65":"tag-paul-gow","66":"tag-pool-cues","67":"tag-practice-day","68":"tag-prodigious-distances","69":"tag-rory-mcilroy","70":"tag-shane-lowry","71":"tag-simmering-feud","72":"tag-south-america","73":"tag-special-guest-caddie","74":"tag-sports","75":"tag-state-of-georgia","76":"tag-stifle-progress","77":"tag-super-special-moment","78":"tag-tennis-racquets","79":"tag-tiger-woods","80":"tag-time-span","81":"tag-title-defence","82":"tag-tom-watson","83":"tag-trophy-ceremony","84":"tag-united-states-of-america","85":"tag-university-of-georgia","86":"tag-wyndham-clark"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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