{"id":565876,"date":"2026-04-05T11:04:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:04:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/565876\/"},"modified":"2026-04-05T11:04:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-05T11:04:09","slug":"masters-storylines-scottie-scheffler-tries-to-dethrone-rory-mcilroy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/565876\/","title":{"rendered":"Masters storylines Scottie Scheffler tries to dethrone Rory McIlroy"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUGUSTA, Ga. \u2014 The Masters turns 90 this week, and it feels like there are about 90 storylines leading into Thursday\u2019s opening tee shot at Augusta National.<\/p>\n

Rory McIlroy, who finally crossed the line after an 11-year wait without winning a major, won his first green jacket last April and completed the career Grand Slam along the way, is storyline No. 1<\/a>.<\/p>\n

No player has defended his Masters title since Tiger Woods did it in 2000-01, and McIlroy would appear to have a great chance, liberated after last year\u2019s life-changing victory \u2014 a win he\u2019s called \u201cfreeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can Rory McIlroy defend his green jacket? AP<\/p>\n

Scottie Scheffler has held the world No. 1 ranking running so matter-of-factly for so long that few remember when he wasn\u2019t No. 1. He is a fascinating storyline because he\u2019s perceived to be struggling yet has already won once this year.<\/a><\/p>\n

The LIV Golf invasion is real.<\/p>\n

Bryson DeChambeau went toe-to-toe with McIlroy in the final pairing last year before faltering late and finishing tied for fifth. He enters this week having won the past two tournaments he\u2019s played on LIV. So, he enters this week hot and seemingly having figured Augusta National out a little bit having also finished tied for sixth in 2024.<\/p>\n

Jon Rahm has been a model of consistency with 21 consecutive top-10 finishes on LIV, and he knows how to win at Augusta, having done it in 2023 along with five top-10 finishes in his nine career Masters starts.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s not forget about the two LIV Golf defects: Brooks Koepka and Patrick Reed. Koepka\u2019s results have been getting better since he rejoined the PGA Tour, and he has two runner-up finishes at Augusta. And Reed won a green jacket in 2018.<\/p>\n

Justin Rose, at age 45, is a sentimental favorite after coming so close last year, losing to McIlroy in a playoff \u2014 the second time he\u2019s lost the Masters in a playoff and the third time he\u2019s finished second.<\/p>\n

Gary Woodland celebrates winning the Texas Children\u2019s Houston Open recently. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Rose will be only outdone in the sentimental category by Gary Woodland, probably the most likable player on the PGA Tour.<\/p>\n

Woodland won the Texas Children\u2019s Houston Open a week ago<\/a>, just 30 months after surgery to remove a brain lesion and shortly after revealing he\u2019s been battling PTSD. No one at Augusta should receive louder cheers at the first tee than Woodland.<\/p>\n

For those of us in the Metropolitan Area, there is some legitimate local flavor at Augusta with legitimate chances to win.<\/p>\n

Westchester native Cameron Young is coming off the greatest triumph of his career to date, the Players Championship, and is ranked No. 5 in the world.<\/p>\n

And Chris Gotterup \u2014 a native of Little Silver, N.J., who played at Rutgers \u2014 has won twice this year and elevated his world ranking to No. 7.<\/p>\n

Both are big bombers, which creates a big advantage at Augusta, turning the par-5s into par-4s.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this Masters is a little more wide open than I can remember any of them in the last four, five, six years, because it seems like every single player that comes in that you would call a favorite has some caveat attached to them,\u201d Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee said this week.<\/p>\n

Can Scottie Scheffler reassert his dominance at the Masters. Getty Images<\/p>\n

\u201cWith Rory and Scottie at the very top, and maybe you could put in Bryson and Rahm and make those four, and for me then there\u2019s a separation down to everybody else,\u201d Golf Channel analyst Paul McGinley said this week. \u201cIt\u2019s not a big gap, but there\u2019s a separation. Rahm and Bryson are playing phenomenal golf. They\u2019re on form and, like all LIV players, they\u2019re coming in with a point to prove, they come in with pointy elbows. So, expect Rahm and Bryson to raise a gallop next week. Both of them have got form around that golf course.<\/p>\n

\u201cRory\u2019s got his injury issues [he was dealing with a back problem in March], and obviously the other thing about it is guys really struggle at the challenge when they are defending. There\u2019s a lot that goes on into being the host and coming back as defending champion, and a lot of distractions off the golf course.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIlroy sounds like he\u2019s welcoming those distractions.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is going to be the first time I drive down Magnolia Lane enjoying the perks that come along with being a Masters champion \u2014 having a parking space in the Champions car park to using the Champions locker room, hosting the dinner on the Tuesday night,\u201d McIlroy said. \u201cI know I get to go back to the Masters tournament for the rest of my life, and that\u2019s quite a freeing feeling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that I\u2019ve won it once, and I feel like that will make it a bit easier for me to win again. I was chasing it for so long. But as time goes on, it becomes normal, and it\u2019s been normal for me to go into my closet and see the green jacket hanging there.\u201d<\/p>\n

McIlroy knows that, by club rule, once he arrives to Augusta National this week he can no longer take the jacket off club grounds. Only the reigning Masters champion is permitted to do so \u2014 for the year he\u2019s champion.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully,\u201d McIlroy said, \u201cit\u2019s not the last time I get to bring it off property.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUGUSTA, Ga. \u2014 The Masters turns 90 this week, and it feels like there are about 90 storylines…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":565877,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[427,99,51195],"class_list":["post-565876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-the-masters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565876","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=565876"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/565876\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/565877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=565876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=565876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=565876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}