Masters 2026: Rory McIlroy can’t stop riding Augusta rollercoaster
Anticipation was strong at Augusta National with hot, dry weather forecast all week and fast greens would make for difficult scoring conditions – McIlroy said he didn’t think the winning score would reach double digits under par.
There was a perception that the officials responsible for the installation of the course would also be happy with this expectation.
But their decision to water the greens each morning and soften them for the next day made scoring easier as the week progressed.
This was not a popular decision among purists, who also accused the Masters of going soft.
No doubt making things more scoreable led to an entertaining display as the pack caught up with McIlroy.
World number one Scottie Scheffler was the first player to truly capitalize on this advantage, threatening to challenge the course record of 63 jointly held by Nick Price (1986) and Greg Norman (1986) with a blistering front nine.
The two-time champion, who won in 2022 and 2024, ultimately came up short and posted a career-best 65, which puts him back in contention on fourth pace after continuing his recent trend of slow starts.
Young, the eventual co-leader, caused Price and Norman to worry when he fell to seven under par after 14 holes.
The 28-year-old American’s momentum was halted by a bogey on 15 – it would have been even worse if he hadn’t made a close fourth after finding the water – but birdie advanced to 16 and matched Scheffler’s lowest round of the day.
