Rory McIlroy’s Masters Sunday Will Be Difficult, but He’s Ready for the Pressure

The defending champion's poor play let the field back in on Saturday, just like Sunday last year, Michael Rosenberg writes. But we also remember how last year ended.

Rory McIlroy is tied going to Sunday in his Masters title defense. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

AUGUSTA — Rory McIlroy blew the Masters Saturday, but he blew it 11 times last year and still won. If the throughline of McIlroy’s Augusta National career is that nothing makes sense, then this won’t make sense, either … and therefore makes perfect sense:

A year ago, McIlroy felt the pressure in every cell of his body and won. 

This year, he is handling the pressure exceptionally well and might lose.

On a day when nearly everybody on the leaderboard shot in the 60s, McIlroy posted a third-round 73. He began the day six strokes ahead of the field and stood on the 12th tee tied with Cam Young. Then he did what he had not done all week, and vowed not to do at all: He played defense. He guided the ball away from the front-left pin and into the pine straw left of the green. He made bogey.

McIlroy sure looked like he was collapsing under the weight of expectations. I don’t see it that way. I don’t think he sees it that way.

Year after year, McIlroy leads the PGA Tour in candor. But at times during his 10-year major drought, he said what he knew he should believe, and you could sense the doubt in his voice.

He sounds different now. Really. Make of that what you will. But look at what McIlroy said after the third round last year, and compare it to what he said Saturday.

Rory in 2025: “It’s going to be a little rowdy and a little loud. I’m just going to have to settle in and really try to keep myself in my own little bubble and keep my head down.”

Rory in 2026: “The atmosphere out there will be a little bit easier. I’m not worried about that at all. I wish I was a few shots better off, but I’m comfortable.”

Rory in 2025: “I’ve talked about trying to chase a feeling out there, you know, if I can have that feeling. And if I can go home tonight and look in the mirror before I go to bed and be like, that’s the way I want to feel when I play golf, that, to me, is a victory.

Rory in 2026: “I’m still tied for the best score going into tomorrow, so I can’t forget that, but I do know I’m going to have to be better if I want to have a chance to win. I just need to go to the range and try to figure it out a little bit.”

Players rarely have their swing dialed in for four straight days. To win a major, they have to squeeze the best score out of whatever their form happens to be that day. McIlroy’s swing was off Saturday. His round did start to unravel when he made what I thought was a mental mistake, but it was not psychological. It was strategic.

After birdieing the 10th hole, McIlroy hit his drive on No. 11 into a tree. The ball kicked out onto the fairway, but he was at least 40 yards short of his playing partner, Sam Burns. The way McIlroy was playing, his only thought there should have been to avoid the water. Hit it right of the green, and walk away with a bogey at worst.

He aimed for the green and ended up in the water. He was surprised; he thought he hit it well enough to reach the green. He actually hit a fantastic pitch from the drop area, but he made double bogey, and you could almost hear Jack Nicklaus’s early-week advice in his head: Don’t make any double bogeys. McIlroy made four last year.

Rory McIlroy made a crucial double bogey at the 11th on Saturday and by day's end had lost his lead. | Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated

McIlroy looked a bit rattled on 12 and 13. But then he righted himself. He said afterward that he spent the day trying to fix what was wrong physically, rather than worry about an evaporating lead.

“Yeah, I did,” he said. “I dropped to 2 over for the day after 12. I thought if I can just shoot even par or even under par, that would be great. Didn’t quite get there, but yeah, I stuck to focusing on myself, which is the main thing.”

He said he needed to get his lower body moving, then went off to the range to “neutralize” his ball flight.

There were so many different forces applying pressure to McIlroy last year. The majors drought. The memory of his 2010 Masters collapse. The dream of winning the career Grand Slam. The still-fresh memories of losing U.S. Opens and a British Open with shaky play down the stretch.

McIlroy lost one of those U.S. Opens to Bryson DeChambeau, who is not his favorite person for a variety of reasons. DeChambeau is the face of LIV Golf, which McIlroy hates. He is also one of the few players who can consistently drive it past McIlroy. Rory famously did not speak to Bryson the entire round, which was a Tiger-esque mind game … but Rory is not Tiger. He doesn’t really want to play with a guy he has to freeze out.

McIlroy offered this unprompted Saturday: “The pairing will be just a little bit easier.” He will play with Cam Young on Sunday. It might be the best possible pairing for McIlroy. He played with Young Thursday and Friday, so it will be easier for McIlroy to treat Sunday like Thursday and Friday. Young is a pro’s pro, easy to play with, but not one of McIlroy’s closest friends. McIlroy does not have to walk with his pal Shane Lowry for 18 holes and try to deny him a green jacket. 

McIlroy will be ready. Really. 

This is different.

(Also: He might lose.)