To win again, McIlroy must overcome form, fitness and a maelstrom of emotion

The problem with scaling a golfing Everest is that once you have come down you are tasked with going straight back up again.

So it is for Rory McIlroy here at the 90th Masters, where somehow he is supposed to follow up last year’s tearjerker.

Same North Face, but an entirely different ascent. How does he take on the challenge with any realistic hope of success?

Sir Nick Faldo is probably the best man to ask. He is only one of three golfers to defend the Green Jacket successfully (the others being Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, two of the greatest the sport has ever seen) and the only European to win six majors in modern times. McIlroy can draw level with Faldo if he repeats the trick on Sunday and, while Faldo believes the 36-year-old is capable of doing that – “of course he is, because Rory is very special” – he is prepared to list the hurdles that lay in wait.

First, there is the 11-year gap between his fourth and fifth majors. “None of these great players who have won another major again after a number of years – be it Jack [in 1986, after six years], Tiger [in 2019, after 14 years] or Ben Crenshaw [in 1995 after 11 years], has then continued on, in like a second career [of winning majors],” he said. “But Rory is younger and with his fitness it is possible.”

Secondly, there are the events of 2025 themselves, when McIlroy lost and regained the advantage so many times before eventually beating Justin Rose in a play-off.

“He gave us a lot last year, didn’t he?” says Faldo, who is here not only as a former three-time champion, but as an analyst for Sky Sports. “It was so hugely emotional – it was kind of in the air. He’d won the Players [Championship, the month before], and you started thinking, ‘this is his best chance to do it’. And he did, and gave us great theatre. But you can’t flip the light switch and just reproduce all that emotion again. I don’t believe that happens.

“I was pleased and intrigued when he said, ‘I’d like to be a two-time career grand slam champion’,” Faldo adds. “It means he’s got goals. So yeah, it’ll be a case of ‘let’s start again’. Let’s get out and then get in the mix and show the same mental strength as last year.”

The problem is that the form is not there. Not like 12 months ago anyway. Last year McIlroy had also won at Pebble Beach as well as Sawgrass and there were no question marks about his preparation. Now they flash above his candidature. At the start of the year, he switched from blades to cavity-backed irons as he sought to improve his approach. The experiment failed and he went back to his tried and trusted, but he lost ground to his rivals in the meantime.

The results have been far from disastrous, but apart from a runner-up finish in Los Angeles in February, and a third place at what was effectively a hit-and-giggle pro-am in Dubai on his opening start in January, his build-up has been uninspiring. Most recently his preparations were hit by a back injury picked up in the gym on a Saturday morning when in contention going into the third round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational. McIlroy quickly withdrew, but appeared the next week at the Players for a tentative defence that only yielded a tie for 46th. He has taken three weeks off since, so his sharpness is taken on trust.

‘Difficult to defend at Augusta’

Paul McGinley, who will also feature heavily on Sky’s coverage, is understandably concerned.

“His form is off, to be honest,” McGinley says. “I don’t think he’s primed the way he was this time last year, coming off wins at the Players as well as Pebble Beach, and obviously the injury has derailed him a little bit. I think it’s going to be very difficult, and it always is to defend around Augusta.”

Why is that? Surely it should be the easiest major to defend, what with the smaller field (92 players compared to 156 in the other three majors), fewer golfers in the world’s top 100 and the same course every year. But Woods was the last to go back-to-back here, 24 years ago, and since there have been multiple successful defences at the Open, US PGA Championship and US Open.

McGinley assesses McIlroy’s week here so far and believes that it is all to do with the pageantry and custom. The Ulsterman arrived in town on Saturday in his Green Jacket to watch the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and, other than in his practice rounds, has worn the garment with beaming pride ever since. The ceremonial stuff cannot be helped and he obviously would not have it any other way, but is that conducive for one of the toughest missions in his sport?

“I think Rory’s concentration levels will be tested because of the activities that go on as defending champion, not just the champions’ dinner [on Tuesday],” McGinley says. “He’s been wearing his Green Jacket around the property for a few days and has got up here earlier than normal. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on as defending champion, and it’s a good problem to have and I’m sure he’s delighted with it, but I don’t know if it’s going to drive him into a top-level performance. I feel a good start is vital for him.”

McIlroy has a morning start – he is off at 10.31am (3.31pm BST) in the company of Cameron Young and amateur Mason Howell – and will be happy that he does not have to wait around. And not just because of the anxiety inevitably mounting. The conditions look like being fast and firm and the course will dry out as the day lengthens. McIlroy will want to up and at ’em as he seeks the summit again.

Luke Donald, his Ryder Cup captain, neighbour and close friend, feels another triumphant and historic ascent is more than possible.

“I’m sure it’s been a much busier and different week than he’s ever had,” he says. “But I always see Rory as someone that is very childlike, likes to just go out there and have fun. That’s when he’s at his best.

“This was a burden on his shoulders for a long time and without that pressure, I’m sure he’ll be up there this week.”