Rory McIlroy expresses 'love' for Augusta National despite mixed recent record

Northern Irish golfer Rory McIlroy expressed his love for Augusta National at his press conference at The Masters. It's that time of the week where fans get a preview at the Masters with players sharing their preparations, passion etc. for the tournament during the press conferences.

Rory Mcllroy, one of the top favourites to win at Augusta this year, shared his 'love' for the golf course in his interview. The 35-year old golfer said:

"I've always loved this course."

He added:

"People ask me if you could only play one golf course for the rest of your life, what would it be? I think walking around this place every day would be pretty cool."

Rory Mcilroy will be competing in his 17th Masters this year. The World No. 2 finished tied for 22nd at the tournament last year. In 2023, he missed the cut at Augusta, while finishing as a runner-up in 2022.

Rory Mcilroy at the Masters Tournament 2024 - Source: Imagn

However, this year, Mcilroy's performance building up to the Masters seems to be consistent. He has claimed two wins early this golf season- AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and The Players Championship in March.

Rory Mcllroy has won three of the four Majors- The Open Championship in 2014, The US Open in 2011 and the PGA Championship in 2012 and 2014.

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Rory Mcllroy opened up about Collin Morikawa's media controversy

28-year old golfer Collin Morikawa suffered a close defeat at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in March. Following his loss to Russell Henley, Morikawa skipped the post-match press conference, which garnered mixed reactions in the golf world.

After receiving rather harsh criticism for his act, Morikawa responded to critics later at The Players Championship saying he does not regret anything he said or did and doesn't owe an explanation to anybody.

Cut to present day, Rory Mcllroy defended Morikawa during his press conference ahead of the Masters tournament. He said:

"He’s right, not that I think he could have worded it a little better."

Talking about how the golfers are not obligated to do media interviews, Mcllroy said:

"We have that option to opt out whenever we want, expect guys to do that from time to time."

The Northern Irish golfer empathized with Collin Morikawa, perhaps because he had experienced a similar emotion during the US Open in 2024. Mcllroy lost by a narrow margin to Bryson DeChambeau at Pinehurst last year. Soon after, he took off without appearing at the post-match press conference or talking to anyone.

Rory Mcilroy at Masters Press Conference - Source- The Masters@ Youtube

Mcllroy's situation was shown in the third season of the Netflix docuseries Full Swing, where he spoke briefly about it, along with a few other personalities of the golf world.