Rory McIlroy reveals his secret “wind” technique to Tiger Woods & Scottie Scheffler ahead of the 2025 Masters

Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, and Scottie Scheffler recently appeared at the practice session of the 2025 Masters tournament. McIlroy engaged in a discussion about techniques for playing shots into the wind. The Northern Irishman provided insights into his approach to controlling ball flight under challenging situations.

TaylorMade Golf shared this video clip on YouTube on April 9, featuring McIlroy, Woods and Scheffler. Woods inquired abut McIlroy's strategy for holding a shot against the wind, saying [0:38-2:02]:

"Pin on the right-hand side. Feel wise? Do you want to hold one up?"

"McIlroy: Yeah, I think so. I mean, for the four, it's probably a little too much club for me. So think just trying to start one in that center bunker and trying to work it back to that flag."

"Woods: What do you feel wise when you try and do that?"

"McIlroy: Feel like a swing left, and I just sort of hold on to it a little bit through impact, just sort of trying to stabilize the face and don't let my right arm sort of release or thrust as the ball is being held against the wind."

McIlroy is gearing up for his 17th appearance at Augusta National. The Northern Irishman has secured two PGA Tour victories earlier this year, including a win at the Players Championship and the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy is heading towards the Masters championship in good form.

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Rory McIlroy blocks out noise ahead of Masters 2025

During his pre-tournament press conference on Tuesday, April 8, McIlroy revealed that he's not paying attention to the buzz about his career Grand Slam bid.

"No. It's just narratives. It's noise. It's just trying to block out that noise as much as possible. I need to treat this tournament like all the other tournaments that I play throughout the year."

McIlroy also talked about the weight of expectations he holds given his record at Augusta, but emphasized the importance of mental clarity.

"Look, I understand the narrative and the noise, and there's a lot of anticipation and buildup coming into this tournament each and every year, but I just have to keep my head down and focus on my job."

The four-time Major champion needs one more victory to complete the career Grand Slam. The Masters is the only Major championship that has eluded him. Although he has had many top-10 finishes over the years, he hasn't won it yet. His best finish at Augusta came in 2022 when he finished second behind Scottie Scheffler.

Rory McIlroy will tee off in the opening round at 1:12 pm ET on Thursday (April 10). He will play alongside Ludvig Aberg and Akshay Bhatia.