Tiger Woods’ ex-coach makes bold claim about Rory McIlroy’s Masters 2025 hopes

Tiger Woods’ ex-coach and veteran golf instructor Butch Harmon feels Rory McIlroy is the favorite to win the Masters 2025. He added that the Northern Irishman needs to calm himself, and he is the man to beat.

Butch Harmon is a veteran golf instructor who has coached major champions like Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Besides, he has also worked with Rory McIlroy, who is entering Augusta National as one of the tournament favorites.

In his recent interview, Harmon picked McIlroy over Scottie Scheffler as his favorite to win the Green Jacket.

"He's won twice this year and played beautifully in Houston," he said as per GolfMagic. "I think all he has to do is relax and play golf. And that's very easy to say and you and I know because we play golf but in a big event like this you're like a horse in the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby."

"You're amped up and you're ready to go. You're thinking that you want Thursday to hurry up and get here. I think in Rory's case he's been there and played Augusta [a few times these past few weeks] so he doesn't need to get there early on Sunday night. He'll probably fly in on Monday and play nine holes on Monday and Tuesday, practice, do his media stuff and just get ready," he mentioned.

Harmon added that if the four-time major champion was able to control his nerves and just focus on golf, he was the man to beat at Augusta.

"He can overpower the course with the way he drives the golf ball and if he just lets it happen then he can win. You can't win the tournament on Thursday and Friday but you can definitely take yourself out of it. But if he can get off to a nice start then who knows what could happen. But for me, he is the favourite," he said.

The Masters remains the only major that has eluded McIlroy, and he will be looking to seal the deal this time after his second-placed finish in 2022.

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Is Rory McIlroy the favorite to win the Masters 2025? Odds explored

Rory McIlroy during the final round of the Texas Children's Houston Open - Source: Imagn

As per the latest odds, Rory McIlroy is the second favorite to win the Masters 2025. According to SportsLine, he is listed at +750 to claim his first-ever Green Jacket.

Scottie Scheffler is the oddsmakers' favorite to register back-to-back wins at Augusta National, while Xander Schauffele, Jon Rahm, and Ludvig Åberg are among the other top contenders next week.

Here's a look at the odds for the Masters 2025:

• Scottie Scheffler: +380
• Rory McIlroy: +750
• Xander Schauffele: +1100
• Jon Rahm: +1200
• Ludvig Aberg: +1400
• Collin Morikawa: +1900
• Bryson DeChambeau: +2100
• Xander Schauffele: +2100
• Hideki Matsuyama: +2400
• Justin Thomas: +2400
• Tyrrell Hatton: +3100
• Brooks Koepka: +3100
• Patrick Cantlay: +3200
• Cameron Smith: +3600
• Shane Lowry: +3600
• Will Zalatoris: +3800
• Jordan Spieth: +3800
• Viktor Hovland: +4400
• Tommy Fleetwood: +4800
• Joaquin Niemann: +5000
• Dustin Johnson: +5500
• Matt Fitzpatrick: +5500
• Russell Henley: +6000
• Cameron Young: +6000
• Tony Finau: +6500
• Sahith Theegala: +7000
• Tom Kim: +7000
• Wyndham Clark: +7500
• Sungjae Im: +7500
• Corey Conners: +7500
• Max Homa: +7500
• Sam Burns: +7500
• Jason Day: +7500
• Robert MacIntyre: +7500
• Rickie Fowler: +9000
• Patrick Reed: +9000
• Min Woo Lee: +10000
• Max Greyserman: +10000