Rory McIlroy’s quest to win back-to-back Masters could be complicated as the star golfer is dealing with a back injury. The injury prompted McIlroy to pull out of the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.
One week later, McIlroy finished T46 at The Players, the last tournament the star played ahead of the Masters. ESPN’s Marty Smith provided some good news just two days before the Masters begins, reporting that McIlroy is “full go” at Augusta.
“I watched him for a long time over there (practice area) yesterday, and he looked completely uninhibited physically,” Smith noted in an April 6, 2026, episode of “SportsCenter.” “I’m told he’s full go, no issues with his back, no limitations.
“And then there’s the mental and emotional side of this. He comes in here with completely different perspective. There’s a sense of belonging he’s never had before. And belonging is one of the most powerful emotions in the human condition. It infuses you with self-confidence,” Smith added
“He told me I walk in here, and I feel completely different. You walk into the clubhouse and they hand you your green jacket. You walk upstairs to the locker room and change your shoes. He said it’s not that I didn’t feel accepted before. I just feel a little more accepted now. He said I feel like I’m part of the club. Walking in here this year and that’s a feeling I’ll cherish for the rest of my life.”
Weeks Before the Masters, Rory McIlroy Described Himself as ‘Unbelievably Rusty’
The news comes a little less than one month after McIlroy admitted to being “rusty” at The Players. Time will tell if the weeks off will help or hurt McIlroy’s chances to repeat as Masters champion.
“Honestly, overall it was fine,” Mcllroy said of his back injury during a March 12, media session, per PGA Tour. “Got a little bit tired at the end of the day, but yeah, it was actually all pretty good.
“… It’s weird, I obviously played on Friday; it’s not as if I’ve taken a ton of time off. But just felt like unbelievably rusty out there.”
Rory McIlroy Is Looking to Join Tiger Woods as 1 of Only 3 Golfers to Win Back-to-Back Masters
For the first time in his career, McIlroy returns to Augusta without questions about whether he can finally win the Masters. After completing the Grand Slam, McIlroy is looking to make a different kind of golf history.
Only three golfers have won back-to-back Masters: Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus. Woods was the last golfer to make Masters history in 2002.
Skepticism Abounds on Rory McIlroy’s Masters Chances Amid Back Injury
The good news is the pressure is off McIlroy to win the Masters. Yet, even with Smith’s positive report, Augusta National is still a challenging place to play with a back injury.
“I don’t know, back issues at Augusta National are tough,” CBS Sports’ Amanda Balionis noted on the March 31, edition of the “Fairway Rollin’” podcast. “We’ve seen it with a lot of players. This is a hard place to be wondering at what point am I going to feel that tug in my back? So, I have no idea. I don’t know if you guys have better insight about where he’s at in that recovery process.
“I would be hard pressed to say he’s a 100%. I just don’t think those back things solve themselves like that when you’re a golfer and you have to keep practicing and you have to keep doing the motion that likely caused whatever the thing is.”
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