Tuesday at 2023 Masters

Updates from Tuesday’s Masters press conferences

AUGUSTA, Ga. – On Monday, Jordan Spieth compared the Masters to the Super Bowl.

It’s an apt comparison, and that makes Tuesday golf’s equivalent of Super Bowl Media Day.

The biggest names in the game will enter the Masters’ Press Building on Tuesday, the day when most of the pre-tournament press conferences will be held. Among the players who will visit with the media on Tuesday are Tiger Woods, Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy and Max Homa.

How does Woods feel as he pursues a record-tying sixth Green Jacket? Can McIlroy complete the career Grand Slam this week? Does Scheffler think he can become the fourth man to go back-to-back at Augusta National?

All those questions will be answered Tuesday. There are nine press conferences scheduled, with all of them squeezed into a six-hour window. The news comes quickly on this day, so check back early and often as we update this file with the biggest stories from Tuesday at the Masters.

Rory McIlroy (9:30 a.m. ET)

Rory McIlroy has experienced almost the entire spectrum of emotions at Augusta National. The only thing missing is the jubilation that would come from a victory, one that would make him the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam.

“Look, nobody wants to win this more than me,” McIlroy said Tuesday morning.

Last year was his closest call, at least in terms of the final result. He finished second to Scottie Scheffler, and though he was five shots back before Scheffler’s inconsequential four-putt on the final green, McIlroy felt he was close enough to elicit the emotions that are conjured up by being in contention. He capped his final-round 64 with a hole-out from a greenside bunker, a shot that McIlroy celebrated with a display of pure joy. A photo of that reaction appeared on both sides of the interview room as he gave his pre-tournament press conference Tuesday.

“The only thing that I can say is that I proved to myself that I could do it,” he said. “As much as I didn’t really get into contention, there was a part of me on that back nine last year that felt that I had a chance, and to play the way I did and to eagle 13 and to have those feelings, in my mind, anyway, I felt like it was a breakthrough.”

“So any time I see an image like that or the video of me and then Collin doing what he did, as well, sort of just brings back all those good vibes.”

McIlroy has seven top-10s in his past nine appearances at Augusta National. If there is a common theme among his recent play here, however, it is that he has been plagued by slow starts. In each of the past four years, he has shot over par in the opening round. He started last year’s Masters with consecutive 73s before shooting 64 on Sunday.

“It’s a very difficult course to chase on. You start to fire at pins and short-siding yourself and you’re missing in the wrong spots, it’s hard to make up a lot of ground,” he said. “Say you shoot a couple over that first day, then you start having to chase just to make the cut or try to get yourself back in the tournament, that’s when this golf course can really sort of step up and bite you. I think that’s part of the reason.”

This year, McIlroy played 81 holes in the weeks leading up to the Masters, including an impromptu trip with Shane Lowry after McIlroy texted him to say, “Look, we’re going to be practicing in Florida, why don’t we just come up here for a day?”

McIlroy arrives at Augusta National after a promising showing at the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play. He finished third, beating defending champion Scottie Scheffler in the consolation match. That came after a missed cut at THE PLAYERS that caused consternation for McIlroy. He shot 76-73 and felt uncomfortable with his play off the tee, which is of the utmost importance this week. But he found a driver that fit him in the week between his tournaments at TPC Sawgrass and Austin Country Club, and he also was enthused with a switch from his mallet to a blade-style putter.

“The best way for me to feel like I’m in a good head space is to be as prepared as I possibly can be,” he added, “and I feel really prepared.”