Looking to pick a Masters winner? Look no further than Rory McIlroy
Rory McIlroy has played eight times this season. He’s finished in the top 10 all eight times and won once, at The Players Championship.
The 29-year-old from Northern Ireland will get his second win this week at the 83rd Masters. It will complete a career Grand Slam for McIlroy and exorcise a lot of demons along the way.
“I truly believe that when Rory is at his best, he’s better than anybody in the game, and I think people understand that,” ESPN golf analyst Andy North said. “They understand that when he gets going, it’s scary. People love the guy that can hit it hard, and this is a little guy hitting it eight miles. I think people understand that, and he is so likable.
“You know, there’s not a lot of guys that you watch because you don’t know what’s going to happen. I mean, with Rory, you still feel like something can go wrong, and I think people like that. You know, will he miss the 8-footer he needs to make or will he lose concentration or two holes or three holes and let something slip. But when he’s good, he’s pretty much unbeatable when he’s at his best.”
McIroy is most famous at Augusta National Golf Club for blowing a four-shot, final round lead in 2011, posting an 80 in his final round. He was in the final group in last year’s Masters, and didn’t exactly melt down but didn’t rise to challenge playing partner and eventual champion Patrick Reed either.
McIroy, who is second in the FedEx Cup standings this year, is taking a new, laid-back mental approach this year. He finally seems comfortable two years into a switch to TaylorMade equipment, and he’s the betting favorite to earn a green jacket.
Besides, he’s already had his meltdown this year.
2019 Masters Schedule
Thursday to Sunday (April 11-14) at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia
2019 Masters Betting Favorites
Rory McIlory 8/1
Dustin Johnson 10/1
Justin Rose 12/1
Tiger Woods 12/1
Rickie Fowler 14/1
Jon Rahm 16/1
Jordan Spieth 16/1
Justin Thomas 16/1
Tommy Fleetwood 20/1
Brooks Koepka 20/1
Francesco Molinari 20/1
Jason Day 25/1
Bryson DeChambeau 25/1
Bubba Watson 25/1
Paul Casey 30/1
Hideki Matsuyama 30/1
Tony Finau 35/1
Louis Oosthuizen 35/1
Matt Kuchar 40/1
Xander Schauffele 40/1
Adam Scott 40/1
Marc Leishman 50/1
Phil Mickelson 50/1
How to Watch 2019 Masters
TV
Thursday, 3 to 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Friday, 3 to 7:30 p.m., ESPN
Saturday, 3 to 7 p.m., CBS
Sunday, 2 to 7 p.m., CBS
Stream
2019 Masters Field
Kiradech Aphibarnrat
Lucas Bjerregaard
Devon Bling (a)
Keegan Bradley
Angel Cabrera
Rafael Cabrera-Bello
Patrick Cantlay
Paul Casey
Stewart Cink
Fred Couples
Jason Day
Bryson DeChambeau
Tony Finau
Matthew Fitzpatrick
Tommy Fleetwood
Rickie Fowler
Sergio Garcia
Branden Grace
Emiliano Grillo
Justin Harding
Tyrrell Hatton
Charley Hoffman
J.B. Holmes
Billy Horschel
Viktor Hovland (a)
Charles Howell III
Shugo Imahara (special invite)
Trevor Immelman
Dustin Johnson
Zach Johnson
Takumi Kanaya (a)
Martin Kaymer
Michael Kim
Si Woo Kim
Kevin Kisner
Patton Kizzire
Brooks Koepka
Satoshi Kodaira
Matt Kuchar
Andrew Landry
Bernhard Langer
Marc Leishman
Li Haotong
Adam Long
Shane Lowry
Sandy Lyle
Hideki Matsuyama
Rory McIlroy
Phil Mickelson
Keith Mitchell
Larry Mize
Francesco Molinari
Kevin Na
Alex Noren
Kevin O’Connell (a)
Jose Maria Olazabal
Thorbjorn Olesen
Louis Oosthuizen
Alvaro Ortiz (a)
Eddie Pepperell
Ian Poulter
Jon Rahm
Jovan Rebula (a)
Patrick Reed
Justin Rose
Charl Schwartzel
Adam Scott
Xander Schauffele
Webb Simpson
Vijay Singh
Cameron Smith
Brandt Snedeker
Jordan Spieth
Kyle Stanley
Henrik Stenson
Justin Thomas
Kevin Tway
Jimmy Walker
Matt Wallace
Bubba Watson
Mike Weir
Aaron Wise
Danny Willett
Ian Woosnam
Gary Woodland
Tiger Woods
This story was originally published April 10, 2019 at 6:00 PM.
