Sir Nick Faldo weighs in on Rory McIlroy’s Masters hopes

Sir Nick Faldo has had his say on whether Rory McIlroy can end his major doubt at the Masters next week.

McIlroy, who has won twice on the PGA Tour this season, is yet to get over the line in the opening major of the season at Augusta National.

The world No.2 last tasted glory in the game’s marquee events in 2014, however, and despite last month’s PLAYERS Championship win, needs to navigate a mental block.

At least that’s how Faldo sees it.

“History’s not great [for McIlroy],” the Englishman told the Sky Sports Golf podcast. “I think only Tiger Woods and Ben Crenshaw have gone 11 years between two majors in about the last 40 years.

“He has to forget that, and he’s got to rewrite some of those things.”

• New Scottish golf facility scrapped just weeks before opening

• Donald Trump breaks silence on Turnberry “terrorists”

But if McIlroy can move past his near misses in recent years – and at Augusta, in particular – Faldo believes it’s his time to slip into that elusive green jacket.

“He’s 35, playing great,” Faldo said. “Can he just go to Augusta and absolutely clear all the pictures out from the past?

“It’s way easier said than done, but he could do it and I’ve got a feeling he might.”

Despite logging 21 top tens in majors since his last major victory at the PGA Championship, McIlroy is in the form of his life.

Never before had he won twice on US soil before the Masters, until he won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and then defeated JJ Spaun in a Monday play-off at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.

He admitted there are parts of his game that need ironed out, but Faldo believes he is the ‘best player in the world’ right now.

• Rory McIlroy makes major money history on the PGA Tour

• ‘Disgusted’ Scottish golf club launches probe into theft

Faldo continued: “He is looking very good. Golf, for me, there’s three main departments when you’re assessing anyone – there’s physical, technical, and mental, isn’t it?

“Physical, we can just about see. You can see how strong somebody is, but you can’t see an injury.

“Technical, we can just about see it – you see the swing and what have you. Mental, we can’t see it and that’s purely hidden to the individual.

“For Rory? Physically, he’s got it. Technically, he’s got it. Where is he mentally? That is the key.

“He has got the battle of trying to delete ten years of this gap and saying to us ‘I’m actually the best player in the world right now’. Because, let’s face it, he is.”

The 2025 Masters gets underway next Thursday and McIlroy is currently the second favourite in the early betting.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.