US Masters storylines to watch

It’s safe to say the drama of the 2025 US Masters won’t be topped for some time.

The comeback story of Tiger Woods’s 2019 victory was one for the ages, but to have seen Rory McIlroy take countless punches only to keep rising off Augusta National’s canvas and finally claim the Green Jacket was one of the most satisfying stories they sport has ever offered.

Year after year, the will he? won’t he? with McIlroy’s chances of winning the Masters looking ever so slightly slimmer as time went on, the Northern Irishman finally, finally got over the line.

There is no story quite as fascinating as McIlroy’s perpetual attempts to win a Green Jacket, but with that one finally chalked off, we look at some of the other most fascinating storylines to watch at Augusta National this week.

How does a liberated Rory McIlroy play Augusta National?

While he’s a competitive golfer, Rory McIlroy will always be one of the big stories of any tournament, certainly at Augusta. There aren’t many firsts left for McIlroy, but turning up at Augusta as a Masters champion is one.

For years it was speculated that the years’ worth of scar tissue that had built up had taken too much of a toll, and that even for a player of McIlroy’s talents, with a skill set so suited to Augusta, he might not have had the mental fortitude to get over the line.

Last year, McIlroy finally realised a life’s ambition. He even said himself that the overriding feeling wasn’t joy but relief. The pressure is finally gone. Of course, for McIlroy, there will always be a degree of pressure. But are we about to see a freed-up McIlroy take on Augusta for the first time in his career?

No first-time Masters winner has ever successfully defended their title. McIlroy could well be the first, and after such a long wait to win one, what a story it would be to see him take a second.

Is Scottie Scheffler still the world’s best golfer?

It feels premature to suggest Scottie Scheffler is no longer the world’s best golfer. He’s a PGA Tour winner already this season and his worst finish was a T24 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, and even that came after playing the final five holes of the tournament in three-over-par, which included losing a ball up a tree. Play those holes in even-par and it’s a solid top-10 finish.

But Scheffler’s level isn’t solid top-10 finishes anymore. It’s winning tournaments on good weeks and contending for them on bad weeks.

Scheffler’s numbers this year are still elite, but the world number one has left himself with far too much to do to contend for events, and when not in the mix on a Sunday, it doesn’t feel like we’re getting a true reflection of where he’s at.

Data Golf’s three-month strokes-gained rankings actually have Jon Rahm as 0.01 ahead of Scheffler as we head into the first major of the year.

Scheffler already has two Green Jackets to his name and is the favourite to win again this week.

Win, and his place as the world’s best golfer will be cemented. But a poor showing again this year and doubts will creep in.

Will we see a first-time winner?

There are plenty of top-quality golfers who are still to win a major, and there are a handful more who are yet to win a Green Jacket.

When moving past three of the big four -- who’ve been responsible for every Masters win since 2021 -- you have Bryson DeChambeau, Xander Schauffele and Matt Fitzpatrick who are without a Green Jacket.

Exclude them, and you’ve got the likes of Ludvig Aberg, Cameron Young and Tommy Fleetwood, golfers who have all contended in majors and are all good enough to win majors.

But majors aren’t given out. Few would have thought Rickie Fowler would still be waiting his first major after his run of top-fives in 2014. Few would have thought Lee Westwood, who recorded a top-10 in 14 years would never win one.

Will we have another first-timer, or will one of the old guard return to the winners’ circle?