19th Hole

Rory McIlroy says he wants to get himself in the ‘right frame of mind’ ahead of Open Championship

Published

12 months ago

Jun 17, 2025

Following his final-round 67 at Oakmont, Rory McIlroy said some version of, “I need to get myself in the right frame of mind” no fewer than four times.

The Ulsterman was only asked eight questions on the heels of his T19 U.S. Open finish, and one of them was, “Was Poppy up this morning?”

With the Open Championship at Royal Portrush (in Northern Ireland, McIlroy’s birthplace) less than a month away, what do we make of this repeated utterance?

Well, let’s consider this question and the response from his brief press conference.

The question: “You know how the game ebbs and flows through your career. Remember 2013 was a year when you had to get something back when you went to new equipment. Now you’ve got a scenario whereby you’ve got Portrush coming up, which is a wonderful target back home. Is that the sort of thing that might just fire the jets?”

McIlroy’s response: “I think so. Look, I climbed my Everest in April, and I think after you do something like that, you’ve got to make your way back down, and you’ve got to look for another mountain to climb. An Open at Portrush is certainly one of those.”

We understood that winning the career Grand Slam was important to Rory McIlroy. So too was — and perhaps more so — getting the Masters monkey off his back and proving, after a 10-year drought, that he could win a major again. Perhaps we didn’t understand quite how much of a crowning achievement he would conceive of the victory being — how much of a moment of standing on the peak of victory and saying, “Well, what now?” we would then witness.

I’m sure it’s the nature of goal setting and high achievement. For some serial achievers, no sooner is one item crossed off of list than the next quest is embarked on. I don’t think most people are like that. Heck, I’m not sure most people set goals — I know it’s not a strong suit of mine. Making a grocery list, actually going grocery shopping, and then actually preparing the meals rather than falling prey to the siren song of DoorDash is my weekly Everest.

Clearly, for Rory, now sitting on five major championships at age 36, he’s likely done the math and realizes catching Tiger Woods (let alone Jack Nicklaus) is extremely improbable. Even granting him a late-40s major, he’d need nine wins in the next 10 years. That seems unlikely. Similarly, he’s unlikely to approach the Tiger Woods/Sam Snead PGA Tour victory mark (82).

So, what to play for then? Win as much as he can? Swim as hard as he can as long as he can before sinking into the black depths of aging, loss of form, and retirement?

I don’t know. Rory is right to say he’ll have his crampons and parka on and will burst forth from base camp at Portrush. We all expect that. I fear, however, after that, well, we might be right here again, having the same conversation in August. I know I’d rather not write the same article twice (see: DoorDash, implications above). So it is that I’d humbly submit the names of Ben Hogan and Gary Player, each owner of nine major championships.

The 10-minus-1 tally is a worthy summit for McIlroy to strive for. He’d sit behind only Nicklaus (18), Woods (15), and Hagen (11) on the all-time list of major winners. It’s a goal for the next decade, for the rest of his career.

With respect to finding “another mountain to climb,” nine majors is ambitious but achievable, and the pursuit ought to keep him locked into “the right frame of mind” in much the same way that I’m locked in to cooking this black bean-stuffed sweet potato for dinner.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

2 months ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

2 months ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”