McIlroy leads Irish hopes as 2025 Masters tees off at Augusta National

McIlroy is our tip to end his Masters drought.

The 2025 Masters, the first men’s golf major of the year, begins on Thursday, 10 April and ends on Sunday.

The iconic Augusta National Golf Club once again hosts the tournament, with its famous par-72 layout and Amen Corner.

This year’s prize fund stands at $20 million, and the traditional green jacket will be awarded in Butler Cabin. The winner is set to pocket a cool $3.6m.

The event features 96 players, including 12 from the LIV Golf Tour, but Tiger Woods is absent with injury.

Woods, a five-time champion, misses out due to an Achilles problem, while stars from both tours compete together.

Rory McIlroy enters his 17th Masters seeking a maiden victory, despite four career majors and strong recent form.

He has seven top-10 finishes at Augusta, including a runner-up finish to Scottie Scheffler in 2022.

After working on his iron play following the 2024 Alfred Dunhill Links, McIlroy won three big events since.

Those victories include the 2024 DP World Tour Championship, 2025 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and the Players Championship.

He returns to world number two, with high confidence and two US wins before Augusta for the first time.

The 35-year-old aims to end an 11-year major drought and complete the career Grand Slam this week.

McIlroy’s 2025 campaign starts at 6:12 pm on Thursday alongside Ludvig Åberg and Akshay Bhatia in round one.

He’ll be eager to improve on a T22 finish last year and is tipped to finally triumph. Prediction: Winner.

Shane Lowry plays his tenth Masters and is in strong form, with multiple top-10 finishes this season.

The 2019 Open winner finished tied third at Augusta in 2022 and is ranked 13th in the world.

Lowry is accurate from tee to green but ranks 79th in putting, needing improvement on the greens. Prediction: Top 10.

World number one Scottie Scheffler has never finished outside the top 20 at Augusta and has two victories here.

Since a Christmas Day injury, he’s played six PGA Tour events, with a best of T2 at Houston. Prediction: Top 15.

Justin Thomas, fourth at Augusta in 2020, is in good form with four top-10 finishes on tour this year.

He shot a brilliant 62 at Sawgrass in 2025, among the best rounds this season. Prediction: Top 5.

Bryson DeChambeau led the 2024 Masters at halfway and went on to finish tied sixth at Augusta last year.

The two-time major winner claimed the 2024 US Open and finished fifth at the recent LIV Tour event. Prediction: Top 5.

Ludvig Åberg impressed with a runner-up finish at Augusta last year and won the 2025 Genesis Invitational in February.

The Swede is now ranked fifth in the world and looks ready for another strong showing. Prediction: Top 10.

Jon Rahm has the best cumulative score to par at Augusta since 2018 and won the 2023 Masters title.

He’s in form after a recent LIV Tour top-10 and seeks a third career major. Prediction: Top 5.

Tommy Fleetwood was tied third at Augusta last year but is still chasing his first PGA Tour victory in America.

He finished tied sixth at this year’s Genesis Invitational and enters the Masters with momentum. Prediction: Top 5.

A thrilling week of elite golf lies ahead—and McIlroy is tipped to finally put on the green jacket.