Scottie Scheffler shooting for more Masters history while Rory McIlroy looks to vanquish past demons

AUGUSTA, Ga.— We wait nearly nine months for this every year.The day the “Champion Golfer of the Year” is crowned at the British Open and hoists the Claret Jug in July, all eyes in the golf world turn to April at Augusta National, where the next major championship begins.As agonizing as the wait can be through the long winter, that wait is always worth it.That cannot be stated more emphatically than for this week’s Masters, where storylines are as abundant as the masses of Georgia pines and blooming azaleas are around the fabled golf course.Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No.

1 ranked player, will be trying to win his third Masters in the past four years.If he does, he would be just the second player ever to do so — the other being Jack Nicklaus, who won in 1963, ’65 and ’66.Rory McIlroy is making his 11th attempt at completing the career Grand Slam and winning a first green jacket.

If he wins, he would become just the sixth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam.Tiger Woods is the only player to have done it in the past 59 years.

McIlroy is one of 12 players who’s won three of the four legs of the modern Slams.If Xander Schauffele wins, he will have won three of the past four major championships, having won the PGA Championship and British Open in 2024.Then there’s the compelling curiosity about how the LIV Golf players will perform.Save for a couple exceptions, this week will be the first time we’ve seen the prominent players from LIV compete against the top players from the PGA Tour.There, too, are other ancillary storylines to this week that will capture imagination.A sentimental one includes this being the final Masters for 67-year-old Bernhard Langer, a two-time winner of the green jacket playing in his 41st Masters.It, too, could possibly turn into a Masters tournament farewell for 65-year-old Fred Couples, who’s playing for the 40th time at Augusta.There’s also the intrigue surrounding Angel Cabrera’s return to Aug...