Masters 2026: No, Rory McIlroy and his private jet trips to Augusta National don’t give him an unfair advantage

AUGUSTA, Ga. — After Rory McIlroy charged to a six-shot lead at the halfway point of the Masters, he attributed much of his success around the greens to being “on this golf course so much the last three weeks,” including a couple of day trips in which he dropped his daughter off at school, flew here on his private jet and returned home in time for dinner.

“I think just spending so much time up here has been a big part of it,” McIlroy said.

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For some commenters on social media, particularly those who don’t follow golf closely, having access to Augusta National before tournament week seems like an unfair advantage: Why should McIlroy have the opportunity to play practice rounds before everybody else? No wonder he’s running away with this thing!

Here’s the reality, though: Scouting trips before all major championships are — pardon the pun — par for the course. It’s something McIlroy has talked about publicly before nearly every Masters, including the first 16 times he played here and didn’t win.

It’s also an opportunity every player in the field gets to take advantage of if they choose to.

Though the club’s rules are purposely opaque, every player in the field is allowed to visit Augusta before the tournament week and play practice rounds. Numerous reports over the years suggest that anyone with a Masters invitation can arrange to play the course twice or more often if they are invited by a member.

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Not every player chooses to take advantage of it.

Scottie Scheffler, for example, told Sports Illustrated in 2023 that he didn’t take a scouting trip before winning his first green jacket but did so the next year so he wouldn’t be “reliving the memories” during tournament week. He ended up in a tie for 10th.

Though McIlroy didn’t say exactly how many practice days he had before this tournament, he mentioned two trips last week and one the week before that in addition to Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

In terms of his Masters preparation, it was almost certainly more productive for McIlroy to get on this course while many of his competitors were playing tournaments in South Florida and Texas.

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“I felt the more time I could spend up here, the better,” he said.

But is it unfair?

Here’s the reality of the situation: For athletes at McIlroy’s level, nearly everything they do comes with some type of an advantage. Owning a private jet and avoiding travel issues is an advantage over those who have to fly commercial. Being able to spend more money than his competitors on physical recovery or having access to better technology is an advantage. Heck, being ranked No. 2 in the world and having the ability to be choosier about your schedule is an advantage.

But this is why golf is so fascinating. Players change their routines all the time based on how they’re feeling or playing. Sometimes they like to get on a tournament course beforehand, sometimes they don’t. Even for the best in the world, peaking for a major is more art than science — that’s why they’re so hard to win.

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Yes, experience at Augusta National is likely a plus. But at this point in McIlroy’s career — Saturday was his 65th tournament round here — it would be hard to say he’s gaining significantly more information by playing a handful of practice rounds in non-tournament conditions than he would have otherwise.

Whether players should have access to a course before a major week is an interesting question. But it would be impossible to tell any course what their rules should be regarding access for the pros.

Augusta National is a private club. It can do what it wants. Likewise, the U.S. Open is periodically played at Pebble Beach — a public course anyone can play for about $700. Does it really make sense to forbid a player from practicing there if that’s how they choose to spend their time?

At the end of the day, McIlroy’s biggest advantage this week wasn’t the ability to practice at Augusta National. It’s that he’s Rory McIlroy — one of the most gifted golfers of all time.