Masters champion Trevor Immelman discusses prospects of Scottie Scheffler repeat, Rory McIlroy breakthrough

Trevor Immelman knows a thing or two about the Masters. A green jacket winner in 2008, the South African has since transitioned from playing inside the ropes to calling the action annually on CBS. Ahead of the most anticipated tournament of the season, Immelman took time away from his preparations to discuss where he is focused entering the week ahead.

Only three players in the history of the tournament — Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods — have donned the green jacket in back-to-back years with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler aiming to turn that threesome into a foursome as he aims to win a second consecutive Masters.

“Why is it so difficult? Winning on the PGA Tour is hard enough; winning major championships ratchets that up even more,” Immelman said. “It is quite incredible that so few players have gone back-to-back. This is going to be the 89th Masters now. 

“It’s just such a demanding golf course mentally and physically. It’s on the knife’s edge on so many different shots where you have to be so extremely precise, particularly on approach, and have some things go your way. You need to be able to roll with the punches from the standpoint that, at some point, you are going to be out of position, and you’re going to have to fight your way through that adversity and stay in the tournament. It’s very difficult to do. When you have that caliber of player there, it makes it even tougher.”

When attempting to defend his own green jacket in 2009, Immelman ultimately finished in a tie for 20th — one of the better attempts in recent years, similar to Scheffler’s T10 in his first defense attempt. The Texan enters into this year’s Masters in strong enough form, but perhaps not as stable as he was this time last season when he had already won two tournaments, including a successful defense at The Players Championship.

“Scottie winning two of the last three, he really has been the guy to beat here over the last three years,” Immelman added. “In a certain sense, after this last weekend in Houston, in a way it is starting to feel like that again. The guy shot a 62 and a 63 last week. That is pretty dang impressive.

“It hasn’t quite been the level of golf that we saw from him in 2024, but look, it has still be pretty solid. … I think his game is really starting to round into form. After that round on Sunday, he said that this weekend his swing is starting to feel comfortable again. As soon as he heads down Magnolia Lane … so many good memories are going to come flooding back to him from the last three years that his confidence is just going to build.

“I really think that, since Tiger [Woods], Scottie is the best strategist on a golf course that we have seen. He really has amazing course management. He knows exactly the right time when to push, when to hold back, when to trust particular parts of his game. And when you start to add all of those things together, you start to realize why he is so hard to beat around there.” 

While a successful defense from Scheffler would be historic in its own right, the storyline plays second fiddle to that of Rory McIlroy’s quest for the career grand slam. Twice a winner before the calendar flipped to April for the first time in his career, the four-time major champion seeks to grab No. 5 and become the sixth player to ever hoist the four biggest trophies in golf.

Optimism around the golf world is high for McIlroy’s prospects in his 11th attempt at the grand slam given his early season returns, and even Immelman feels that energy.

“It really is the most optimistic I’ve been, but I’m trying so hard to lower my expectations,” Immelman said. “We’ve all thought for more than a decade that this guy has exactly what you need to win at Augusta National and this great tournament, but it’s been so elusive … just hasn’t been able to get across the line.”

Immelman believes the swing changes that McIlroy implemented late last season — ahead of the finale on the DP World Tour — have been instrumental in his march to Augusta, as has the a new ball in his bag.

“He made some changes towards the end of last year that I think had this week in mind,” Immelman said. “He was trying to dial in his backswing, get it in a better spot at the top to where he could stop losing the club behind him. Occasionally, when he does that with the irons, the distance control with the wedges goes out of the window. So, he locked himself in a simulator for a couple weeks to work on the swing, and it has paid off. Everything has looked tremendous, so far.

“You couple that with a ball change earlier in the season — he went with a softer, more spinny golf ball, so it actually launches a little lower and he can carry a bit more spin on it that way he can flight the wedges and the short iron down a bit closer to the ground, but they still carry the spin to have that stopping power. It’s been an amazing change for him.

“I’ve always thought the best wedge players in the world had the ability to flight it down — you think Tiger in his prime, Seve [Ballesteros], [José María] Olazábal, players like that. With this change with the ball and with the technique change, he seems to be a lot more comfortable with that.”

While McIlroy may be one of the top two favorites at the onset of the week, he will need to play his way into the tournament unlike years past. Across his 10 first rounds in pursuit of the career grand slam, McIlroy has a scoring average of 72.2 and has broken 70 just once. It is a similar story for his second rounds as the right hander has recorded four straight over-par rounds on Friday, including two straight 77s.

Not since 2018 has McIlroy entered the weekend with a realistic opportunity to win the Masters. Paired with eventual champion Patrick Reed in the final round, he quickly became an afterthought in the proceedings. This year seems as good a chance as ever for McIlroy to break that spell and shoot his way into the mix. 

“It’s the topic everybody I speak to right now wants to talk about … the noise just gets louder and louder, the pressure just mounts more and more,” Immelman said. “It’s going to be a difficult next week or so for him back at home — practicing, keeping himself in his own little world, make sure he doesn’t get too distracted with any of the noise on the outside. 

“Then he’s going to have to do that again when he gets to the tournament for the practice rounds and startS to find a rhythm through the week as he gets through the first and second rounds. And then, can you only imagine the way people would be talking and the pressure he would be feeling if he finds himself at or around the lead Saturday night with one round to go?

“It would be an amazing atmosphere around Augusta National and for people watching on TV. It would be a blast.”