Rory McIlroy is gearing up to play at Augusta National Golf Club ahead of the Masters with his father, Gerry. The Northern Irish golfer won his fifth major last year at Augusta National. This week, he has teed it up at the Genesis Invitational at Riviera Country Club.

In a pre-tournament press conference held on Wednesday, McIlroy was asked about his visit to the prestigious golf course. In response, he said that he is looking forward to teeing it up at Augusta National with his father and Fred Couples, Augusta National chairman, next week.

“That’s coming up,” McIlroy said. “I’m going to go up there and play with the chairman next week actually, yeah.

Rory McIlroy also shared that he had played at the venue back in December and spoke about his early visit.

“It was cool to get up to the champions locker room and see my nameplate alongside the other two champions that I share a locker with,” he said. “Yeah, it was somewhat nostalgic. I wouldn’t say it was emotional but definitely there was nice memories. Yeah, different feels the first time staying on site without having to need a member there. There’s a lot of perks you get with being a champion.

Rory McIlroy defeated Justin Rose in a playoff to secure the title at the Masters 2025. With that, he completed his career Grand Slam, becoming the sixth golfer in history to have won all four majors at least once in his career. This week at the Genesis Invitational, which was affected by weather on Thursday, he had a decent outing in the first round.

Rory McIlroy opens up about his performance at the Genesis Invitational

Rory McIlroy started his game at the Genesis Invitational with an opening round of 66. He was tied for second place after the opening round. The play on Thursday was affected by the weather, and a few players are yet to complete their rounds.

McIlroy started the game on the first tee with an impressive birdie. He made four birdies on the front nine and two birdies and an eagle on the back nine for a 5-under 66. He opened up about his performance in the post-round press conference.

“I’ve definitely got more comfortable playing in conditions like this over the past few years as I’ve gotten more comfortable in controlling my ball flight, and controlling my ball flight taking a lot more club, hitting the ball low,” McIlroy said.

Before this week, Rory McIlroy competed at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he carded rounds of 68, 67, 72, and 64 to settle in T14 place. He was tied for third at the Dubai Invitational and T33 at the Hero Dubai Desert Classic.