This Masters lacks something it usually has – but that’s okay

On Tuesday afternoon, Rory McIlroy took his seat at Augusta National’s press-room podium and admitted what everyone already knew: This year is different.

“I think the best way to describe it is … for the last 17 years I couldn’t wait for the tournament to start, and this year I wouldn’t mind if the tournament didn’t start,” McIlroy said. “Yes, it’s completely different. I feel very comfortable.”

For more than a decade the Masters has been McIlroy’s pressure cooker, the missing piece on his massive resume, a constant reminder of what he should have had but didn’t. Now? You got it. All good. No one takes off that green jacket. You look easy with it.

But it’s not just McIlroy who is different this year. The whole tournament. Something missing from Augusta National is always here:

Tension.

For decades, Tiger Woods has loomed large in every event he’s played, even this one, making a welcome but big impression from his 1997 Masters victory onward. Phil Mickelson cast a wide shadow of his own, first in his quest to win a major, unseat Woods, win another, and another, and another. McIlroy was the heir apparent to their star status – but also the expectations that come with it. If you’re a golf fan, you remember how intense it was after McIlroy’s close call in 2011, how it grew after he won three more majors. Each year, he came back with the worst thing of all: Unfinished business.

But McIlroy’s wish has come true. No Woods or Mickelson here. Arguably, the tournament’s top two players – Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm – already have blue jackets, saving them from being upset. The weight of expectation is divided accordingly.

As the World No. 1, Scheffler will be below international expectations, but he has managed them so far this year, first with his level of play (very good, not amazing) and then with being a new father (although he claims to be sleeping well).

The battle of LIV vs. The PGA Tour of golf’s future is frozen, at least here. When Rory McIlroy and Bryson DeChambeau talk about rivalry, it’s between two people rather than two languages. That’s not to say there’s an imminent deal to unify professional golf — it’s much more not it seems like a close deal, or an honest attempt at that – but, as these guys like to say, it is what it is.

Some golfers whose fame can put them under a lot of pressure play well when they’re in the lead, diverting our focus. Jordan Spieth was good but not great. Ditto Brooks Koepka.

Even the boys who were playing well don’t have a reputation that can increase the pressure. Cameron Young, Robert MacIntyre, Chris Gotterup, Jacob Bridgeman, Akshay Bhatia – they’re great and they’re on the rise, but they’re not yet weighed down by the potential.

They are others guys undoubtedly feel the weight you expect. Xander Schauffele is close in 2021, playing his way into contention almost every year and getting into strong form – when is his Masters coming up? Ludvig Aberg threatened in his first Masters and has been called a star. Bryson DeChambeau has that combination of talent and audience and still doesn’t have a green jacket. Justin Rose is as close as anyone in the field; three runner-up finishes and two playoff losses, including last year. Then there’s Tommy Fleetwood, who has capped off his campaign to win a PGA Tour title but still has a major tournament dragon to slay.

However, their combined internal pressure will likely outweigh the external; it will only matter if they win, not if they don’t (unless, of course, they set themselves up for failure).

But I think it’s good that there is no pre-tournament tension. That there is no pre-assigned main character. The Masters hype is self-inflicted. We can sit back and let it play, let the most famous stadium – in excellent shape this year, anyway, with a wonderful weather forecast at the top – take the stage.

There is a collective sense of confusion in the media center, where the “experts” tend to congregate and choose a few different players. “Everybody is picking on everybody this year,” said one writer, summing it up nicely. Count Patrick Reed among the confused experts.

“I feel like this year you have 10 to 12 guys who have a legitimate chance to win a green jacket,” he said.

Eventually, the tension will build itself. First slowly, then quickly. There’s a built-in tension because it’s such a tough course to navigate, such a tough competition to win, so great to achieve, so meaningful to do so. The tournament will be played. The tension will increase.

It’s okay not to.

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