19th Hole

Rory McIlroy discusses his WGC victory, Tiger Woods, why he found extra motivation from Brooks Koepka’s comments and more on “Just the Fax”

Published

7 years ago

Nov 5, 2019

Rory McIlroy was a guest this Monday on Brad Faxon’s SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio show, “Just the Fax”, where the Ulsterman discussed his recent WGC win, Tiger Woods’ Zozo victory, whether he found extra motivation from Koepka’s recent comments and more.

*All quotes courtesy of SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio

Beginning with his recent victory at the WGC-HSBC Champions, McIlroy contrasted his final two drives on the 18th hole on Sunday, the first in regulation which almost found the hazard, and the second in the playoff which was hammered right down the middle of the fairway.

According to the 30-year-old, the difference between the two results came from “staying a little more patient from the top of the swing” which allowed him to stripe one down the center in the playoff and which McIlroy credited as a “big moment” due to him teeing off first and allowing him to put pressure on Xander Schauffele.

Host Faxon mentioned his surprise when after a congratulatory text message he sent to McIlroy was responded to instantly while McIlroy was in the scorer’s tent following his playoff win. The 4-time major champ explained how if he doesn’t respond as soon as possible then it’s unlikely he will end up acknowledging every message received after a win, of which he claims to receive “around 100-150 messages” after a victory.

On Tiger Woods’ recent win at the Zozo Championship, McIlroy expressed his surprise at how Woods was able to win the event after seeing his game up-close at the Japan Skins match the previous Monday and also heaped praise on the 15-time major champion’s victory.

“Not at all (on if he saw Woods’ Zozo victory coming). Look we were all a little tired, we had just gotten there, but I did not, I didn’t see it. I mean, look, he’s Tiger Woods and everything, and he does things that other people just can’t do, but from what I saw on the Monday, I didn’t think that his game looked sharp enough to contend.

Whatever he did, he got it together for a few days, and that was some performance. I mean to play that good on that golf course, that was a pretty tough golf course. So to have control of his ball like that and to shoot -19, and win pretty easily in the end was awfully impressive.”

McIlroy stated how he plans to take a couple of months off this off-season where he intends to work on his tennis game. When the conversation swung around to Koepka’s recent comments, the Ulsterman explained how he did take extra motivation following Koepka’s remarks that McIlroy wasn’t a rival since he hadn’t won a major since he had been on Tour.

“I don’t think I’d be a competitor if there wasn’t extra motivation there. Look, I’ve said things in the media before, whether I’ve said them in a way where they didn’t come off the way I wanted to or, you know, you say some things. So I can get where Brooks was coming from, absolutely.

But yeah, of course, it gives me motivation when someone says something like, you’re not a true competitor if you don’t feel a little bit of something after that. Look, I’m good with Brooks, and I just want to let my clubs do the talking. I’ve been able to do that, and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”

Asked whether he had received a text from Koepka following his win in China, McIlroy laughed and said “No” before the conversation turned to the Official World Golf Ranking.

McIlroy admitted that he bases much of his schedule on where the most OWGR points are on offer and how he uses the points on offer as motivation for when he finds himself out of contention on the weekend of an event.

The 30-year-old rounded off the interview with Faxon by saying he plans to play the week before next year’s majors when possible since it takes him “a couple of rounds to get going”, and revealed that Tiger Woods should “100%” pick himself as a playing-captain at next month’s Presidents Cup, calling it a “no-brainer” decision.

Brad Faxon’s radio show “Just the Fax” airs each Monday at 4 PM ET on SiriusXM PGA TOUR Radio.

19th Hole

How much each player won at the 2026 Masters

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Rory McIlroy made it two wins in as many years at Augusta National, seeing off the challengers on a dramatic Sunday to slip on the green jacket once again. The victory earned Rory a whopping payday of $4.5 million, with Scottie Scheffler his closest challenger earning $2.43 million for his sole runner-up finish.

With a total prize purse of $22.5 million up for grabs, here’s a look at how much each player won at the 2026 Masters tournament.

For players that did not make the cut, they still earned $25k for their efforts at the year’s opening major.

1: Rory McIlroy, $4.5 million
2: Scottie Scheffler, $2.43 million
T3: Tyrrell Hatton, $1.08 million
T3: Russell Henley, $1.08 million
T3: Justin Rose, $1.08 million
T3: Cameron Young, $1.08 million
T7: Collin Morikawa, $725,625
T7: Sam Burns, $725,625
T9: Xander Schauffele, $630,00
T9: Max Homa, $630,00
11: Jake Knapp, $562,500
T12: Jordan Spieth, $427,500
T12: Brooks Koepka, $427,500
T12: Hideki Matsuyama, $427,500
T12: Patrick Reed, $427,500
T12: Patrick Cantlay, $427,500
T12: Jason Day, $427,500
T18: Viktor Hovland, $315,000
T18: Maverick McNealy, $315,000
T18: Matt Fitzpatrick, $315,000
T21: Keegan Bradley, $252,000
T21: Ludvig Aberg, $252,000
T21: Wyndham Clark, $252,000
T24: Matt McCarty, $182,083
T24: Adam Scott, $182,083
T24: Sam Stevens, $182,083
T24: Chris Gotterup, $182,083
T24: Michael Brennan, $182,083
T24: Brian Campbell, $182,083
T30: Alex Noren, $146,250
T30: Harris English, $146,250
T30: Shane Lowry, $146,250
T33: Gary Woodland, $121,500
T33: Dustin Johnson, $121,500
T33: Brian Harman, $121,500
T33: Tommy Fleetwood, $121,500
T33: Ben Griffin, $121,500
T38: Jon Rahm, $105,750
T38: Ryan Gerard, $101,250
T38: Haotong Li, $96,750
T41: Justin Thomas, $92,250
T41: Sepp Straka, $87,750
T41: Jacob Bridgeman, $83,250
T41: Kristoffer Reitan, $78,750
T41: Nick Taylor, $74,250
46: Sungjae Im, $69,750
47: Si Woo Kim, $65,250
48: Aaron Rai, $61,650
T49: Corey Conners, $57,600
T49: Marco Penge, $57,600
51: Kurt Kitayama, $55,250
52: Sergio Garcia, $54,000
53: Rasmus Hojgaard, $52,650
54: Charl Schwartzel, $51,300

19th Hole

CBS’s Sunday Masters coverage slammed by golf fans

Published

1 month ago

Apr 13, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

While Sunday was a dramatic day at the Masters, many golf fans were left feeling frustrated by the CBS final round coverage.

There were plenty of moments that golf fans took to social media to air their frustrations on Sunday over, including a lack of shots being shown throughout the day, being behind the live action, confusion over the approach shots of the final group on 18, and providing an angle for the winning putt where the cup couldn’t be seen.

Here’s a look at some of the criticisms that were directed at the CBS coverage throughout the day on X:

This has been a brutal broadcast for CBS. When the folks from Augusta sit down with them this year, you can bet they’ll talk about this 15 seconds where we have no idea where Rory’s ball went, and Dottie moans. #TheMasters pic.twitter.com/ak3mkpIN7V

— Ryan (@PossiblyRy) April 12, 2026

It’s rare criticism coming in for CBS, who are usually heavily praised for their Masters coverage each year.

19th Hole

The surprise club Tommy Fleetwood says is key to his Masters chances

Published

1 month ago

Apr 7, 2026

Gianni Magliocco

Tommy Fleetwood goes in search for the first major victory of his career again this week, with the Englishman proving to be a popular pick at Augusta National.

Fleetwood’s best showing at Augusta came back in 2024 where he finished T3, and while speaking at his pre-tournament press conference, the 35-year-old emphasized the importance of his 9-wood in his pursuit of the green jacket.

Speaking on Tuesday to media, Fleetwood said:

“It’s a great 9-wood golf course. I think it’s always been — I can’t remember when I first put like a 9-wood in or a high lofted club, but it’s a perfect like 9-wood golf course. I’ve had that in the bag for a few years.”

The Englishman continued, revealing that his strategy for the week won’t just be to hit driver off the tee as much as possible:

“Yeah, it’s funny really because I know Augusta is probably associated with being fairly forgiving off the tee in a way, so you think you can whale around driver a little bit. But I don’t necessarily think that’s always the play for me. I think there’s holes that set up really well where I can draw it with the mini driver if I’m feeling less comfortable with the driver and things like that.”

That strategy he believes will make his TaylorMade Qi10 9-wood extra critical this week in Georgia:

“The biggest thing is the 9-wood for me. If I can put myself in position on the par-5s or the 4th long par-3, like it — for me, I can’t really hit that high 4-iron, so 9-wood helps me a lot.”