Since Hurricane Helene created carnage at the home of the Masters, golf fans have been clamoring for answers to what has changed, and Rory McIlroy provided some clarity.

McIlroy cited to Golf Channel’s Kira K. Dixon, the first, eighth, 15 th and 16 th greens as having been altered. Augusta National Golf Club endured damage during September’s Hurricane Helene, including the loss of several trees, which chairman Fred Ridley acknowledged earlier this year.

With nothing else but momentum in mind, it must have been tempting to go directly from Sawgrass to Georgia, via three weeks at home in his south Florida mansion. Yet, after visiting Augusta National for his annual reconnaissance on Monday, McIlroy jetted to ‘H-Town’ and stressed “three weeks without competition would be too much for me”.