Imago
260406 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland during practice at the range prior to the 2026 Masters Golf Tournament on April 6, 2026 in Augusta. Photo: Petter Arvidson / BILDBYRAN / kod PA / PA1190 golf masters bbeng the masters augusta *** 260406 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland during practice at the range prior to the 2026 Masters Golf Tournament on April 6, 2026 in Augusta Photo Petter Arvidson BILDBYRAN kod PA PA1190 golf masters bbeng the masters augusta PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxFINxDEN Copyright: PETTERxARVIDSON BB260406PA184
Imago
260406 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland during practice at the range prior to the 2026 Masters Golf Tournament on April 6, 2026 in Augusta. Photo: Petter Arvidson / BILDBYRAN / kod PA / PA1190 golf masters bbeng the masters augusta *** 260406 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland during practice at the range prior to the 2026 Masters Golf Tournament on April 6, 2026 in Augusta Photo Petter Arvidson BILDBYRAN kod PA PA1190 golf masters bbeng the masters augusta PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxSWExNORxFINxDEN Copyright: PETTERxARVIDSON BB260406PA184
On Thursday morning at Augusta, Mason Howell handed his childhood idol, Rory, a golf ball he’d kept for eight years. By Friday evening, Rory McIlroy had built a six-shot lead and broken a Masters record. His first move after? He made sure the kid knew the door was open.
Watch What’s Trending Now!
After finishing Round 2, McIlroy walked off the 18th green and turned to 18-year-old amateur Mason Howell. “I hope to see you down the line,” McIlroy told him. “We’ll play some practice rounds coming up.” Howell expressed his gratitude: “Couldn’t have been more thankful to be paired with Rory this week and how much I learned from his game.”
Rounds of 67 and 65 put him at 132 strokes total, which is six strokes clear of Sam Burns and Patrick Reed at -6. No player in Masters history has held a bigger lead through two rounds. He was in the middle of history, and his first instinct was to look after the teenager beside him.
Top Stories
Howell had given Rory McIlroy that ball before their first tee shot on Thursday. It was a souvenir from when he was 10 years old, and McIlroy had given it to him in a gallery. “That was such a special moment for me to play with my idol,” Howell said. The 18-year-old watched closely across both rounds, absorbing everything he could.
“He bandages his game really well. He just knows where to miss it around here. Now he has all the weight off his shoulders. He’s playing so carefree, and I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t get it done this weekend,” Howell said.
After a scrappy front, McIlroy reached 5-under on the back nine with patience and short-game precision after hitting only 5 of 14 fairways in Round 1. This course management distinguishes Augusta contenders, and Howell witnessed it for two rounds.
Imago
260410 — AUGUSTA, April 10, 2026 — Mason Howell of the United States watches his tee shot during the round 1 of the 2026 Masters golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, the United States, on April 9, 2026. SPU.S.-AUGUSTA-GOLF-2026 MASTERS-ROUND 1 WuxXiaoling PUBLICATIONxNOTxINxCHN
Howell himself finished at +9 across two rounds, a 77 and a 76, missing the cut alongside Fred Couples and Jose Maria Olazabal. A double bogey at the par-3 fourth in Round 1 and another at the par-3 12th underlined how little margin Augusta allows. But birdies at 15 and 16 in Round 1 showed the talent is real.
He is the reigning U.S. The amateur champion, who is the third-youngest winner in the tournament’s history, bypassed Tiger Woods with a dominant 7-and-6 victory. He qualified for the 2025 U.S. Open and competed at the Walker Cup.
Notably, Rory McIlroy’s approach toward amateurs has been consistent.
At the 2025 Travelers Championship, he was asked whether he gives advice to pro-am partners and said his instinct is to hold back on swing tips: “The last thing they need is more swing thoughts in their head when they’re playing in these Pro-Ams.”
Instead, he focuses on course management: “They try to hit a shot that they probably could pull off once or twice out of 10 instead of playing percentage golf. That’s boring, but that’s certainly the most effective way to lower your score.”
Howell picked up that same lesson simply by watching McIlroy walk Augusta for two days. And the message on the 18th green just made it personal. Well, the #2 carried that optimism from the very first day he arrived at Augusta.
Rory McIlroy’s mindset is built for Augusta
McIlroy’s generosity towards Howell was not an isolated incident. Days earlier, after finishing his practice round on Tuesday, McIlroy threw his glove to a young fan who asked for it right off the 18th green.
The defending champion had been at Augusta since the weekend, attending the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and the Drive, Chip, and Putt contest. He was doing his job as Green Jacket holder without it feeling like a chore.
The Scottish family left the 18th absolutely delighted. The mother told Mirror US simply: “Pretty good!” Walking down toward the 10th, they couldn’t stop talking about it, already planning who they’d call first to share the story.
It all points to the same thing. Rory McIlroy arrived at Augusta this week not only to compete in his own game, but also to support others. That relaxed and giving attitude could be his best weapon going into the weekend at -12.
Written by
Edited by
Riya Singhal