Tiger Woods' ex-coach: Rory McIlroy is clear 2025 Masters favourite

Tiger Woods' former golf coach Butch Harmon says Rory McIlroy is the clear favourite for the 2025 Masters.

McIlroy, 35, heads into the first men's major of the year next week at Augusta National in good form having already won twice on the PGA Tour. 

Despite Scottie Scheffler being the bookies' favourite to defend his title and land his third green jacket, Harmon believes the Northern Irishman is going to be the man to beat providing he can 'relax'. 

"I think he's obviously the favourite," Harmon told GolfMagic. 

"He's won twice this year [and] played beautifully in Houston. I think all he has to do is relax and play golf. 

"And that's very easy to say and you and I know because we play golf but in a big event like this you're like a horse in the starting gate at the Kentucky Derby. 

"You're amped up and you're ready to go. You're thinking that you want Thursday to hurry up and get here. 

"I think in Rory's case he's been there and played Augusta [a few times these past few weeks] so he doesn't need to get there early on Sunday night. 

"He'll probably fly in on Monday and play nine holes on Monday and Tuesday, practice, do his media stuff and just get ready. 

"If he can relax, and just play golf, he is definitely the guy to beat. 

"He can overpower the course with the way he drives the golf ball and if he just lets it happen then he can win. You can't win the tournament on Thursday and Friday but you can definitely take yourself out of it. 

"But if he can get off to a nice start then who knows what could happen. But for me, he is the favourite"

McIlroy sought Harmon's advice 12 months ago after he started missing left with his irons. 

Harmon said he believes McIlroy has made the necessary changes since his tune-up with the now 81-year-old instructor. 

Harmon said he wanted to see McIlroy take the ball out of the air with his wedges and play more knockdown shots.

"I explained to him that he was making his normal long swing to hit these shots so I wanted him to get tighter and hit more of these three-quarter shots to take the ball out of the air," he said.  

"A perfect example was the shot he hit in a playoff in The Players a few weeks ago in a playoff. That was a beautiful, flighted 9-iron into the wind."

McIlroy has also revealed that he is dealing with an elbow issue. 

After his joint-fifth finish at the Texas Children's Houston Open, McIlroy said he plans to get some treatment on it over the next few days. 

Was McIlroy just trying to take the pressure off himself?

"I didn't look at that as anything serious," Harmon said. 

"It was kinda like Tiger's April Fools' joke [the reaction].

"If Rory says something or Tiger says something everybody is on it. 

"Sometimes you wonder if they are just saying it to play with us or what. 

"I didn't see anything [from watching his golf swing but] I haven't talked to him also. 

"We'll be able to tell when he gets there, that's for sure."

Harmon is not the only person that believes McIlroy will contend next week. 

Six-time major champion Phil Mickelson also reckons McIlroy will be able to cope with the pressure.

Mickelson told reporters before LIV Golf's event in Miami that he believes McIlroy's ability to 'compartmentalise' his past failures is a strength.

"I think he drives the ball so long and straight that he has a huge advantage on that golf course," Mickelson said.

"He and about 20 guys that drive it like he does will have an advantage of playing it a certain way."

Harmon will be back on our screens next week as part of Sky Sports' coverage of The Masters.

Enjoy 50 per cent more live coverage than ever before of The 2025 Masters, exclusively on Sky Sports and NOW from 10 April.