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Rory McIlroy missed fairways at Masters, explained: How errant drives are catching up to defending champ at Augusta
TL;DR
Rory McIlroy has lost his 6-stroke lead at the Masters, now tied with Cameron Young at 11-under. His struggles with fairway accuracy, hitting only 50% of the fairways, are a significant factor in his performance decline.
Rory McIlroy missed fairways at Masters, explained: How errant drives are catching up to defending champ at Augusta originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
While still sitting atop the leaderboard after three rounds at Augusta, Rory McIlroy's 6-stroke lead has disappeared, and Cameron Young is now tied for the lead at 11-under.
A large reason why McIlroy hasn't dominated as much as he could have, despite that record 36-hole lead, is due to his troubles finding the fairway off the tee this tournament. Of the 54 players who have made the cut, McIlroy has a 50% fairway hit rate (21/42), which is dead last and two percent lower than the next closest golfers.
Here is a statistical look at McIlroy's first three rounds from the tee box and how it compares to his career fairway accuracy rate.
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Rory McIlroy missed fairways at the Masters
After his third round concluded on Saturday, McIlroy had missed the most fairways compared to players who made the cut. Here is the full breakdown.
Despite this, McIlroy is still tied for the lead at Augusta, but his 6-stroke lead has vanished thanks to a 1-over third round. Cameron Young's 7-under third round has propelled him up to joint possession of the No. 1 position.
MORE:Rory McIlroy's back injury ahead of the 2026 Masters
How many fairways did Rory McIlroy miss?
Here is the per-round breakdown of how many fairways McIlroy has missed:
- 1st round: 8/14 fairways missed (57%)
- 2nd round: 6/14 fairways missed (42%)
- 3rd round: 6/14 fairways missed (42%)
The rest of the field has missed, on average, 29% of fairways, according to the Masters fairways hit statistic.
MORE:Who are the top 30 golfers at this year's Masters Tournament?
What is Rory McIlroy's driving accuracy?
In the first round, McIlroy's 5-of-14 fairways hit was the second-lowest of the round (4-of-14: Rasmus Hojgaard and Davis Riley). His second-round mark of 8-of-14 fairways hit was tied for 4th-lowest in the field, with Davis Riley's 5-of-14 ranking at the top of the unfortunate stat.
McIlroy's third round was his best, as he hit 8-of-14 fairways, or 57.14%. This rank was still tied for 2nd-lowest in the field, with Jon Rahm, Marco Penge, Max Homa and Sepp Straka all concluding the third round with 7-of-14 fairways hit.
Rory McIlroy's career driving accuracy
Across his near-19 year professional golf career, McIlroy's career driving accuracy is 60.2%. This mark ranks 61st in the PGA. You can check out McIlroy's career statistics from his PGA page.
MORE:What was on the menu for McIlroy's Masters Champions dinner?
What driver does Rory McIlroy use?
At this year's Masters, McIlroy is using the TaylorMade Qi4D driver. On TaylorMade's website, the driver currently goes for a price of $649.99.
The Northern Irishman previously used the TaylorMade Qi10 driver from January 2024 until the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship in November 2025, when he changed to the new Qi4D, and he has kept it since.
McIlroy uses a 7.5-degree driver-head angle to help lower the ball flight. His driver uses the Fujikura Ventus Black 6 X shaft.
Q&A
Why did Rory McIlroy lose his lead at the Masters?
Rory McIlroy lost his lead due to difficulties in finding the fairway, resulting in a 50% fairway hit rate, the lowest among the 54 players who made the cut.
What is Rory McIlroy's fairway hit rate at the Masters 2023?
Rory McIlroy's fairway hit rate at the Masters 2023 is 50%, which is two percent lower than the next closest golfers.
Who is tied with Rory McIlroy at the Masters?
Cameron Young is currently tied with Rory McIlroy at 11-under after McIlroy's lead diminished.
How does Rory McIlroy's fairway accuracy compare to his career average?
Rory McIlroy's current fairway accuracy at the Masters is significantly lower than his career average, contributing to his struggles in the tournament.
