Tom McKibbin reveals how Rory McIlroy looked in his practice round before The Masters

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Rory McIlroy defends his Masters title in less-than-ideal circumstances.

The 36-year-old withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month with a back injury, and while he played in The Players Championship a week later, McIlroy has since decided to rest and recover ahead of the year’s first major.

It’s far from usual for McIlroy to prepare for a major championship in this way, so the back was clearly something that needed to be managed leading up to Augusta.

So as he looks to become the first player to win back-to-back Masters since Tiger Woods, all eyes are on McIlroy’s swing this week. And fellow Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin gave some insight into how he looked.

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Tom McKibbin said Rory McIlroy made Augusta look ‘easy’

McKibbin said he played a few practice holes with McIlroy during his Tuesday practice round and gained some valuable insight into how to navigate the course.

He said that McIlroy made the course look easy as he played 17 and 18. When asked what his practice holes were like, McKibbin said, “It was cool. He went early and played 18. I started on the back around 9:00, and he caught up with us around 15. So we played the last four holes. It was pretty nice.

“Obviously, he won here last year, and it’s sort of cool to play a couple holes with the defending champ was nice. Yeah, he made those last couple holes look pretty easy.”

One of the best shots of McIlroy’s Masters win was his approach on 17, and McKibbin asked the reigning champion about that when they played the hole: “I asked him about his second shot into 17. It was pretty incredible.

What Tom McKibbin noticed about the 18th hole at Augusta National

McKibbin is making his Masters debut this week, so these practice holes are vitally important for him so he can learn the golf course.

And when playing the 18th hole with McIlroy, he noticed that it was longer than he expected on the day.

He said, “We were just talking about how far he hit the tee shot. I think we hit like a 6 and a 7-iron in there today, and I think he was hitting a wedge in last year. So, yeah, it definitely plays long when it was into the wind today.”

The Augusta wind can play cruel tricks on players at The Masters, so expect it to dramatically change how the golf course plays each day.

• READ MORE: Rory McIlroy explains why he wouldn’t care if The Masters never started this year