Masters 2026: McIlroy defends title as Augusta prepares for 90th tournament

At Augusta National, where tradition and transformation have long kept uneasy company, the 90th Masters begins with a rare figure at its center: Rory McIlroy, who last year completed one of sport's most elusive personal quests by winning the career Grand Slam in the most agonizing and triumphant of fashions. He returns now not as a man chasing history, but as its custodian, defending a green jacket while a formidable field — and the conspicuous absence of Tiger Woods, whose personal struggles have again kept him from the grounds — remind us that Augusta has always been as much about the human