The Masters reigning champion Rory McIlroy spent the first two rounds of the 2026 tournament paired with 18-year-old Mason Howell - and left the young golfer with some sound advice. "Hopefully he saw that you don't have to be perfect to shoot good scores," McIlroy said to reporters after the second round of The Masters on Friday April 10. "I think when I was 18 and I started to play tour events, I thought that pros just didn't make mistakes, and he saw plenty of mistakes out of me over the first two days." He continued, "Again, I fell back on my short game and my wedge play.