Rory McIlroy is taking a champion's victory lap at Augusta National ahead of his Masters defense

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — In his 17th appearance in the Masters, Rory McIlroy finally won the green jacket and reached what he figured would be the pinnacle of his golf career. He has the career Grand Slam. He has an invitation to play in the Masters for as long as he wants.

The 18th trip might be even better.

This must feel like a victory lap for McIlroy, who has been at Augusta National all weekend with an eye on hosting the Masters Club dinner on Tuesday night. And then he can move on to that small matter of trying to become only the fourth player to win back-to-back at the Masters.

What's the rush?

“I think for the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start,” McIlroy said Tuesday. “And this year, I wouldn't care if the tournament never started.”

That brought laughter, including his own. He met with the media at Augusta National — a preview of his Prime Video documentary was played before he walked in — for the first time since he won last year and began his news conference by asking, “What are we going to talk about next year?”

He said the goal posts have moved, but he's still kicking.

“It's completely different,” McIlroy said. “I feel so much more relaxed. I know that I’m going to be coming back here for a lot of years, going to enjoy the perks that the champions get here. It doesn’t make me any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament.”

He doesn't expect it to be any easier than a wild Sunday afternoon, 18 holes that in some respects resembled his 18 years on tour.

That's true for everyone in the 91-man field. There was a chill in the air Tuesday morning that now gives way to a forecast for hot, dry weather. That can be Augusta National at its toughest, no matter how pretty it looks with the azalea and dogwood blooms.

“If it's firm and fast, the greens are going to be even more difficult to hit than they already are,” Bryson DeChambeau said.

Scottie Scheffler knows the drill as defending champion, having won in 2022 and 2024. Scheffler prefers a routine — disrupted slightly now with a newborn son in tow.

“Defending can always be difficult, but I think that’s mostly just the odds of winning a tournament in back-to-back years,” Scheffler said. “I think that’s just extremely challenging, especially when you look at these major championships.”

Jack Nicklaus (1965-66), Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Tiger Woods (2001-02) are the only players to win in consecutive years at the Masters.

“I think everything's new when you’re a first-time defending (champion) here,” Scheffler said. “You host the dinner — that's a big deal. There’s certain things that go on that maybe would make it a touch more difficult, but I wouldn’t say it’s anything too substantial.”

For McIlroy, it's everything so new that's making this so enjoyable.

He never bothered to spend much time upstairs in the clubhouse during the Masters, where a room is dedicated to the co-founders and to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a proud member at Augusta National. McIlroy loves golf history.

“I knew the week of the tournament that the clubhouse is for participants and their families, but I still felt like I had to earn the right to be there a little more often,” he said.

McIlroy recalled one potentially awkward moment last year when he and Justin Rose, whom he would beat in a playoff, were going to have dinner in the clubhouse on Tuesday night. He drove down Magnolia Lane toward the clubhouse right as the past champions were on the balcony for cocktail hour before their dinner.

“I'm like, ‘I don’t want to valet, get out, they’re going to see me and it’s going to be weird.’ So I had this really awkward moment with it all last year,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, thankfully that was the last time that I needed to do that.”

He has prepared remarks for a dinner of past champions, and a menu that is among the more exquisite for this occasion, particularly the wine. One of the side dishes is “Irish Champ," creamy mashed potatoes with green onions, butter and milk.

“People keep asking me, ‘Why didn’t you go more Irish?' And I said, ‘Because I want to enjoy the dinner as well,’” McIlroy said.

More laughter. There was a lot of that Tuesday, different from past years when he heard the same questions — When are you going to win the Masters? — and didn't have great answers. Now he has the ultimate response: He wore his green jacket to his news conference.

What's next?

McIlroy has said he wants to win as many majors as possible — Harry Vardon with seven has the most of any European player; McIlroy has five — and at prestigious venues, such as St. Andrews next year for the British Open.

“There's still a lot that I want to do,” he said. “I think what I’ve realized is if you can just really find enjoyment in the journey, that’s the big thing. Because honestly, I felt like the career Grand Slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realized it wasn’t the destination.”

AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Bryson DeChambeau hits his tee shot on the seventh hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Scottie Scheffler hits from the bunker on the sixth hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits from the fairway on the 13th hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, walks to green on the sixth hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the 17th hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Kansas big man Flory Bidunga, Wake Forest's Juke Harris and Saint Mary's Paulius Murauskas were among the parade of players entering the transfer portal Tuesday, the first of 15 days when Division I men's players can go looking for a new school.

Bidunga finished his second season with the Jayhawks as the Big 12 defensive player of the year and an Associated Press All-Big 12 second-team pick. He averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds and was a Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year finalist. He led the Big 12 and was fourth nationally with 91 blocked shots and 10th in field-goal shooting at 64%.

Bidunga was the only D-I player to average more than 13 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots. The Jayhawks had another starting big man, Bryson Tiller, enter the portal along with three other players.

Harris was voted the Atlantic Coast Conference's most improved player after he increased his scoring average from 6.1 points as a freshman to 21.4 this season. He also was an AP All-ACC second-team pick after becoming one of two players in program history to score 750 points in a season. Myles Colvin, the Demon Deacons' second-leading scorer, joined Harris and four other teammates in the portal.

Murauskas was joined in the portal by four of his teammates as the Gaels transition from longtime coach Randy Bennett, who left for Arizona State, to Mickey McConnell, who was Bennett's associate head coach. Murauskas was the West Coast Conference's second-leading scorer at 18.4 points and had two 30-point games. He was an All-WCC first-team pick both years he was with the Gaels after transferring from Arizona.

James Nnaji, who made headlines for signing with Baylor after being selected in the second round of the NBA draft and playing professionally overseas, entered the portal. The 7-footer was granted eligibility because he had never signed an NBA contract or played in the G League. He ended up playing limited minutes for the Bears as a freshman and averaged 1.4 points and 2.1 rebounds.

Isaiah Johnson, who led Colorado and was third in the Big 12 in scoring with 16.9 points per game, went into the portal after one season with the Buffaloes.

Providence, which fired Kim English last month and hired Bryan Hodgson, had just one player listed on its 2026-27 roster Tuesday. Among seven players in the portal was Stefan Vaaks, who as a freshman averaged 15.2 points and 3.3 assists and made a Big East-leading 91 3-pointers. Elsewhere in the Big East, Butler's Finley Bizjack, who led the Bulldogs with 17.1 points per game, and KJ Lewis, who averaged 14.9 points and 5.1 rebounds at Georgetown, are in the portal.

LSU's Dedan Thomas (15.3 ppg) and Michael Nowoko (13.4 ppg), the Tigers' second- and third-leading scorers, were among seven players in the portal with Will Wade returning as coach after the firing of Matt McMahon.

California saw its top two scorers enter the portal in Dai Dai Ames and Justin Pippen. Ames is looking for his fourth school in four years after previously making one-year stops at Kansas State and Virginia. He scored 16.9 points per game for the Bears. Pippen, a son of NBA great Scottie Pippen, started his career at Michigan and will be heading to his third school in three years after averaging 14.2 points.

Also entering the portal was San Diego State forward Miles Byrd, the Mountain West's defensive player of the year.

Gavin Doty, who averaged 18 points for Siena to rank second in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, announced he would follow coach Gerry McNamara to Syracuse. The Orange later saw leading scorer Donnie Freeman (16.5 points) enter the portal.

Zoom Diallo, who scored 15.7 points per game for Washington, and Jackson Shelstad, who averaged 15.6 for Oregon in an injury-shortened season, also are in the portal. Purdue announced the signing of Caden Pierce, who played three seasons at Princeton and was 2023-24 Ivy League player of year after averaging 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here and here (AP News mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball

Saint Mary;s forward Paulius Murauskas (23) keeps the ball away from Texas A&M guard Josh Holloway (1) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Thursday, March 19, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Kyle Phillips)

Kansas forward Flory Bidunga dunks against St. John's during the second half of a game in the second round of the NCAA college basketball tournament Sunday, March 22, 2026, in San Diego. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)