AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Scottie Scheffler is feeling rested. Bryson DeChambeau confident. And defending champion Rory McIlroy, well, he's pressure-free at the Masters for the first time in more than a decade.
The trio lead a star-studded field vying for the green jacket at the 90th Masters, which begins Thursday with the first tee time set for 7:40 a.m. EDT amid the azaleas and dogwoods at Augusta National.
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Jon Rahm, of Spain, hits from the fairway on the 11th 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)
Scottie Scheffler watches his tee shot on the 17th hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Bryson DeChambeau warms up on the driving range before a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, walks to green on the 16th hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
“It’s been an amazing 12 months, bringing this thing all around the world, the excitement on people’s faces when they see it — and the excitement that I still get putting it on,” McIlroy said of his green jacket, which he earned last April following a dramatic playoff win over Justin Rose that allowed him to become the sixth golfer to win the career grand slam.
Instead of sweating out another year of answering questions about when — or even if — he'd ever complete golf's career grand slam, McIlroy spent a portion of this week enjoying a round of golf with his father and reflecting on his achievement.
He'd like to repeat, but the Masters isn't often kind to defending champions. Only three players have won back-to-back championships, the last being Tiger Woods nearly a quarter century ago.
McIlroy isn't allowing himself to succumb to pressure at Augusta after ending years of heartbreak with the 2025 win.
“I feel so much more relaxed,” McIlroy said. “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."
The 36-year-old Northern Irishman, now with slight tinges of gray hair escaping from underneath his golf cap, will have plenty of competition from the world's best players, including Scheffler, who remains No. 1.
The Texan is seeking his third Masters championship, with the other two coming in even-numbered years (2022 and 2024).
He remains the overall favorite per BetMGM Sportsbook, despite not having cracked the top 10 in his last three tournaments.
Prior to that he had three top 5s to start the season, including a win at American Express to join Jack Nicklaus and Woods as the only players with 20 PGA Tour titles and four majors before turning 30.
Like McIlroy, he hasn't played competitively since the Players Championship nearly a month ago and he and his wife, Meredith, recently welcomed their second son, Remy, to the world.
“I’m getting plenty of sleep,” Scheffler said. “My wife’s a trooper.”
As for his game, Scheffler said he feels like he “is in a good spot” as he seeks to become the ninth player to win at least three Masters.
Nobody is feeling better about their game than DeChambeau, who has won his last two tournaments on the LIV Tour.
DeChambeau is seeking his first Masters championship after twice winning the U.S. Open. He pulled into a tie with McIlroy for the lead in Sunday's final round a year ago before faltering down the stretch and shooting 75 to finish tied for fifth.
The disappointment has stuck with him.
“It was a great learning lesson,” DeChambeau said.
The field is loaded with long hitters, but with a sunny, low humidity week in the forecast, it'll likely come down to who can tame Augusta National's firm and fast greens.
“This is the best forecast I’ve seen for this tournament in a while," Scheffler said. "Definitely excited to get the week going on the greens. ... I’m excited to see how it will play.”
One thing this tournament won't have for the first time since 1994 is Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson.
Woods pleaded not guilty last week to DUI charges following a rollover crash near his home in Jupiter, Florida. He later issued a statement saying he was taking an indefinite leave to seek treatment.
Mickelson is not playing the Masters for only the third time as a pro. He said his family is navigating through a personal health matter.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Jon Rahm, of Spain, hits from the fairway on the 11th 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)
Scottie Scheffler watches his tee shot on the 17th hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Bryson DeChambeau warms up on the driving range before a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, walks to green on the 16th hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Wednesday, April 8, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — When President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year, he was eager to pick up where he left off by strengthening ties with Europe's right wing. But now many of those same factions are expressing open revulsion at the Iran war, rupturing relationships that were supposed to usher in a new international order.
Although Vice President JD Vance campaigned for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán this week, such a display has become the exception rather than the rule among conservatives and far-right leaders in Europe.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni refused to let the United States use an air base in Sicily to launch attacks on Iran. France’s National Rally leader Marine Le Pen described his war goals as “erratic." And the head of Germany’s Alternative for Germany party called for American troops to leave their bases in the country.
Even with a fragile ceasefire in place with Iran, Trump's support for Orbán may not work out for the autocratic Hungarian leader, who faces a tough election this weekend. He's long been an icon for the global right and many American conservatives who have hoped the Trump administration could replicate the Hungarian leader’s effort to choke off immigration and restructure government to ensure his Fidesz party stays in power.
That longstanding connection could insulate Orbán from some of the anti-Trump blowback rattling the rest of Europe, but that's not guaranteed, said Charles Kupchan, a professor of international relations at Georgetown University and a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations.
“Getting a blessing from Donald Trump is now a mixed blessing,” he said.
The backlash over the war follows European broad revulsion at Trump's threats earlier this year against NATO ally Denmark over his demand that the country give Greenland to the United States.
Trump tied the two issues together on Wednesday, complaining that NATO didn't help more in recent weeks.
“NATO WASN’T THERE WHEN WE NEEDED THEM, AND THEY WON’T BE THERE IF WE NEED THEM AGAIN,” he wrote on social media. "REMEMBER GREENLAND, THAT BIG, POORLY RUN, PIECE OF ICE!!!"
Daniel Baer, a former ambassador and State Department official in President Barack Obama's administration, said the latest round of tension with Europe's far right shows the limits of Trump's hope of helping nationalist leaders worldwide.
“Building some sort of international coalition around national chauvinism is very difficult,” said Baer, now with the Carnegie Endowment for Peace. “It's clear the majority of people in these countries, if not anti-American, have turned anti-Trump.”
Orbán has stood out for not shifting with the anti-Trump political tide in Europe.
In an interview with conservative British broadcaster GB News last month, Orbán argued that when it came to the war with Iran, “the question is whether (Trump) has started a war or a peace.”
“It hasn’t (been) decided yet, historians will make a decision on that,” Orbán said. “I think we need some time to understand whether we are moving to the peace by these strikes, or just the opposite. It’s too early to say.”
Orbán’s caution toward raising any critical word toward Trump goes beyond shared ideology. The Hungarian leader has for years sought to convince voters that his close ties with Trump — as well as with other global figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin — make him uniquely suited to represent Hungary’s interests abroad.
Consequently, he has played up Trump’s praise of him to his base, and campaigned for reelection by assuring Hungarians that his alliance with Trump’s administration is a guarantee of security and prosperity.
Orbán reveled in the attention from Vance this week. The vice president slammed Orbán critics in the European Union for what he called “foreign interference” in the election, even as he stumped for the Hungarian leader.
On Wednesday, Vance briefly discussed what he called a “fragile truce” in the Iran war during an appearance at an elite higher education institution in Hungary, which has received generous funding from Orbán's government and is run by the prime minister's political director.
Vance praised the school for being “an institution that tries to build up the foundations of Western civilization." The Trump administration has tried to exert more influence over elite universities in the U.S., echoing Orbán's agenda in Hungary.
Some analysts are unconvinced of Orbán's strategy, noting that perceptions of the current U.S. administration have been turning more negative even in Hungary.
“Vance’s visit could have the opposite effect on Orbán's popularity than the one intended,” said Mario Bikarsku, senior Europe analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft.
Kupchan said most European far-right parties have established political staying power independent of any American influence, and may not have an incentive to go along with Trump's agenda.
“Trump's effort to create a transnational movement of far-right populists may affect the margins, but the main reason you're seeing Reform U.K. and AfD and National Rally and other far-right parties prosper has little to do with Trump and more to do with national factors,” he said.
Part of that is a global backlash against any party in power. In Europe, that's mainly benefited the out-of-power far right. But in Hungary, that's put Orbán's future in jeopardy — he's been in power for 16 years.
“We're living in an age,” Kupchan said, “where being an incumbent sucks.”
Riccardi reported from Denver.
Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, and U.S. Vice President JD Vance wave to the audience at the end of a pre-election rally in Budapest, Hungary, Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Denes Erdos)
A member of the audience holds a portrait of U.S. Vice President JD Vance during a Day of Friendship event held by Vance and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, in Budapest, Hungary Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP)
U.S. Vice President JD Vance and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, left, shake hands during a Day of Friendship event in Budapest, Hungary Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Jonathan Ernst/Pool Photo via AP)
