Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will not be at Augusta National this year as Rory McIlroy defends The Masters title he won 12 months ago.
Sadly, Woods and Mickelson were forced to pull out of The Masters due to their very differing personal problems.
McIlroy will be hosting the champions dinner on Tuesday night and Woods and Mickelson are the only two living champions who will not be in attendance.
Tiger Woods has won The Masters five times while Phil Mickelson has three green jackets to his name.
Rory McIlroy joined them in the winners’ club at Augusta National last year after he defeated Justin Rose on the first playoff hole.
McIlroy has performed admirably in his role as Masters champion, and has been commended for the job he has done by some Augusta National members.
He will be pinching himself right now having finally won The Masters and subsequently qualified for the Champions Dinner.
Rory McIlroy comments on Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson ahead of The Masters
The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland addressed the media at Augusta National on Tuesday afternoon.
McIlroy responded when asked whether he has a speech planned for the Champions Dinner on Tuesday night.
And in his answer, he highlighted how Mickelson and Woods missing out at Augusta National this year is a real shame.
“I’ve thought about it a lot. Honestly, I’ve probably thought about that more than the food,“ McIlroy said.
“So many legends of the game there. Obviously there’s two that won’t be with us this year, which is a shame, but hopefully they will be with us in the future, and I’m sure they will be with us in the future.
“But talking in front of that group, I want to say the right things and make sure I get my feelings across of how grateful I am to be a part of that group.
“I’ll follow Ben Crenshaw’s lead. I know he’ll direct the run of show a little bit. But yeah, I have a few remarks that I want to make. I’m not going to say it all here, I’ll wait for tonight, but I have thought about it a lot.“
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods will be back at The Masters
It is such a shame that Woods and Mickelson will not be in attendance at Augusta this year.
Mickelson and Woods missing out at The Masters in the same year has not happened since 1994.
As McIlroy said, though, they will both be back at some point in the future.
Tiger Woods needs to address his clear and obvious issues before he even thinks about making a return to The Masters.
Meanwhile, Mickelson is obviously taking care of his family right now due to an unspecified health issue.
One thing’s for sure, The Masters is not quite the same without Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods in the field at Augusta National.
