AUGUSTA, Ga. — The gauntlet of “Amen Corner” no doubt will play a pivotal role on Sunday at the Masters, but it’s another one of Augusta National’s iconic back nine holes that could launch Rory McIlroy to a historic green-jacket repeat.
The first three par-5s have been the three easiest scoring holes through the first three rounds this week. No. 13 is playing to an average of 4.79 shots, No. 2 to 4.69 and No. 8 to 4.61. They have combined to yield 13 of the 18 eagles recorded by the field.
Then there’s the 15th hole, which has still played under par at an average of 4.89 shots and seen a trio of eagles. However, it has also burned the field for 12 double bogeys or worse, second most only to the 13 doubles or worse recorded on the par-3 12th hole.
With firm fairways helping balls roll out and allowing many players to comfortably go for the green in two — or being forced to lay up because of the length of the hole in the case of No. 13 — the 15th still presents a risk-reward option that McIlroy has a distinct advantage on over most of the field.
McIlroy has birdied the hole each of the first three rounds. It’s in large part because he hits the ball with such height that he can land it softer on a green that is protected by water in the front and is a dicey chip — or worse — for those who go over it.
McIlroy was fighting to keep the wheels on his rickety third round when he followed a birdie on the 14th hole by piping his drive down the fairway on 15. There was no hesitation as he took an iron from 213 yards and put it to 23 feet. The eagle attempt narrowly missed, but McIlroy tapped in for par to retake the lead at the time.
“That’s always a shot that I’ve been comfortable with,” McIlroy said. “I can hit it higher than most players, so I feel like I can stop that one on the green pretty easily.
In 2025, McIlroy eagled the 15th on Saturday and birdied it on Sunday on his way to winning his first green jacket. Will the hole play another pivotal role as McIlroy attempts to join Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods as the only players to win consecutive green jackets?
In 17 previous starts entering this week, McIlroy was a combined 31-under-par with a scoring average of 4.50 on the 15th hole — eight shots better than any other hole at Augusta National.
He’ll tee off in Sunday’s final round with Cameron Young, who might hold the outright lead if not for a bogey on the 15th on Saturday when he was forced to lay up and then saw his third shot spin back into the water.
“Unfortunately, I just made the mistake of being kind of too conservative on that end and not carrying the water,” Young said.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is four shots back entering the final round, in part because he has failed to take advantage of the 15th, where he is 1 over for the week.
The 15th has been the stage for many of the Masters’ most memorable moments. It was also the hole that may have prevented Fred Couples from making a historic cut at age 66 this week.
Couples was 2-under par and in the top-10 on Thursday when he had two balls spin back into the water. That led to a quadruple bogey 9. Scotland’s Robert McIntyre later repeated that effort, and was reportedly reprimanded by Masters officials after extending his middle finger toward the green.
It’s that type of risk-reward drama that Couples wishes more of Augusta National’s par-5s still presented.
“A lot of these holes, these guys can make birdies on. Eagles are few and far between because it’s a lot longer, but that’s what I used to look forward to,” Couples said Friday. “If you could just make the cut and come out and shoot a 68 or 69, you go from 45th place to 15th place, and then you worry about Sunday.
“It’s a fun course because there are certain sections where if you hit really good shots, you know, you can do some things.”
There are 12 players within six shots of the leaders, and they no doubt will be watching how the course is playing for those who go out earlier. After Augusta National yielded the lowest third-round scoring average in tournament history on Saturday, many are expecting to finally see the course’s full teeth on the back nine Sunday, when the greens will be at their firmest and hardest.
If someone in the field hasn’t separated from McIlroy come the 15th, that could be the point in which the Northern Irishman puts his foot on the gas and makes a statement.
As McIlroy said Saturday, “I’ve got some good memories on that hole over the past 12 months.”
