PGA Tour golfer leaps to Rory McIlroy's defence over "unfair advantage" claims at The Masters

PGA Tour golfer Michael Kim has leapt to Rory McIlroy's defence after American TV personality Stephen A. Smith claimed the Northern Irishman had an unfair advantage at the 2026 Masters.

Last week, McIlroy, 36, became only the fourth golfer in history after Sir Nick Faldo, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods to successfully defend the green jacket at Augusta National. 

He finished one shot ahead of American world number one Scottie Scheffler after 72 holes, securing his sixth major championship title

McIlroy's preparation for the major was interrupted by a back injury sustained mid-competition during last month's Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. 

Although he returned a week later at the Players Championship, McIlroy decided not to play either of the two PGA Tour events in Texas to get some more practice in ahead of his Masters defence. 

Instead, McIlroy flew back-and-forth to Augusta from his Florida home, playing practice rounds by himself and with other members. 

He revealed during his winning press conference that on several occasions he was back home in time to watch a film in the evening with his daughter Poppy. 

McIlroy said Augusta National felt like his home course in the build-up to the major. 

The aforementioned Smith erroneously claimed that no other player in the field got the chance to play at the exclusive club before the tournament. 

"He says here 'this place feels like my home course, I haven't played anywhere else in the last two or three weeks,'" Smith said on ESPN. 

"I'm like wait a minute now, were you over there practicing for two, three weeks getting set for The Masters when nobody else got to do that? I don't know how anybody else feels about it.

"He didn't break any rules, he didn't violate anything, I'm not saying that, please don't get me wrong.

"But what I am saying is, that does give you an advantage - not only familiarity with the course because you've been playing there for years, but you've been there over the past three weeks. That's what he said.

"And saying that, I mean you have some people that would believe from a gentleman's perspective, that was an unfair advantage."

Watch the segment here:

PGA Tour member Kim, who was among the 91-man field at The Masters but missed the cut, leapt to McIlroy's defence on X. 

Although he did concede Augusta National treats McIlroy different to others, he pointed out that every player in the 91-man field was granted access to the course to practice. 

And he added: "If you find a member to host you every time, there’s no limit. 

"I had plenty of chances to go to ANGC myself if I wanted to but didn’t go. 

"[I thought it was a] better use of my time practicing at home or wherever I am to get my game in better shape for my next tournament. 

"Course knowledge only gets you so far. 

"Plenty of golfers have even more experience at Augusta than Rory like Justin Rose."

McIlroy is now taking a two-week break from the sport before returning to action at the Cadillac Championship in Miami.