Brooks Koepka took what appeared to be a subtle dig at Rory McIlroy ahead of the Masters, claiming that not all golfers can handle the pressure of winning a major. The American made a frank assessment of how the Augusta National tournament has been won by ‘certain guys’ over the past 10 years, and it may have been a pointed reference to McIlroy’s inability to add a major to his collection for over a decade – while the Masters has eluded him altogether. Speaking to Golf.com, Koepka said: “The only reason with the majors is that it’s very [tough]… the bigger pressure, not everybody’s built for it. I hate to say that but there’s just certain guys – you can pretty much see over the last 10 years of who’s won majors – there’s a group of guys that are just consistently winning and those are the top guys.”

Reigning champion Scottie Scheffler has won the Masters in two of the three last editions, while Jon Rahm, Hideki Matsuyama and Dustin Johnson are other recent winners of the prized tournament. At the same time, McIlroy’s failure to win the Masters and claim the prized green jacket has snowballed into one of the sport’s biggest talking points following his incredible collapse 14 years ago.

Brooks Koepka and Rory McIlroy share a long-running feud (Image: Getty/Express Sport)

In 2011, a 21-year-old McIlroy held a four-stroke lead going into the final round at Augusta before experiencing a major collapse. He played a series of bogeys on the final nine holes – including a damaging triple bogey on the par-four 10th – which saw him finish tied for 15th as Charl Schwartzel claimed the crown.

The Northern Irishman recovered from his disappointment by winning the US Open that same year, before adding the PGA Championship in 2012 and again in 2014 along with The Open. With four majors to his name, McIlroy has gone close on a number of occasions only to fail to get over the line when the pressure is cranked up to the maximum.

Rory McIlroy finished tied for 15th at the 2011 Masters (Image: Getty)

Koepka’s comments are merely the latest episode in a long-running feud between the two golfers which dates back as far as 2019. Their rivalry came into focus when Koepka declared he doesn’t see the former world No. 1 as a threat having gone five years without a major triumph.

The 34-year-old is qualified to make such assertions after clinching the PGA Championship in 2023, becoming the first LIV Golf player to win a major while they actively belonged to the Saudi breakaway franchise. That was his fifth major, putting him alongside Byron Nelson and Peter Thomson in the U.S all-time rankings and becoming the 20th player to achieve the feat in golf.

Brooks Koepka has won more majors than Rory McIlroy in his career (Image: Getty)

McIlroy, 35, will be hoping that 2025 is the year he finally brings an end to his 11-year major drought. Putting things right at the famous Georgia course, which continues to haunt him, would be the best place to start if not only to prove the likes of Koepka wrong.