Lee Westwood weighs up Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler’s Masters chances | Golf | Sport

Lee Westwood believes both Rory McIlroy and Scottie Scheffler could face a tough time at the Masters. Neither player has enjoyed a particularly impressive season on the PGA Tour so far.

Scheffler did claim victory at the AmEx in January, but his most recent outing was also at TPC Sawgrass, where he finished T22, having failed to break into the top 10 at either the Genesis or the Arnold Palmer.

“I think this year’s Masters is going to be one of the more open Masters that we’ve seen in quite a while,” Westwood said. “The obvious two, Scottie and Rory, they’re not carrying a huge amount of form going into the tournament.

“I think some of the other guys are, so I could see maybe somebody that’s not won the tournament before winning, say Bryson [DeChambeau] or Tommy Fleetwood or Ludvig Aberg, somebody like that.”

McIlroy’s back injury forced him to pull out of the Arnold Palmer in March before the third round and hampered his performance at the Players, where he failed to card a single round under par.

The Northern Irishman remains upbeat ahead of his title defence and Westwood, who has been plagued by a debilitating wrist injury on LIV this season, believes he will have the finest support team around him.

“You’re always aware of an injury until it’s really gone and you’ve done the reps and tested it,” said Westwood. “I’m not sure how much he’s tested it yet because he’s not played a tournament since the Players.

“He was playing with the back injury there. So, like all sportspeople, you always try to rush back and come back earlier than you should because something’s always on the horizon, like the Masters.

“It’s always in the back of your mind until you’ve proven it. But I think he’s had injuries before. So he’ll have completed all the protocols and know which process to follow.

“He’ll know what to do to help recovery and do it the right way. He’ll have a good team behind him, giving him good advice. So I don’t think that’ll be an issue.”

Watch Lee Westwood play for Majesticks Golf Club at LIV Golf Mexico City from 16th-19th April on TNT.