Rory McIlroy's preparations for his successful Masters title defense have been scrutinized, but concerns about the fairness of his time spent at Augusta National have been firmly dismissed. McIlroy became the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters titles after beating Scottie Scheffler by one shot on Sunday.
His comments about regularly playing at Augusta in recent weeks led to a post-tournament debate on whether he gained an unfair advantage. However, the golfing community has defended McIlroy, with American duo Michael Kim and Kevin Kisner, and Sky Sports Golf's Nick Dougherty, dismissing questions over his approach.
Dougherty stated that it's 'not an unfair advantage' and that McIlroy 'earned the right' to practice at Augusta. McIlroy had chosen not to play in the three PGA Tour events leading up to The Masters, instead opting to practice at Augusta, which he believes aided his success.