AUGUSTA, Ga. — The Masters has its largest field in 10 years, and yet the first major championship of the year still feels like it's mainly about two players.

Expectations have followed Rory McIlroy down Magnolia Lane for the last decade, each trip to Augusta National giving him a shot at finally getting the last leg of the career Grand Slam and joining the most elite group in golf.

He has gone 0 for 10 at Augusta since he won the third leg. He hasn't been particularly close.

Scottie Scheffler is coming off a year so astounding he drew comparisons with peak Tiger Woods. Now he tries to join Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus as the only back-to-back winners of the Masters. Another green jacket would be his third in four years, a dominance not seen at Augusta since Nicklaus some 60 years ago.

“Why does my game fit so well at Augusta National? It's a good question,” Scheffler said. "The best way I could describe is when I’m in control of my golf ball, I have very good strategy for playing the golf course. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to hit the shots.

“And the last few years, I’ve been pulling off the shots I’m trying to hit.”

The stage is the most familiar in golf, minus some trees lost when powerful and deadly Hurricane Helene roared through town in September. Those who have played Augusta in the last few months say it is in immaculate condition, with more open views of the course from the loss of trees. The club has not said how many, still sensitive to the destruction around it.

CBS, in its 70th year televising the Masters, plans to move forward. Sellers Shy, the CBS golf producer, said there would not be any before-and-after images to show the difference.

“That is not in the plans,” Shy said. “We're covering the tournament the way it is presented to us and the way the club would like to present it.”

What makes this year feel different is McIlroy has never looked more equipped to claim a Masters green jacket that once looked inevitable. For the first time in his career, he has started the season with two wins before getting to Augusta National, beating two strong fields at Pebble Beach and The Players Championship.

All that did was crank up the expectations, which McIlroy is embracing.

“I went through my fair share of losses, criticism, expectations,” McIlroy said on the Golf Channel set before leaving the TPC Sawgrass.

Not winning a major in 11 years was one thing. Even more startling was he had only four good chances, and there was one stretch of 10 straight majors when he did not finish closer than eight shots of the winner.

"You have to be willing to get your heart broken, and I think I went through a few years of my career where I wasn’t willing to put myself out there,” he said. “But I feel like I’ve figured it out.”

He went to Augusta National before going to the Houston Open for his final start. He stopped by Augusta again on his way home from Houston.

Of course, the idea of this being a two-horse race even before the gates open is insulting to the likes of Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka of the Saudi-backed LIV Golf League. They are back among the best for the first time since the British Open last July.