Gregory Smith

Jennifer Lopez with her 17 year old son, Max Muniz, during an outing in Beverly Hills 😍

Rory McIlroy talked all week about how many times he came to Augusta National to prepare in recent weeks. I asked whether this was the most prepared he felt in a major. "I joked last week and going into this week that this place feels like my home course. I haven't played anywhere else in the last two or three weeks really. I felt prepared in that way. I felt prepared that wherever I hit it on the golf course, I sort of know what to do. I know where to miss. I'm pretty comfortable with all the shots around the greens. "I've talked to Jack Nicklaus over the years how he prepared for majors, and he would go the week before, and he would simulate a tournament. He'd play one ball for four days, shoot scores. So then when he got to the tournament, it was sort of -- it felt second nature to him. "I did a little bit of that leading up to here, and I think that's certainly a good way to prepare going into the next majors."

Does every Masters golfer really have exactly the same opportunity to prep at Augusta National as Rory McIlroy? Even the ones who don't get in the field until 10 days before the tournament starts?

Yes, there’s a number of rounds that ANGC will say no to for me to go by myself and play by myself. That number is prob a little lower for me than a guy like Rory. 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. 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.

A lot of the conversation around Rory McIlroy's "unfair advantage", especially from golf media, is completely missing the point... There's no reason there shouldn't be a cap on the amount of times golfers can play Augusta the month prior to The Masters, whether they're past champs or not. This ensures there isn't a blatant competitive disparity. Yes, golfers that qualify for the tournament can access the course the month prior, but everyone can't skip three straight tournaments* & fly private whenever they want to Augusta. *Again, this encourages top golfers to skip tournaments, devaluing those tournaments for broadcast partners, patrons, & sponsors. For example, if the cap is 3-4 practice rounds at Augusta the month prior to the tournament, consider them like timeouts. Use them or lose them. Problem solved. Debate over. Past champions still get their well-deserved perks, but they don't get a blatant unfair advantage.

Every single professional player who qualified for the Masters could go early and play as many practice rounds as they wish. Just as so many others, including Jack Nicklaus, have done in the past. The only advantage Rory had over the field was his considerable skill.