Rory McIlroy has returned to Augusta National as a Masters champion for first time this week following his incredible victory 12 months ago.McIlroy finally ascended to the pantheon of golfing Grand Slam greats by getting his hands on a Green Jacket last year.McIlroy joined the Grand Slam club with Masters glory last yearGettyAfter a thrilling tournament full of twists and turns, McIlroy bogeyed his final hole which forced him into a play-off with Ryder Cup team-mate Justin Rose.The Northern Irishman held his nerve to get over the line in the first extra hole, stiffing his approach before rolling in his birdie and dropping to his knees in jubilation.He will now headline the 2026 event and renew his rivalry with Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau in the first major of the year.A host of other star names will be eyeing Masters glory as well in what should be another enthralling week.When is The Masters this year?The 2026 Masters Tournament will get going on Thursday, April 9. It will take place at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia and will be played over four days until Sunday, April 12. The action will get started at 12:30pm UK time (7:30am in Georgia) over the opening two days and at 2pm UK time over the weekend.The traditional Par 3 Contest will be held on Wednesday with the annual Champions Dinner on Tuesday. talkSPORT will have regular updates from Augusta throughout the week.McIlroy’s Masters win was hugely emotionalGettyTune in to talkSPORT through the website via the live stream or find us on DAB digital radio through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.Download and listen to all our live commentaries via the talkSPORT app.Visit talkSPORT BET for all the latest odds and bet boosts for every big event.Subscribe to our talkSPORT YouTube channel for news, views and analysis plus our regular goals show and for more, follow us on talkSPORT Facebook and talkSPORT X.The major championship will be broadcast live on Sky Sports in the UK too. Who is in the field for the 2026 Masters?The tournament has the smallest field of the four major championships with 91 players teeing it up this year before Friday’s cut.The full field includes the likes of McIlroy, Rose, Scheffler, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Thomas and Robert MacIntyre.A number of LIV Golf stars will be in attendance too including DeChambeau, Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Cameron Smith.Brooks Koepka will be playing in his first major championship since defecting back to the PGA Tour from LIV.Five-time Masters champion Tiger Woods will not feature following his shocking car accident recently while fellow legend Phil Mickelson has also withdrawn.Recent Masters champions2025: Rory McIlroy -112024: Scottie Scheffler -112023: Jon Rahn −122022: Scottie Scheffler −102021: Hideki Matsuyama −102020: Dustin Johnson -202019: Tiger Woods −132018: Patrick Reed −152017: Sergio Garcia −92016: Danny Willett −5All past winners are invited back meaning the in-form Patrick Reed will be in action alongside Sergio Garcia, Fred Couples, Jordan Spieth and Vijay Singh.Marco Penge and Tom McKibbin will be making their Masters debuts after winning the Open de Espana and Hong Kong Open last year, respectively. Several amateurs will be in the field too including 2025 US Amateur champion Mason Howell and 2025 Amateur Championship winner Ethan Fang.Masters decided against issuing any Special Invitations.The tee times and groupings for the opening two rounds of the Masters will be announced at the start of tournament week.The latest leaderboard from Augusta can be found here once play is up and running.Official prize money for the 2026 tournament will also follow soon but the prize pot was set at $21million last year with McIlroy taking home $4.2m.Scheffler will be the favourite for glory at AugustaGettyHow is the course looking for The Masters?Augusta National is a par 72 and will measure a maximum of 7,565 yards in length for the 2026 event.That yardage is up by 10 yards following a new tweak to the par‑4 17th hole, Nandina.The famous track has been steadily extended over the last few years and is now 130 yards longer than it was when Danny Willett won ten years ago.As ever, the world-famous par-3s of Golden Bell and Redbud will take centre-stage as will the treacherous run of holes at Amen Corner.The 495-yard par-4 Magnolia 5th was the most difficult hole last year, just ahead of the 18th finishing hole Holly.The four par-5s plus the short par-4 3rd hole were statistically the easiest five holes 12 months ago.DeChambeau has had an incredible major record in recent yearsGettyWhat has been said about The Masters? Justin Rose insists the Masters does not owe him anything after a number of near-misses at Augusta National.The Englishman lost out to McIlroy in a play-off a year ago, his third second-place finish at the tournament and his second to a Ryder Cup team-mate after being edged out by Sergio Garcia at an extra hole in 2017.Rose also has four other Masters top-10s but insists the experience has not scarred him, even if he said having a ringside seat to see McIlroy win was ‘surreal’ and ‘a little bit deja vu’.“I’m very aware that I’ve been close here,” he said. “I’m very aware that I’ve had tough, tough losses here.“I also am aware that I enjoy this place so I don’t want to feel that those three second-place finishes need to create a different sort of feeling for me.“I don’t feel like it owes me anything. I hope it only boosts my belief I can go ahead and do it. I just haven’t walked over the line. I feel like I’ve executed well enough to have done the job.“I can’t control the outcome. Last year in the play-off I felt like I learned from 2017 and I played a much better play-off than I did previously.“I did the right things. I executed. I did everything that I could do so I can live with that, in a way. I can be philosophical about it.“It was a bit surreal. I felt a little bit of deja vu, like ‘Wow, I feel like I’ve lived this before’.“I can see the celebrations, it all played out right in front of me, so I lived it as if I’d have won it but obviously without any of the real positive emotion that goes with that.“It’s disappointing, of course, but there’s no kind of ‘Why?’.”