Photo by Augusta National/Getty Images

He is the amateur Rory McIlroy labelled the best player on Augusta’s greens he’d ever seen

Originally posted on HITC | By Jordan Harris | Last updated Dec 16, 2025 4:00 PM ET

It would be something of an understatement to say that Rory McIlroy has seen it all at The Masters having finally won at Augusta National earlier this year.

Augusta National provided perhaps the greatest moment of McIlroy’s career. But it is fair to say that The Masters has also inflicted plenty of pain upon the Northern Irishman over the years.

So there is probably not much that surprises McIlroy any more when it comes to the first major of the year – particularly when it was an amateur who produced the best performance on the iconic Augusta greens he had seen.

The amateur golfer who left a huge impression on Rory McIlroy at the 2014 Masters

Experience is so important around Augusta National. Fuzzy Zoeller remains the last player to win The Masters in his first appearance, with his victory coming all the way back in 1979.

And one amateur golfer managed to gain a huge amount of experience before getting the chance to play alongside McIlroy in the 2014 event.

For two decades, Jeff Knox was the Augusta National member who would play as a marker if an odd number of players made the cut.

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Obviously, some players reject the chance to have a marker join them. Others prefer having a playing partner to stay in a rhythm that they are used to.

And 11 years ago, Rory McIlroy opted to have Knox join him for the third round after barely making the weekend.

Knox posted a 70 on Saturday, while McIlroy went round in 71. A 69 on Sunday was enough for the Northern Irishman to finish tied for eighth.

It was not the first time Knox had stolen the show. He beat Sergio Garcia by one shot when they played together in 2006.

He also held the unofficial course record after once posting a 61 from the members’ tees.

What Rory McIlroy said about Jeff Knox after playing together at Augusta National

Knox continued in his role as a non-competing marker until 2022. As reported by Golf Monthly, both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson – who have won the event eight times between them – have spoken to him for advice about tackling Augusta’s greens.

And after going out alongside him in 2014, McIlroy outlined how impressed he had been by his playing partner’s performance.

“Jeff is a great player. He beat me by one. So I thought he was going to be nice and three putt the last and we would have a halve, but he beat me by one,” he said.

“He obviously knows this place so well and gets it round. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone putt the greens as well as he does around here. He was really impressive. I was thinking of maybe getting him to read a few of my putts out there.

“He played really well and he couldn’t have been more helpful. He was really nice all the way around.”

Given the players McIlroy has seen play on golf’s most hallowed turf, that is certainly one of the highest compliments he could have paid.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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