Rory McIlroy has had the Green Jacket in his possession for four months, but he has worn it much less than he anticipated as hi dilligently follows the rules of Augusta National

Rory McIlroy has opened up on his experiences with the Green Jacket and the rules he must follow(Image: Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

Rory McIlroy admits he has not worn his Green Jacket as much as he thought he would, with the Masters champion keen to preserve the traditions of Augusta National.

After almost two decades of trying, McIlroy finally achieved his Masters dream in April and got his hands on the Green Jacket. That night, he wore it deep into the night, but he says in the months since he has donned it sparingly.

McIlroy has ownership of his jacket for 12 months, allowing him to take it around the world, but it will be returned to Augusta National ahead of next year’s tournament, and it will live in the clubhouse, free for McIlroy to use any time he is on the property. It is just one of many quirky rules that are unique to Augusta National and The Masters.’

Although McIlroy has had the jacket in his possession since holding off Justin Rose to win in a playoff four months ago, he has used it sparingly.

He wore it for an appearance on ‘The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon’ in the days after the tournament, and McIlroy rocked up at the Association of Golf Writers’ dinner at Royal Portrush last month in the Green Jacket.

But he says he has been hesitant to wear it too much because each public appearance requires the approval of Augusta National, and McIlroy says he is a “rule follower at heart.”

“I don’t think I took it off until I went to bed, so I had it on maybe until 3:30 in the morning or something,” McIlroy said of his first experience with the Green Jacket.

McIlroy is surprised by how little he has worn the Green Jacket

“I woke up at 7:00 a.m., slept for three hours. I woke up and it’s one of those moments where it’s like, ‘did that actually happen?’, and you wake up and you see the Green Jacket lying over a chair in the bedroom and you think, ‘yeah, that did happen yesterday.’

I didn’t put it on. I don’t know, I’m sort of reluctant to wear it. It’s not as if I wear it a lot. I have it hanging in my wardrobe in a place where I can see it every day, but I don’t know.

“I always thought if I had one, if I did win the Masters one day, I’d never have the thing off, and it hasn’t been that way. I haven’t worn it as much as I thought I would.

I went to the golf writers’ awards in Portrush, and I wore it that night, which was pretty cool. But I really haven’t — you also have to get permission every time you wear it, so there’s a lot of dos and don’ts around it as well.”

One thing McIlroy has done plenty of is sign commemorative Augusta National flags. He revealed that, at his request, his team claimed all of the remaining stock in the gift shop after his Masters win.

“I have no idea [how many I have signed]. It’s been a lot. But I do know that they had 1,100 extra — like 1,100 left in the merchandise facility at the end of the week, and we took all 1,100.

“It’s been a lot. But I’ll never get sick of signing them. I’ve waited 17 years to sign that flag in the middle, and I will never complain about doing it.”