Scottie Scheffler has criticised the conditions at the Masters on Thursday and Friday, insisting they were not entirely fair for all the players.

The world number one finished second at Augusta National, one shot behind Rory McIlroy, who won back-to-back editions of the tournament after carding 12 under. 

The Northern Irishman became the first player in 24 years to defend their Masters title, and the fourth overall after Tiger Woods (2001, 2002), Jack Nicklaus (1965, 1966) and Nick Faldo (1989, 1990).

Scheffler finished with a blemish-free round of 68, becoming the first player on record (since 1942) to go bogey-free across the final two rounds at Augusta.

However, the American's second round of 74 left him 12 shots behind McIlroy at the halfway stage, a deficit too large to come back from.

Scheffler believes the course could have been set up better heading into the weekend, conceding his Friday round cost him a third Masters victory.

"I mean, I’m not in charge of course set-up," said the 29-year-old.

"I would have liked it to have been a little bit more equal in terms of the firmness on Thursday and Friday.

"I was a bit surprised at how soft things were on Friday afternoon, especially as it got late in the day. But the weather also changes and it was a bit windy on Thursday, so who knows.

"That’s part of the game. We play an outdoor sport and you don’t know how conditions are going to change, especially course conditions.

"I think I started the weekend maybe 12 back, so to get within one was a pretty good run. Yeah, I’d say Friday probably hurt the most in terms of my chances of winning.

Scottie Scheffler just did something no one at The Masters has done since 1942.

Bogey-free weekend.

9 birdies. 1 eagle. 0 bogeys. pic.twitter.com/ksXPKE7D2e

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 12, 2026

Scheffler also questioned the changes made to the greens heading into the second round.

"I didn’t see many birdies out there Thursday afternoon," he added.

"We went out on Thursday, Thursday afternoon was some of the most challenging conditions we had all week.

"So going out on Friday, whatever they did to the greens to soften them up, they did some stuff, and I just wasn’t able to take advantage of that going on early on Friday.

"And then you saw the barrage of birdies that Rory made and Cam Young and a bunch of guys made on Friday late in the day, and I think I finished maybe 2-over par on Friday.

"So that day probably hurt the most in terms of my chances to win. Overall, over the course of the weekend, I did some pretty nice stuff to give myself a chance."