Can Rory McIlroy finally win the Masters to complete his elusive career grand slam?

"So it wouldn't be the first time. It wouldn't be the first time we hear somebody not feeling their best and winning."

This also marks the fifth anniversary of Woods' historic victory in 2019, when he overcame all odds to win his fifth Masters title.

Woods, 48, has a chance to set another Masters record by making the cut for a 24th consecutive time. But winning a sixth green jacket is almost inconceivable, especially considering he has played in only three full-field events since 2023, and finished just one: last year's Genesis Invitational at Riviera. He withdrew from the Masters last year seven holes into the third round after aggravating a foot injury.

Then again, people have counted him out before.

Can Woods win?

"I still think I can," he said.

Everyone figures to be battling the weather. At midday Wednesday, the forecast for Thursday was brutal, calling for thunderstorms in the early morning followed by a stronger band of heavy rain and thunderstorms from 6 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The wind is expected to be whipping, with gusts of 40-45 mph, giving way to scattered showers in the afternoon and evening. The windy conditions could continue until Friday morning with eventual sunny skies Friday afternoon and through the weekend.

NBC analyst Brandel Chamblee said the player who will have the most pressure piled on his shoulders this week is McIlroy.

"You go back and look and there's a pattern," Chamblee said. "Every time, he seems to play his worst golf when it means the most — in other words, in the first round when he's got to get off to a good start."

Chamblee noted that in his last five Masters, McIlroy has an average score of 73.8 in the opening round.

"That speaks to not being in the right place mentally," Chamblee said.

Woods said he's confident McIlroy will eventually join him as the sixth career grand slam winner. Along with Woods, the others to win all four major championships were Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player.

"No question he'll do it at some point," Woods said of McIlroy. "Rory's too talented, too good. He's going to be playing this event for a very long time. He'll get it done. It's just a matter of when."

McIlroy was happy to hear that, but acknowledged there's a difference between words and deeds.

"Yeah, it's flattering," he said. "It's nice to hear, in my opinion, the best player ever to play the game say something like that. So, yeah, I mean, does that mean that it's going to happen? Obviously not. But he's been around the game long enough to know that I at least have the potential to do it. I know I've got the potential to do it too. It's not as if I haven't been a pretty good player for the last couple of decades."

Finally, he conceded: "It's nice to hear it when it comes out of his mouth."