Masters champion Rory McIlroy will play in the Australian Open for the next two years, the World No. 2 said Wednesday, ending a long absence from the tournament.

REPORTING FROM INSIDE THE ROPES at the Masters is the greatest professional privilege in televised golf. CBS began the practice only this decade. Even as a professional on the LPGA Tour for 17 years—I played on six U.

US Masters champion Rory McIlroy will play in this year’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne in a major coup for Golf Australia.McIlroy, who broke through for a stunning Masters win last month, has agreed to join a host of Australian stars with the tournament expected to include Cam Smith,

Masters champion Rory McIlroy is heading Down Under for the first time in more than a decade to play the Australian Open on Melbourne's famed sandbelt courses for the next two years. Golf Australia said Wednesday that McIlroy,

Rory McIlroy has sent a remarkable gift to the creator of the ball marker that helped him win the Masters last month, showing his class in the process. The Northern Irishman finally claimed the elusive green jacket at Augusta National,

I’m just glad that it’s done,” McIlroy said. “I don’t want to ever have to go back to that Sunday afternoon again."

It's only a 2.5-hour drive from Augusta to Charlotte, but Rory McIlroy endured a whirlwind journey from his knees at the Masters to the tees at the PGA Championship.For all his prior major wins -- the 2011 US Open,