Five storylines to follow at this week's Masters

AUGUSTA, Georgia : Five storylines to follow as the best players in the world descend upon Augusta National Golf Club this week for the April 6-9 Masters.

SCHEFFLER SEEKS RARE REPEAT

World number one Scottie Scheffler, who arrived at Augusta National last year as the hottest player on the planet, returns in top form and looking to become only the fourth player to successfully defend a Masters title.

A six-time winner on the PGA Tour, Scheffler has already won twice this season, first at the Phoenix Open in mid-February and then at The Players Championship three weeks ago when he cruised to a five-shot victory.

No player has won the Masters in consecutive years since Tiger Woods accomplished the feat in 2001-02 and prior to that only Nick Faldo (1989-90) and Jack Nicklaus (1965-66) have pulled off the Augusta double.

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MCILROY'S GRAND SLAM BID

Rory McIlroy has a chance this week to complete the career Grand Slam of winning golf's four major championships but will need to overcome an Augusta National layout that has been the site of several frustrating moments for the Northern Irishman.

McIlroy has been in contention several times at the Masters but seems to be hampered by one poor round each week, most memorably in 2011 when he began the final round with a four-shot lead but endured a harrowing back-nine collapse.

For McIlroy, who used a late surge to finish runner-up at last year's Masters - three shots behind Scheffler - a win would put him in elite company with Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tiger Woods as the only players to achieve the career Grand Slam.

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LIV GOLF

The Masters has long been one of the most anticipated golf events of the year and this year's edition, the first since the launch of LIV