Rory’s revenge. Rory McIlroy had opted to keep his thoughts to himself after the wounding end to his first round at the 89th Masters. An inspired follow up by the Northern Irishman made it easy to assume he had taken things personally. Did you think the two double bogeys in four closing holes ended his latest attempt at claiming the career grand slam? Think again. Courtesy of spellbinding, stunning golf, McIlroy blasted his way through the Georgia pines and back into contention.
Statistical gurus had insisted glory was already beyond him. Craig Stadler was the last man to triumph here with more than one double bogey on his card. That happened in 1982. What the numerati failed to acknowledge was that McIlroy had 54 holes to recover. With 36 remaining, he sits two from Justin Rose. Buckle up.
McIlroy’s front nine of 35 was solid and unspectacular. He reached the turn and hit the accelerator. The 35-year-old also demonstrated why he remains golf’s most entertaining player. Rory-land is seldom dull. “It is only halfway,” McIlroy said. “Anything can happen.” He knows that better than anybody in this field.
A magnificent approach to the 10th left a tap in birdie. He had only a little more to do at the 11th. On the 12th, McIlroy encountered the kind of good fortune that suggested someone, somewhere might finally be looking favourably upon his Masters quest. His tee shot flew towards foliage after a wicked greenside bounce. Seconds later, the ball emerged close to the putting surface. He retrieved a par three. His second to the par-five 13th was jaw-dropping, from pine straw and 214 yards to within 10ft of the cup. Eagle landed. At the next, he looked in serious difficulty amid trees. He launched an outrageous iron to inside 20ft. “I rode my luck on 13 and 14,” McIlroy said. “I feel like those are the sorts of things that need to happen in major championships.” This felt needlessly self-deprecating.
The 15th, where McIlroy had come unstuck a day earlier, delivered a birdie. At the 17th, another Thursday nemesis, he was unfortunate not to collect another shot. A routine par at the last and a day’s work added up to 66. This matches his career-best second round at Augusta. That pair of Thursday scorecard blemishes aside, McIlroy has not dropped a shot. For 34 out of 36 holes, he has looked in complete command.
Corey Conners later joined McIlroy on six under. Scottie Scheffler hovers, obviously, as does Tyrrell Hatton. Scheffler received a piece of outrageous luck at the 12th before chipping in for a birdie two. He would be the most infuriating of opponents. Both Scheffler and Hatton closed on five under after messy finishes.
Rose reached eight under par in battling fashion, courtesy of a 71. The Englishman had to scrap and scrape for much of his morning. Understandably, he branded this a “decent day”.
The high points involved birdies at the par threes, the 12th and the 16th, after glorious tee shots. Rose did, however, hand sloppy shots back to the course at the 14th and 17th. A dozen years have flown by since he won his only major, at Merion’s US Open. He smiled when asked whether Masters victory would mean more to him now, at the age of 44.
“I’ll take it anytime, beggars can’t be choosers,” Rose said. “I would take it right now for sure. Sometimes if it happens too early in your career, you’ve got a lot to live up to. I think if it happens now, I would enjoy it, I think, probably a lot more. You know, come a bit more as a gift towards the end of your career. So I think there would be a lot more satisfaction in it for sure.”
Bryson DeChambeau is threatening to have the last laugh at those who derided him for once declaring Augusta National played as a par 67. A sixth-placed finish here last year preceded victory at the US Open. Now, DeChambeau has eyes fixed on holding half of golf’s majors at one time. A 68 (one over?) means he is just one adrift of Rose. The American punched the air at the last having holed out from 8ft for par. It is easy to fixate on his occasionally wild theories and obsession with content creation; the fact is he has developed hugely as a competitive force. DeChambeau will do things his way and his way has an increasing tendency to work. “I’m learning,” he said. “I have a little more wisdom than the last year and hopefully the year before. So, continuing to grow.”
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Shane Lowry’s 68 moved him to five under. Lowry revealed he had breakfast with McIlroy before the pair took to the course. “We talked about what he did yesterday and he was quite frustrated,” Lowry said. “I’m sure last night was tough for him. We both played our way into the tournament nicely.”
Matt McCarty is the surprise package on the same score, having won only once on the PGA Tour. Rasmus Højgaard and Viktor Hovland maintain a strong European theme on the leaderboard, the pair sitting at four under par. Ludvig Åberg made bogey at the last two, his 73 nudging him back to three under. The former champion Hideki Matsuyama has the same total.
Ángel Cabrera’s return following – among other things – a jail term lasted 36 holes. That equates to six more than the number of months he spent in prison. The Argentinian comfortably missed the cut at 11 over par. Brooks Koepka – remember him? – and Adam Scott were among those to suffer the same fate.
