Tormented on Thursday after a rotten three-hole spell, a radiant Rory McIlroy produced a stunning six-under par second round of 66 to reignite hopes of a Masters title.
Those two double-bogeys on 15 and 17 frittered away his tidy work in Round 1 and a sense of deja vu left his legion of fans cursing. The Northern Irishman slipped away from the property without even a word for the media, evidently livid after scuppering such a glorious opportunity to stake a claim for that elusive green jacket.
Seven shots behind Justin Rose was a concern, but perhaps four behind the champion, Scottie Scheffler, riled him further. After all, there’s only so much you can do when chasing the American if he continues to plot his way around this course with such ease.
Fireworks were required on Friday, then, yet beyond chopping down the par-five second for birdie, McIlroy displayed the patience and mental fortitude that evaded him on that costly opening back nine, making seven consecutive pars.
“You have to focus on executing the best shots you can,” Bryson DeChambeau, one shot better off than McIlroy at -7, said, echoing the unseen battle from within around this majestic yet torturous corner of Georgia. “It’s cliched, but you have to stay incredibly patient, hit it in the middle of the greens.”
And McIlroy then stirred on 10 after carefully negotiating a front nine without making a major move, and that birdie sparked him into life before tackling his nemesis: Amen Corner. A second straight birdie on the 11th, White Dogwood, sent a crackle of roars swirling around Augusta, yet the final hole of this legendary swing, the 13th, revealed just why the 35-year-old has proven so alluring to fans throughout his rollercoaster career. And, ultimately, the decisive decision and shot of this round, which could define his week, his year and even his career after clambering back into the chase.
A typically booming 331-yard drive leaked out to the right, nestling in the pine straw, leaving a daunting 214 yards to the flag.
The notorious creek stood between McIlroy and the green, ready to swallow his ball and derail his charge with one misstep. A lay-up was surely the smart play. Indeed, it was for the brawn of DeChambeau just a few minutes later, without reward, with just a par.
Yet McIlroy, with a sawn-off iron, whipping those hands out to the left, appeared to come out of the shot with a grimace, yet the distance was almost perfect as the ball settled pin-high and just nine feet away. Relief poured out of McIlroy, hunched over with his arms dangling down. And just a moment later he was able to roll in the eagle putt to get to five-under. And he would later admit there was an element of luck to his score.
“I think I had to remind myself this morning that I played really well yesterday,” McIlroy said. “Before what happened on 15 and 17, I played 16 really good holes. If I pushed too ...
