Less than 24 hours after appearing to be on life support, Rory McIlroy has dramatically resumed his quest to win the Masters title and complete his career Grand Slam.
McIlroy overcame the crushing disappointment of two late double bogeys on the final three holes of his opening-round 72 to card one eagle and four birdies in a second-round 66 that sent the crowd into raptures on the 18th hole at Augusta National.
The thrilling performance lifted McIlroy to six under par and one behind Bryson DeChambeau, who denied him a fifth U.S. Open title last year, while Justin Rose set a joint-high eight under par after a 71.
“It's just unbelievable,” three-time Masters champion Sir Nick Faldo said of McIlroy's round on Sky Sports.
“Considering he started yesterday with two doubles, I felt like he basically went back to zero and started all over again. This can be won by 10 or 12, he has plenty of time; he has three rounds to get there.”
McIlroy needed a quick start to get back into the race on Friday, but he managed to get through the first nine holes in 35 before elegantly continuing the fight with impressive approach shots on the 10th and 11th holes to make birdies.
The four-time Grand Slam champion had a stroke of luck on the 12th hole when his tee shot bounced off the green into the bushes and back onto the putting surface, where he made two pars.
On the 13th hole, luck was no longer on his side: after passing through two pine straw fields, his iron almost got carried away into Race Creek, and he set up an eagle attempt from 10 feet, which he successfully converted.
“I was between the four and five irons, and when the ball was in the air I was like, 'What have you done, idiot?'” McIlroy admitted. “I was glad I hit the four iron and it closed that little corner.”
The par-5 15th cost McIlroy one of his doubles on Thursday, but things went differently in the second round, with the world number two finding the green in two shots and two-putting from 90 feet for birdie.
“Overall, I'm proud of myself and the way I responded after the finish yesterday,” McIlroy said.
“I just reminded myself that I played really good golf yesterday and I'm not going to let two bad holes define the rest of the week.
“As soon as I left the set I tried to put everything that had happened there behind me. I rushed home to see (daughter) Poppy before she went to bed and I feel like I had a good reset.
“I had a good talk with Bob Rotella (sports psychologist) about not pushing too hard early on, just trying to be very, very patient and that was rewarded with a nice little straight in the middle of the round.
“I don’t think I have anything to prove, and if I do, it only strengthens my belief in myself and that I’m as resilient as everyone else.”
Rose, who finished runner-up to Jordan Spieth in 2015 and lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017, recorded four birdies and three bogeys in his 71 matches and was looking forward to taking on the likes of McIlroy, DeChambeau and defending champion Scottie Scheffler this weekend.
“This is a company I hope to remain with, and it's one I've tried to remain with throughout my career,” Rose said.
“That's where I was for most of my career. I was in the top 10
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
