AUGUSTA, GA. – You don’t build one six shot lead through 36 holes in Masters by chance.
Rory McIlroy’s game has been magnificent: 15 birdies against just three bogeys; no duplicates, those pesky card-destroyers that Jack Nicklaus had advised McIlroy to avoid; an “amazing” (McIlroy’s word) short game, as evidenced by his open chip shot from 85 feet over 17 in the second round, a masterpiece that produced a roar you could hear up the hill next to the clubhouse.
However, the thing is, McIlroy has not been perfect. Far from it. On Thursday, he missed his first six driving holes. Those mistakes looked like this: hard left; right pine straw; approximate left; approximate left; rough right; approximate right. He settled down and found the short stuff on 9, 10 and 11, but then came three more bogeys on the back nine. On the 13th, he blocked his shot on the right wing; on the 15th, he pulled his car to the rough left; on 18, he found the left fairway bunker. And yet he still shot a five-under 67.
In the second round, McIlroy was better off the tee but still drained. He missed the first fairway and, on the 2nd, found the right fairway bunker. He then found a groove, hitting fairways on 3, 5 and 7, before blocking his par-5 shot in the right fairway bunker and hitting four more on 9, 10, 11 and 14.
However, the rest of his shots on the back nine were less accurate. On the 13th, for the second day in a row, he lost to the right and had to punch his way out of the pine straw. On the 15th, he pushed his ball to the right. On 17, he missed the fairway into the left fairway and, on 18, again pushed his ball into the right fairway. By our count, that was seven shots, although official rangers gave McIlroy credit for eight. Either way, the only number that really mattered was the one on McIlroy’s scorecard: a seven-under 65 that has given him the slimmest lead in the first half of this 90th Masters.
If 13 rounds hit even though two rounds sounds overwhelming, that’s because it is. Among the 91 players in the field, only Davis Riley hit fewer birdies over the first 36 holes — and Riley finished last, with rounds of 82-80.
There are two ways to evaluate McIlroy’s wayward driver:
One, on what is a “second shot” golf course, is no big deal. McIlroy misses the fairways and STILL making field mash. If he can get his business in order over the weekend, he can win by two strokes.
Two, if you’re looking for a reason why this Master is not finished yetMcIlroy’s drive could be it. On Thursday and Friday, fortune was on his side. At least some of his oddballs might have settled behind the pines and cost him a shot or more; none did. Every time McIlroy missed a fairway, he was able to advance his second shot to a spot where he could escape par or, in the case of, say, the 15th, 17th and 18th on Friday, make birdie.
For his part, McIlroy didn’t seem worried about his drive. On Friday night, he said: “My little mantra to myself today was just keep swinging, keep swinging hard at it even if you’re not hitting fairways, just keep swinging.” McIlroy said he wasn’t always comfortable taking that free approach Augusta Nationalbut he has realized that “getting over myself” and “staying aggressive” is an effective way to play this course.
“Over the years, this golf course is sometimes — you know, my mindset hasn’t continued to waver,” he said. “It’s been guided, tentative. I think the experience I’ve accumulated over the years and obviously with what happened last year, it makes it a little bit easier to keep going.”
What happened last year, of course, was Scottie Scheffler slipping the green jacket onto McIlroy’s shoulders. Finally winning this tournament, at least some observers suspect, could have a liberating effect on McIlroy that would allow him to go full Rors on this fascinating course in ways he never has. Through 36 holes in his week, that’s exactly what happened. While years ago – or even just last year – McIlroy might have looked to a few misplayed shots as reason to come back, this week on those occasions he’s kept his foot on the gas pedal. As he said Friday: “Hit it in the tree on 13, well, I can make a little birdie doing that. Hit it in the tree on 15, same thing.
“The only way I can describe it is everything you see or every situation you encounter, you can find a positive in it. And then you see the birds and you can see ways to make birds.”
If those rings on his card keep coming Saturday, this could be over before the Masters Sunday even begins.
;)
