RORY McIlroy bounced back from his first round mini-meltdown to sit hot on the heels of Masters leader Justin Rose – then revealed his daughter was key to his resurgence.
First round leader Rose continued his sizzling start as he improved to eight under par through 36 holes.
REXRory McIlroy endured a nightmare start to round one of The Masters[/caption]
ALAMYTwo double bogeys in four holes dropped the northern Irishman from four under back to level at the end of round one[/caption]
ALAMYBut he roared back to contention with birdies at the tenth, eleventh and 12th holes[/caption]
GETTYMcIlory credits his resurgence to his daughter, Poppy[/caption]
That is a shot better than the Augusta specialist’s previous lowest score at the halfway mark, and he is clearly hell bent on improving on his runner-up finishes in 2015 and 2017.
But after signing for a 71, he was looking nervously over his shoulder at the resurgent figure of McIlroy, after he fought back in style from his first round collapse.
The two double bogeys in four holes that dropped The northern Irishman from four under back to level at the end of round one could easily have knocked the stuffing out of the world No 2.
And there was precious little sign that he had shrugged off those setbacks as he seemed to be stuck in neutral on the front nine yesterday, picking up a solitary birdie at the par five second.
But he suddenly burst into “Glory Rory” action after making the turn, to breathe new life into his hopes of finally pulling off the victory he needs to complete the career Grand Slam.
Ten and eleven are two of the toughest holes on the course. But McIlroy birdied both of them to move to three under par.
And when he needed it most, he enjoyed an extraordinary stroke of luck on another potential round-wrecker, the short but fearsome 12th.
McIlroy’s tee shot flew over the green, and bounced up into the bushes at the back of the hole – only to trickle back into view a couple of seconds later, and come to rest on the fringe of the green.
BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK
EPARory McIlroy’s daughter, Poppy, produced an incredible putt on the ninth green earlier this week[/caption]
EPAPoppy’s incredible bit of short work went viral[/caption]
GettyMcIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll, gave Poppy a loving embrace after her incredible putt[/caption]
The four-time Major champion made the most of that break by salvaging a par, and then hit one of the shots of the tournament to set up a brilliant eagle at 13.
He smashed his second shot from an awkward lie in the pine straw, and it just about cleared Rae’s Creek.
It travelled 214 yards, and pulled up just nine feet from the flag. McIlroy’s reaction – he was bent double, gasping in relief – showed his heart was in his mouth while his ball was in the air.
But after those heroics, he was never going to miss that putt, and at five under par he was right back in the tournament.
And it got even better as a birdie on the 15th – where his problems started on day one – and a six under par 66 was just what the doctor ordered to leave him in joint third with Canada‘s Corey Conners.
Bryson DeChambeau sits between them and Rose on -7.
McIlroy said he knew he could not dwell on the double bogeys that wrecked his opening round.
He commented: “I’m proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night.
“I just had to remind myself that I played some really good golf, and I wasn’t going to let two bad holes dictate the narrative for the rest of the week.
“I was so frustrated because I played so well, and you can make these big numbers from absolutely nowhere on this golf course.
It was a good reminder last that you just have to have your wits about you on every single golf shot.
“Once I left the property, I tried to leave what had happened here. I rushed out of here to get home to see Poppy before she went to bed. It was nice to get to see her before she went to sleep.
“That’s something that I didn’t have a few years ago, to be able to get home take my mind off the golf a little bit.
“But yeah, I feel like I just did a good job of resetting. I’m proud of how I got back into it today.”
Poppy’s putting was more on point than her father’s earlier in the week when she sank a beautiful long putt on the ninth hole in the Masters Par Three tournament.
McIlroy, who also told the BBC that he had a chat with sports psychologist Bob Rotella on Friday morning about “patience and letting the score come to you”, added: “I started today with eight pars and a birdie on the front nine, and I just tried to stay really patient. I feel like that patience was rewarded with a nice little stretch there in the middle of the round.”
GETTYRory McIlroy spoke to a sports psychologist during the week[/caption]
Rose’s round was a lot less dramatic, especially after the way he blitzed the course on Thursday.
His opening 65 was three shots better than anyone else in the 95-man field could manage – and it marked the NINTH time his name has appeared at the top of the Masters leaderboard.
That is the most by any player without a green jacket in his closet. And the English veteran had a perfect answer ready when he was asked how he can keep rolling with the knocks at Augusta.
The 2013 US Open champion grinned: “I’ve been asked before why I keep putting myself through this at 44 – and the main reason is that I don’t want to become a 44 jacket size as well!
Rose said finishing second at last year’s Open – soon after a top six USPGA finish at a Quail Hollow course he believed was totally unsuited to his style of play – convinced him he can win at least one more Major.
He added: “Those couple of weeks – and even helping Europe win the Ryder Cup in Rome in 2023, – those were big motivating weeks for me, where I thought the hard work is still worth it.
“They showed me I can still shake it with the best. At 44, golf is not going to get easier for me in the next five, ten years, whatever it’s going to be.
“But I’m excited by the prospect of maybe enjoying an Indian Summer.
“Your opportunities are going to be less going forward, so you have to make the most of them.
“I was in one of the first groups out today, and at times it felt like a pretty quick turnaround. So I was pleased just to get it round under par again.
“Majors are all about momentum and I feel like I’ve definitely got that going for me as we head into the weekend. I like my position. A lot.”
Last year’s winner Scottie Scheffler is in the group behind McIlroy on -5 after shooting 71.
He is joined by took 71 shots in a rollercoaster round, Tyrrell Hatton, Shane Lowry and American Matt McCarty, who is making his Masters bow.
REXEnglishman Justin Rose is currently the pack leader[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
