The calm before the storm. Nothing to the do with the meteorological front which had everyone casting an eye upwards to ever-darkening clouds, rather the peace and quiet that appeared to have Rory McIlroy very much where he wanted to be ahead of his second round of this 87th edition of the Masters.
A man at ease with himself, judging by his pre-round actions.
There was a tranquillity and yet a sense of purpose about his deeds, as he went from one section of the short game practice area with a dwindling supply of golf balls and coach Michael Bannon clutching a back-up green bag full of more balls. From bunker play to pitching to putting, all seemed very much in order as McIlroy prepared to relaunch his bid for the green jacket.
An opening round 72 was hardly when the doctor had ordered but the remedy was very much in his own hands, especially on a sunny morning with little wind and especially in having the luck of the draw in getting out ahead of the anticipated poorer weather.
If only.
Appearances, sometimes, can be deceptive.
McIlroy’s huge drive down the first hole seemed to lay down a marker of intent. Many before him and after had opted for the safety of 3-wood. But his long and straight drive cleared the bunker, planting thoughts of an aggressive game of catch-up.
The balloon deflated quickly, unfortunately. Although McIlroy’s impressive drive only led to a two-putt par on the first hole, the par-five second punctured some of his ambitions. His drive found a fairway bunker from where his recovery ran down to the walkway. He was able to take a free drop behind the grass pathway but flew his approach over the green, pitched short of the hole and two-putted for a bogey.
The wind came out of his sail in a big way too quickly. Again, another big drive on the par-four third, to within 25 yards of the green, didn’t bring any rewards as his pitch ran over the back of the green and he again failed to get up and down. The leaking continued, unplugged. Another bogey on six. Another on seven. He turned in 40 strokes, four over. Another bogey on the 11th turned his quest for the green jacket the least of his concerns, more into a fight merely to survive the cut.
McIlroy had to wait until the par-five 13th for a birdie in a round that had started out with promise only to unravel with each step over the hallowed terrain. An eagle putt from six feet on the par-five 15th rolled by the hole without ever looking like moving in. He holed the putt back for birdie but immediately gave it back with a bogey on the par-three 16th after flying the green.
Then, as if to rub salt into wounds, McIlroy’s driver betrayed him again on the 18th where his ball flew into the trees. It resulted in another bogey, ultimately signing for a 77 (for five-over-par 149) which left him outside the cutline and his bid for a green jacket deferred for another year. The 77 represented McIlroy’s third worse ever score in the Masters, with the 80 in the final round in 2011 and the 79 in the third round in 2013 providing reminders that he had felt its bite previously.
McIlroy is usually good at postmortems. Not this time, at least not in public. McIlroy preferred not to speak at all after his round which ended his latest ambitions to add the Masters to his CV which already features two PGAs, a US Open and a British Open. The chance to become the sixth member of the Grand Slam club – joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods – will have to wait until next year’s Masters, scheduled for April 11th-14th 2024.
Sam Burns, who played in the group with McIlroy, was coy in his choice of post-round words: “I consider Rory a friend, so it’s nice to go out and play some golf with him, he’s a world-class player. It’s fun to watch him. I know he didn’t have his best stuff [this time.”
