Gavin Cooney
reports from Augusta National Golf Club
AS SHANE LOWRY stood over a testing putt to save par on the seventh green, one of the men operating the giant, manual scoreboard hinged down the board to update Rory McIlroy’s score on the fourth hole, but first stood still to watch events unfold beneath him.
Lowry held his nerve to make his par, at which point our scoreboard operator slid an eight into the vacant slot and then held it up to the hundreds of people below: McIlroy had birdied three of his opening four holes to race clear of the field.
Perhaps our operator felt rapt by Lowry’s putt, or perhaps it was an act of kindness: allow the guys in front feel they were achieving something without confronting them with the futility of it all.
McIlroy hit only five fairways yesterday and yet squeezed out a five-under 67 to take a share of the overnight lead, but today he hit the gas from the off. He opened with a par and then went birdie-birdie and, then, birdie on the par-three fourth, rolling in a putt from 22 feet to move to eight-under. This was the move which our scoreboard operator held back from those following Lowry around the seventh green.
Shane meanwhile started as he did yesterday, opening with a birdie, but this time protected it with a string of pars, hitting the ball beautifully while putting steadily on the greens, converting a series of two-putt pars with a nonchalance that shouldn’t really be so easily accessible around Augusta National.
McIlroy cooled off after his hot start, making a clumsy bogey with a poor wedge into the fifth and then saving par on seven after leaving another unconvincing approach in the sand. Having found the high bunker that mars the eighth fairway, McIlroy left a terrific putt from the fringe agonisingly short for another bogey: it was the first time this week that McIlroy had failed to pick up a shot on a par-five. He dropped another shot on 10, his approach to the green not drawing sufficiently to avoid the bunker. Having initially sat on a three-shot lead, McIlroy was now yanked back into a tie with his old sparring partner Patrick Reed, whose gorgeous draw to the par-three 12th set up a birdie chance he could not miss.
Advertisement
Shane Lowry. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Lowry was meanwhile remaining patient, continuing to hit greens in regulation, and continuing to keep his card clean. He could only make par on the par-five 13 and 15, but then got a look at birdie from 16 feet on the 16th and converted. Lowry picked up another shot on 18 to sign for a superb three-under 69.
“I felt like I did a lot of good things, and my attitude was great”, said Lowry to a gaggle of Irish journalists by the clubhouse at Augusta National. “So I’m very, very happy. If you give me this position yesterday morning, I would have taken your hand off. To be kind of in the mix going into the weekend around here is nice, so I’m looking forward to it. I have a late tee time on Saturday afternoon is always a nice place to be in.”
As Lowry retreated into the clubhouse to unwind and prepare for the weekend, we spun and peered at the leaderboard overlooking the 18th green to discover that Rory McIlroy was in the process of convincing everyone that weekend would be an academic exercise.
His mid-round lull over, McIlroy stitched his approach to 12 and made birdie, and then went back to picking up shots on the par-fives, making par on 14 between another couple of birdies. He wasn’t finished. He drew a towering iron into the 16th and caught the slope perfectly, leaving the ball to slither to three feet and a tap-in birdie. If that was textbook, what followed was accessible only to him.
Having wiped his drive well left on 17, he knocked the ball out to the right side of the 17th green, from where he proceeded to bump the ball in precisely the right spot and watch it chase into the hole. He raised the club high in his left hand like some conquering swordsman and then pumped his fist: a rare concession to exuberance amid his otherwise exquisitely controlled demeanour.
The final hole was a paragon of that comfort. First he found the fairway, then he spun his approach over the flag to catch the slope, and then he rolled in the putt.
McIlroy birdied six of the last seven holes to sign for a seven-under 65, walking off doing his best to fight back a satisfied grin. As he walked, he held the biggest 36-hole lead in the history of the Masters.
Remember Jim Nantz’ call at the moment McIlroy won last year?
McIlroy has his masterpiece!
Mr. Nantz should have qualified it as his first masterpiece.
This was his second, and redolent of the major run between 2011 and 2014 in which he continually stomped over a field whose hopes of winning rarely made Saturday evening.
Tonight McIlroy goes to bed six clear of Patrick Reed and Sam Burns; seven clear of Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, and Tommy Fleetwood; 12 clear of Scottie Scheffler.
This was what the true optimists felt might happen if Rory McIlroy ever won the Masters. He is liberated and suddenly it is everyone else who is feeling yoked to some desperate Masters fate.
This was not only a day to augur a second Masters title, but also to augur a second reign at the pinnacle of major championship golf.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Close
Comments
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic.
Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy
here
before taking part.
McIlroy's second Masterpiece: Rory blows away the Augusta field on astonishing Friday
AS SHANE LOWRY stood over a testing putt to save par on the seventh green, one of the men operating the giant, manual scoreboard hinged down the board to update Rory McIlroy’s score on the fourth hole, but first stood still to watch events unfold beneath him.
Lowry held his nerve to make his par, at which point our scoreboard operator slid an eight into the vacant slot and then held it up to the hundreds of people below: McIlroy had birdied three of his opening four holes to race clear of the field.
Perhaps our operator felt rapt by Lowry’s putt, or perhaps it was an act of kindness: allow the guys in front feel they were achieving something without confronting them with the futility of it all.
McIlroy hit only five fairways yesterday and yet squeezed out a five-under 67 to take a share of the overnight lead, but today he hit the gas from the off. He opened with a par and then went birdie-birdie and, then, birdie on the par-three fourth, rolling in a putt from 22 feet to move to eight-under. This was the move which our scoreboard operator held back from those following Lowry around the seventh green.
Shane meanwhile started as he did yesterday, opening with a birdie, but this time protected it with a string of pars, hitting the ball beautifully while putting steadily on the greens, converting a series of two-putt pars with a nonchalance that shouldn’t really be so easily accessible around Augusta National.
McIlroy cooled off after his hot start, making a clumsy bogey with a poor wedge into the fifth and then saving par on seven after leaving another unconvincing approach in the sand. Having found the high bunker that mars the eighth fairway, McIlroy left a terrific putt from the fringe agonisingly short for another bogey: it was the first time this week that McIlroy had failed to pick up a shot on a par-five. He dropped another shot on 10, his approach to the green not drawing sufficiently to avoid the bunker. Having initially sat on a three-shot lead, McIlroy was now yanked back into a tie with his old sparring partner Patrick Reed, whose gorgeous draw to the par-three 12th set up a birdie chance he could not miss.
Lowry was meanwhile remaining patient, continuing to hit greens in regulation, and continuing to keep his card clean. He could only make par on the par-five 13 and 15, but then got a look at birdie from 16 feet on the 16th and converted. Lowry picked up another shot on 18 to sign for a superb three-under 69.
“I felt like I did a lot of good things, and my attitude was great”, said Lowry to a gaggle of Irish journalists by the clubhouse at Augusta National. “So I’m very, very happy. If you give me this position yesterday morning, I would have taken your hand off. To be kind of in the mix going into the weekend around here is nice, so I’m looking forward to it. I have a late tee time on Saturday afternoon is always a nice place to be in.”
As Lowry retreated into the clubhouse to unwind and prepare for the weekend, we spun and peered at the leaderboard overlooking the 18th green to discover that Rory McIlroy was in the process of convincing everyone that weekend would be an academic exercise.
His mid-round lull over, McIlroy stitched his approach to 12 and made birdie, and then went back to picking up shots on the par-fives, making par on 14 between another couple of birdies. He wasn’t finished. He drew a towering iron into the 16th and caught the slope perfectly, leaving the ball to slither to three feet and a tap-in birdie. If that was textbook, what followed was accessible only to him.
Having wiped his drive well left on 17, he knocked the ball out to the right side of the 17th green, from where he proceeded to bump the ball in precisely the right spot and watch it chase into the hole. He raised the club high in his left hand like some conquering swordsman and then pumped his fist: a rare concession to exuberance amid his otherwise exquisitely controlled demeanour.
The final hole was a paragon of that comfort. First he found the fairway, then he spun his approach over the flag to catch the slope, and then he rolled in the putt.
McIlroy birdied six of the last seven holes to sign for a seven-under 65, walking off doing his best to fight back a satisfied grin. As he walked, he held the biggest 36-hole lead in the history of the Masters.
Remember Jim Nantz’ call at the moment McIlroy won last year?
McIlroy has his masterpiece!
Mr. Nantz should have qualified it as his first masterpiece.
This was his second, and redolent of the major run between 2011 and 2014 in which he continually stomped over a field whose hopes of winning rarely made Saturday evening.
Tonight McIlroy goes to bed six clear of Patrick Reed and Sam Burns; seven clear of Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, and Tommy Fleetwood; 12 clear of Scottie Scheffler.
This was what the true optimists felt might happen if Rory McIlroy ever won the Masters. He is liberated and suddenly it is everyone else who is feeling yoked to some desperate Masters fate.
This was not only a day to augur a second Masters title, but also to augur a second reign at the pinnacle of major championship golf.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
2026 Masters Golf majestic Rory McIlroy