McIlroy frustrated, eager for more
AUGUSTA, Ga. – Rory McIlroy opened his Masters with a pair of 73s that left him in the mix, if a bit frustrated over missed opportunities on a golf course he has grown to know well.
He’s in his 14th Masters and still seeking his first green jacket, something many expected he would get in 2011 when he held a four-shot lead going into the final round only to shoot 80. The Masters is the only major the former No. 1 from Northern Ireland hasn’t won.
Still, McIlroy wasn’t about to be drawn into any talk about having a lovehate relationship with Augusta National.
“For a golfer, it’s one of the best places on earth,” McIlroy said. “Someone could argue St. Andrews. Someone could argue here. But it’s such a cool place that you can never hate it. Sometimes I hate the results of the tournament, but in terms of the place and the club and the membership, it’s wonderful, and I always have a great time here.”
McIlroy said he has learned over the years not to dwell on any shots or any round the week of the Masters. “It’s maturity. It’s experience. It’s walking away 13 years in a row empty handed,” he said. “So it’s like, eh, it’s just sort of go out and play and see what happens.”
What happened Friday in the second round wasn’t always pretty. McIlroy went bogey-double bogey to start the back side, then rebounded to play 2 under the rest of the way.
“I still feel like I’m right there,” he said. “You go out tomorrow and you play a decent front nine and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things.”
Shot from nowhere
Tom Hoge may not win the Masters, but at least he’s got a shot he’ll long remember.
Playing in his first Masters, Hoge hit a 3-wood on the 11th hole so far right on his second shot that it ended up in front of a grandstand on top of a hill behind the 12th tee.
Hoge’s ball actually rolled a few feet down the hill as he approached it, settling into a tight lie on an area trampled by fans. Compounding his difficulties were fans sitting in about 40 rows of folding chairs between him and the green, which sits on a plateau with water just behind.
Hoge got the fans to move but let them leave the chairs in place. He then hit a wedge that hit on the edge of the green and trickled down to about 8 feet.
He didn’t get the storybook ending he wanted, missing the par putt.
Bubba magic
Bubba Watson called it the best shot of his Masters career – quite a compliment, coming from the guy who famously won the green jacket in 2012 with a brilliant play off the pine straw.
Watson found himself in big trouble at the 18th hole when his tee shot wound up deep in the trees left of the fairway. He faced a further challenge with a leaf blew atop his ball as he was getting ready to hit. Undeterred, Watson went with a pitching wedge. He swung as hard he could from 183 yards, launching the ball over a towering pine. It wound up about 2 feet from the pin for an outrageous birdie. “That was the best shot I’ve ever hit at Augusta National,” he said.
Even better than that one 10 years ago, when he hooked a gap wedge off the pine straw right of the 10th fairway and onto the green, setting up a par that gave him a sudden-death victory and the first of his two Masters titles?
“The physical shot, yes,” Watson replied.