Rory McIlroy Battles Inconsistency to Shoot 1-Over 73 on Day 2 of 2017 Masters
Rory McIlroy battled through a roller-coaster second round Friday at the Masters, as he carded a one-over 73 and currently sits at one-over in the tournament.
McIlroy enters the third round in a tie for 13th place, five strokes behind leaders Charley Hoffman, Sergio Garcia, Rickie Fowler and Thomas Pieters after dealing with windy conditions at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia:
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Consistency was elusive for the 27-year-old Friday, as evidenced by the fact that he ended the round with four birdies, five bogeys and nine pars:
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Round 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 36 |
| Overall | +1 | E | +1 | +1 | E | -1 | -1 | -1 | E | E |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Round 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 37 |
| Overall | E | E | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +1 | E | +1 | +1 |
The front nine was especially lacking in rhythm, with three birdies, three bogeys and three pars.
McIlroy managed to salvage an even-par 72 on Thursday following a poor start, and that seemingly allowed him to enter the second round with a great deal of confidence based on his comments to Brentley Romine of Golfweek: "I know I did my best out there and I gritted it out, and I would've ripped someone's hand off for a 72 on the 10th tee."
The Northern Irishman was faced with immediate adversity Friday, though, in the form of a bogey to start things off.
McIlroy quickly bounced back with a birdie on No. 2 after narrowly missing a lengthy eagle putt, as seen in this video courtesy of Masters Highlights:
Another bogey on No. 3 put McIlroy back over par for the tournament, but a beautiful approach shot on the fifth allowed him to get that stroke back with a birdie:
For the first time of the round, McIlroy appeared to gain some momentum on No. 6.
An unfortunate roll left him off the green, but he chipped in with authority for his second consecutive birdie to move to one-under, per Masters Tournament on Twitter:
That prompted Joel Beall of Golf Digest to compliment McIlroy's grittiness:
A bogey on No. 9 dropped McIlroy back to even par, and he essentially entered the back nine with a clean slate.
Another bogey on the 12th left McIlroy needing a strong finish in order to get back near the top of the leaderboard.
Following four consecutive pars, the four-time major champion registered his fourth birdie of the day on No. 17 to get back to even.
That gave McIlroy a golden opportunity to finish the round on a high note, and he nearly did precisely that.
McIlroy's approach on the par-four 18th was almost perfect to the point that it hit the flag stick.
He did so with such force, however, that it ricocheted 30 yards off the green.
McIlroy settled for a disappointing bogey, and ESPN.com's Jason Sobel pointed out that the misfortune could come back to haunt him:
Kelly Tilghman of Golf Channel even compared McIlroy's tough break to that of Tin Cup's protagonist:
"That was a break Roy McAvoy would get, not Rory McIlroy.
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) April 7, 2017"
McIlroy will enter the weekend under less-than-ideal circumstances, but he didn't play his way out of contention.
With the wind set to die down Saturday and Sunday, there could be some low scores available and room for movement.
McIlroy is still in search of his first green jacket to complete the career Grand Slam, and although he is currently well off the pace, he did enough to remain within striking distance.
Post-Round Reaction
Following his up-and-down round, McIlroy discussed the tough break he endured on the 18th hole, according to Paul Hayward of the Telegraph: "I got two bad breaks with hitting the pin and then the wind deceived me. I just have to go out and birdie the first on Saturday and it will all be forgotten. I still feel like I'm right in this tournament."
McIlroy also expressed his belief that he'll have an opportunity to do some damage during the weekend, per the Independent: "I feel I can put a 31 or 32 together a couple of times over the weekend and get closer to the leaders. Hopefully these are the toughest conditions we have played in and hopefully I can go a lot lower over the weekend."
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