– Rory McIlroy said after signing his brilliant 66 that a conversation with Bob Rotella, a guru among emotional coaching gurus, before heading out to play had done him a world of good. Rotella told him not to fall into the temptation of going all out, trying to quickly recover the ground lost in that puzzling final stretch on Thursday.
Said and done: the Northern Irishman signed up to eight pars for the first half of the course. What he hasn’t clarified is whether Rotella ‘gave him permission’ to let loose afterwards, because that’s exactly what Rory did, achieving among other things the first birdie double of his career on holes 10 and 11 at Augusta National.
In the famous fourth round of 2011, where he lost the Masters in that corner of the course, the Northern Irishman made a partial of +6 on holes 10, 11, 12, and 13. Yesterday the partial was -4. A difference of ten strokes, fourteen years later, which we will see if it is not something like the deferred making of the sleeves and lapels of a green jacket…
– Matt McCarty (-5) is the Cinderella of the group of contenders that has formed after the first 36 holes. This left-hander born in Seattle, though hailing from Scottsdale, Arizona, for all intents and purposes, is making his debut this week at the Masters and, in fact, this is his second Major (he missed the cut at the 2022 US Open), but yesterday he gave us a glimpse, a sample, of what his career has been like in the past year: he started with a bogey and a double bogey and then reached ecstasy and made up to eight birdies in twelve holes (from 6 to 17) and signed a 68. Let’s remember that McCarty, not even nine months ago, was just another player on the Korn Ferry Tour, but in just six weeks, from the end of July 2024, he reached ecstasy in the same way, won three tournaments on this circuit, and then, in October, made his debut as a winner on the PGA Tour. Four victories in just two and a half months and a 180-degree turn in his life and career. And here he is. Anyone would trust him.
He doesn’t hit very long from the tee, but his strong point, as he himself highlights, is the thorough way he prepares the strategy for the courses. Three weeks ago, he came to Augusta for the first time to play the legendary course, and what he did is very curious: he spent four days and played four rounds trying to replicate a 72-hole tournament. The result? He says he doesn’t remember (do we believe him?), that he signed two good rounds and two not-so-good ones and that he would have been closer to the cut line than he is right now…
His natural swing is to the draw, although he assures that he really likes to move the ball with both effects. He’s not lying: his comfortable victory at the Black Desert Championship, the PGA Tour tournament he won in October, was sealed on Sunday with a great shot on the 14th hole at Black Desert Resort in Utah, a short par 4 where he landed it on the green in one after hitting a wonderful fade shot, to make an eagle from just a metre away.
– That Tyrrell Hatton’s (-5) best result in a Major is a fifth place, achieved at the Open almost a decade ago, and that he has only gathered six top tens in 38 appearances, is one of the great mysteries of world sport. It simply doesn’t make sense, considering his quality and, above all, his competitive nerve. Is it time for the grumpy Englishman? At the very least, it should be time for him to improve on that fifth place.
– Yesterday’s finish for Dustin Johnson, bogey on the 16th and double bogey on the 18th, to miss the cut, is a reflection of what is also happening to him in LIV. He appears, even leads, but with some exaggerated disconnections that cost him dearly. A gross miss from the tee to the left on the 17th and an even grosser one on the 18th, but this time to the right. Much more cruel was Koepka’s situation, though, who was pushing, even to finish with an aggregate below par and get into the fight, and ended with an ‘8’ on the 18th to miss the weekend. The third Major for D.J. and the sixth for Brooks will have to wait, but sooner or later, perhaps this very year, we’ll see them back in the fight on Sunday. Bets are welcome… Especially in Koepka’s case.
– The Hojgaards are fond of debuts. Nicolai made his debut last year at Augusta with an excellent performance and a notable 16th place finish, but yesterday he missed the cut. Rasmus has taken up the baton and with an aggregate of -4 is even in the fight for victory. Like McCarty, he would be the fourth man in history to win the Masters on his debut and, in his case, the first player born in the 21st century to claim victory in a Major.
– What a fuss has been made over Josele Ballester’s innocent pee by the creek on the 13th hole. Okay, it wasn’t the most fortunate action… And that’s that. The young Spaniard was a bit nervous yesterday with all the commotion before heading out to play, and it was Scottie Scheffler who approached and calmed him down, downplaying the incident. It’s the nice gesture of a World Number One with a rookie that is the only thing we find relevant about this irrelevant matter around here.
