Quite a while before Rory McIlroy ignited his round, Fred Couples said the following: “I really believe that Jake Knapp can win here (he played with him the first two days and is 16th at -2). I sincerely believe it, especially because of how he putts. I would be very surprised if he didn’t make it in the future. Although, well, Rory might win this every year. I said it yesterday: he could perfectly well win five more” As the youngsters say, it’s a prediction bold. Winning five more would mean tucking six green jackets into the wardrobe, the same number Jack Nicklaus has. Watch out. But of course, the man speaking is Fred Couples, a gentleman who has 41 Masters played, 31 cuts, eleven top-10s and a victory in 1992. He’s no ordinary option
There is no evidence McIlroy heard Couples or was told about it, but the fact is that right after he started making birdies as if there were no tomorrow. In just seven holes he went from being tied for the lead with Patrick Reed, both at six under par, to setting a new record in Masters history. He birdied 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and 18. Six under in seven holes and Augusta blew up. In just over two hours, Rory tore the Masters apart. Record to boot: he is the first player in the tournament’s history to come out of the second round with a six-shot lead over second place
The remaining 36 holes is a long way to assume the victory is his, but he certainly has it very well. So much so that an even-par weekend or even one or two over could do the job. A huge advantage for a McIlroy who rid himself last year of the need to win the Masters and who now seems to be flying around Augusta. He didn’t even need to be sharp off the tee to card a stellar 65, the best of the day and coming out in the penultimate group, when in theory the course conditions were firmer and faster. Another league
McIlroy has a six-shot lead over Sam Burns (-6) and Patrick Reed (-6), seven over Justin Rose (-5), Shane Lowry (-5) and Tommy Fleetwood (-5) and eight over Wyndham Clark (-4), Tyrrell Hatton (-4), Haotong Li (-4) and Kristoffer Reitan (-4), Jason Day (-4) and Cameron Young (-4). By the way, eight members of the DP World Tour are in the Masters top 10
Comparisons are odious, but inevitable. A performance of this calibre forces a look back to 1997. That year Tiger Woods won his first Masters with a twelve-shot lead over the runner-up. Curiously, the runner-up finished at -6, the same figure Reed and Burns have now. Will McIlroy be able to sustain this pace? Honestly, it seems very difficult, but if we think about what he suffered last year to win and how he ultimately clinched the victory, this might seem child’s play to him
McIlroy built his enormous lead in those fabulous final seven holes, although the day’s big roar, the moment all spectators will remember, arrived at the 17th, when Rory, after missing his tee shot badly to the left, getting stuck behind the trees and being forced to play a low-running ball just before the green, holed an approach from about 25 metres that was simply delightful. From ignition he went to combustion and from there to conflagration
No one knows if Rory will achieve six green jackets in his career, but the second one is already on order
