Struggling McIlroy misses Masters cut for first time in 11 years
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays a stroke from the No. 2 tee during Round 2 of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 9, 2021.
Rory McIlroy looked like a man ready for a long break from golf after he missed the cut in the Masters for the first time in 11 years.
The former world No 1 (31) was behind the eight-ball after opening with a four-over 76 but unlike Bryson DeChambeau, who bounced back with a 67 to move into the top 20 on one-under, the Co Down man struggled to a 74 to miss the projected three-over cut mark by three strokes on six-over.
He wasn’t the only big name to bite the dust as defending champion Dustin Johnson finished bogey-bogey shot 75 to join Brooks Koepka (75) in missing out on five-over.
But swing guru Butch Harmon wondered aloud whether it might have been wiser for McIlroy to have waited until after the Masters to move away from Michael Bannon and hire Pete Cowen as coach.
“I said it was going to be tough to bring a new golf swing into a Major championship,” Harmon said on Sky Sports after watching McIlroy shank his approach into the azaleas at the 10th and pencil in a double-bogey six that put paid to his hopes of being around for the weekend.
“First of all, bad shots are part of the process. That’s received when you’re changing your swing. It works on the range but the test is when you have to put it in play.
“It was always going to be tough and to make the change right before coming into a Major, was that the right thing to do? He picked the right guy. Pete Cowen knows what he’s doin’, that’s for doggone sure. He’s had success with everybody he’s ever touched.”
McIlroy looked to be in for a long day when he took a fairway wood from the first tee and carved it into the trees on the right.
But while he managed to escape with a par there, his approach play was poor as the swing changes he is making led to a series of iron shots that came up short or right at the second, fifth, seventh and 10th, as well as tee shots that missed right at the first, eighth, 13th, 14th, 15th and 17th and left at the 11th.
He finished fifth in November’s Masters despite ranking last in the field for “strokes gained approach” and after finishing 73rd of 88 players for iron play on day one, he struggled again last night, hitting just nine greens in regulation to end the week ranked 67th for green hit in regulation.
After failing to birdie the par-five second, he put himself above the hole with a 55-yard pitch at the third, then came up 30 yards short of the pin with his approach to the fifth and could clearly be seen saying, “Wow, wow” as the ball came up short, followed by a curt “f**k me”.
A bogey inevitably followed and after missing an 18 footer for birdie at the sixth, he was left shaking his head as he went from the front to the back bunker en route to another bogey at the seventh.
He failed to birdie the eighth, knocking a 30-yard pitch 20 feet above the hole to turn in two-over before his hopes of making the cut suffered a killer blow at the 10th.
Facing a 190-yard approach with the ball above his feet, he semi-shanked it into the azaleas 50 yards from his target and after losing the ball, he did well to make a 15 footer for a double-bogey six.
“You know what?” Paul McGinley said on Sky Sports. “I think the best thing for Rory is probably a few weeks in the sunshine on a beach somewhere to clear his head and go at it again.
“Sometimes the harder you try in this game, the worse it gets, no matter how talented you are.”
To his credit, he finished well, combining fine par saves at the 11th, 16th, 17th and 18th with birdies at the par-five 13th and 15th.
He will wonder what might have been as Justin Rose shot 72 to lead by a shot on seven-under from left-hander Brian Harman (68) and debutant Will Zalatoris (69) with Australian Marc Leishman (67) and 2015 champion Jordan Spieth (68) lurking a shot further back.
