McIlroy regains some Major mojo with stunning Sunday 64 at the Masters
Rory McIlroy
RORY McIlroy said before the start he’s no ordinary golfer and he proved that emphatically in the greatest cauldron in golf by matching the lowest final round in Masters history with an eight-under-par 64.
The 32-year old from Co Down went into the final round tied for ninth on one-over-par, 10 shots behind Scottie Scheffler and produced a round for the ages that included not one but three hole-outs from off the green.
The last of them will be replayed forever — a bunker shot from the right side of the 18th green he was forced to play at a 90-degree angle from the cup.
It landed on his target, arced left, then tracked inexorably into the cup for the most brilliant of birdies.
He finished second on seven-under-par, just three strokes behind Scheffler, who remained impassive to the roar that echoed through the pines nearly a kilometre away on the 13th green, birdied the 14th and 15th to go five clear and could afford a four-putt double-bogey six for a 71 and still win comfortably on 10-under par.
“It’s what you dream about, right?” he said as he watched a replay of his miraculous bunker shot at the last. “You dream about getting yourself in position. I wasn’t quite close enough to the lead, I don’t think, because Scottie is playing really, really well. But to play as well as I did today and then to finish like this. It’s just absolutely incredible.
“This tournament never ceases to amaze, but that’s as happy as I have ever been on the golf course right there.
“Just having a chance and with Collin (Morikawa, who also holed from the same bunker for birdie) we both played so well all day. I’ve never heard roars like it on the 18th green. It was really cool.
Asked if he did enough to complete the career Grand Slam as Scheffler birdied the 14th to go four clear with four to go, he said: “No, I don’t think so… I’ll probably come up a little bit short, but I gave it a great go, and I can’t ask any more of myself.
“I went out there today and shot my best ever score at Augusta, and it’s probably, and it’s going to be my best finish ever. It’s probably not quite enough, but I’ll come back next year and keep trying.”
McIlroy said on the eve of the final round that he hoped to secure a top 10 and “move on”, but he clearly had higher ambitions on a picture-perfect Augusta Sunday where a zephyr breeze and accessible pins made for a classic Masters Sunday.
“When I got off the course, I was just in the Top-20, but then by the end of yesterday I was T-9 I think going into today. I thought if I could shoot 63 today, it would give me a chance. That was sort of my number today. I didn't quite get there, but I gave it a good shot.
“Again, all I wanted to do was just -- I've been in that position, and I've had the lead on the back nine here and haven't been able to get it done. I just wanted to try and put a little bit of pressure on and I feel like I did that.”
At the first, he flipped a wedge nine feet and rolled in the putt to set off on a roar for the ages in his eighth attempt to complete the career Grand Slam.
While he failed to take advantage of a 376-yard drive at the second, bunkering his second, missing a nine footer for birdie, he drove pin high at the 350-yard third and two-putted for birdie to move into the red.
After safely two-putting for pars at the 240-yard fourth and the 495-yard fifth, then ran a 75-footer 12 feet past at the sixth but made the return putt for par.
He must have sensed something special was on the cards when he holed a 10-yarder down the hill for birdie at the seventh, then hit a 91-yard pitch to the par-five eighth and rolled in the birdie putt.
While he had a chance from 11 feet at the ninth and missed it low to turn in 32, he overshot the 10th but chipped in from nearly 40 feet for an unlikely birdie three.
He was still six strokes behind Scheffler but got up and down, chipping seven feet past before making the putt back for par.
A safe two-putt par from 40 feet at the 12th kept his momentum going before he really lit up the Masters, rifling a 201-yard missile to 10 feet before rolling in the eagle putt.
He was now seven-under for the day and six-under for the tournament but still five adrift of Scheffler.
He looked done at the 14th when he drove under the left trees and left himself a high tariff third over a tier to a back pin but played a shot of pure imagination to the back edge and let the slope bring the ball back to just a foot from the hole for the simplest of tap in pars.
He needed a birdie at the 15th to keep the pressure on the leader but double-crossed his drive and had to lay up after finishing behind the trees on the left.
His 83-yard third skidded to the back fringe, 18 feet above the cup and after missing an 18 footer for two at the 16th, he was left needing a big finish to really turn the screw on Scheffler.
He bunkered his approach to the 17th but got up and down from sand before going one better at the 18th.
As for Shane Lowry, he finished tied for third with Cameron Smith (73) on five-under after a 69 that was all the more remarkable considering he triple-bogeyed the par-three sixth.
As for Shane Lowry, his faint dreams of donning the green jacket evaporated with a stomach-churning triple-bogey six at the 240-yard fourth.
One-under after a birdie at the second, he fired his tee shot 30 yards right into the bamboo and after a penalty drop, dumped his third from the pine needles in the front bunker and missed a five footer for double.
To his credit, he bounced back like a champion, knocking in five birdies — at the sixth, eighth, ninth, 13th and 15th — against a three-putt bogey at the 12th as he closed with a 69.
It was a remarkable week for the 2019 Open champion but he found it hard to celebrate.
“Obviously I did very well to come back what happened on the fourth hole today but I do feel quite disappointed standing here right now because genuinely I don’t think I’ve ever built myself up for a week like this so much,” Lowry said.
“Even I remember when I feel like I got a little bit unfortunate at the Honda Classic and all I could think about was, it doesn’t matter Augusta is not far away and my game is good.
“It’s the first time I felt like I was trying to get myself up towards this week. And to come in here and perform to the standards that I did it’s very very nice it’s very very… It’s nice it’s good, it’s quite rewarding.
“I am disappointed that somebody else is going to be putting on the green jacket this afternoon and it’s not going to be me though.”
