McClean proud of Masters performance despite missed cut
Amateur Matthew McClean of Northern Ireland plays a stroke from the No. 1 tee during the first round of the 2023 Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club, Thursday, April 6, 2023.
Amateur Matt McClean closed with a miraculous par four and insisted he was happy with his Masters performance despite carding a 74 to miss the cut on seven-over par.
After opening with a 77, the Malone man (29) put on a tremendous display in the second round at Augusta National, getting to within touching distance of making the cut as he played his first 13 holes in one-under par.
A double bogey six at the 14th, where he three-putted after taking three to find the green, followed by a bogey at the 17th put paid to his chances of becoming the first Irish amateur to make the cut in the Masters since Joe Carr did it back to back in 1967 and 1968.
But he was still proud to conjure up a Houdini-like par from the trees at the last to finish off a week he will remember forever.
"It's great," McClean said after slashing out of the trees right of the 18th to find the front edge of the green from where he chipped to nine feet and made the putt.
"I thought (the cut) would be two or three (over), so probably going to miss it by four. Could have easily stayed an extra day or two.
"It was tough. I was happy with the way I played and battled at the end to make a lottery four at the last there, which is a great way to finish.
"It's a great week. I'll just relax and get to go out and watch a bit of the golf and enjoy it. The week's been great."
As for his performance, he put his early exit down to missing in the wrong places.
"I think where I missed it in the wrong place, I knew as soon as I hit it," he said. "I think I sort of knew the course as well as I could going into it. I made a couple doubles, three doubles over the two days, and that was pretty much it.
"If I could have turned those three doubles into bogeys and saved one other, then that's all it was. Overall, pretty happy."
He was hugely impressed by the performance of Texas amateur Sam Bennett. The US Amateur champion (23) shot a second successive 68 to sit alone in third place when play was suspended.
He was just four shots behind Koepka, who shot 67 to lead on 12-under with Jon Rahm three behind in nine-under through nine holes. "I don't think anyone thought anyone could go anywhere near that," he said of Bennett. "I wasn't getting near 8-under through two rounds. That's unbelievable. "I'm sure if he plays like that as an amateur, he'll be back one day as a pro. Fair play to him there."
McClean bogeyed the par-five second after flying the green with his third but birdied the third from nine feet before rolling in a nine-footer for birdie at the ninth to turn in one-under.
He handed that shot back at the 10th, where he failed to get up and down from left of the green, but was back in the red after hitting an 82-yard wedge to seven feet at the 13th.
His next outing is the European Nations Cup with the Irish team at Real Club de Sotogrande in Spain from April 19-22.
"Obviously not going to be quite as high as this, but it will still be a really good competition against really good players," said the Walker Cup hopeful. "A couple days off and just back at it really."
