Rory Set to Bounce Back After Augusta

Rory McIlroy

Rory McIlroy vowed to not let his Masters experience taint him after throwing away a four-shot lead in the final round at Augusta.

The Holywood golfer dropped six shots in three holes on the back nine on his way to an eight-over-par 80.

"I was leading going into the back nine and I unravelled on 10, 11 and 12 and couldn't get it back," he said.

"I'll get over it. I'll have plenty more chances - I know that."

McIlroy then logged in to his Twitter account to add: "Well that wasn't the plan! Found it tough going today, but you have to lose before you can win. This day will make me stronger in the end.

"Oh and congratulations Charl Schwartzel!! Great player and even better guy! Very happy for him and his family!"

McIlroy's disastrous round began with a bogey at the first and he followed that by almost leaving his ball in a fairway bunker on the par-five second when his shot thudded into the front lip.

Fortunately the ball bounced out but he found a greenside bunker with his next shot, only to get up and down for par.

Any thoughts that his good fortune would kick-start his round evaporated on the fifth when he dropped another shot to fall back to 10 under par.

McIlroy settled his nerves with a solid par on six and then drained a 20 foot putt on the seventh to return to 11 under par and a lead of one.

However, his Masters bid started to unravel on the 10th when his tee shot ricocheted way left off a tree and nestled between the cabins that separate the main course from the par-three course.

He hit a low hook back onto the fairway but then missed the green with his third shot, hit another tree with his fourth and finally chipped on with his fifth. Two putts later he was back at eight under par after a triple bogey seven.

McIlroy's nerves were further shredded by a three-putt on 11 and, after finding the heart of the green on the par-three 12th, he contrived to take four putts from inside 20 feet to plummet to five under par.

"I lost confidence in my putting around the turn," he conceded. "I was second guessing lines and second guessing my speed and you can't do that round here.

"The positive are that I led the tournament for 63 holes.

"Shooing a bad score on the last round of a golf tournament is not as bad as a lot of things that happen to other people.

"It'll take a bit of time but I will get over it and I'll be stronger for it."

McIlory Makes Opening 65 at Augusta

Rory McIlroy Round 1 at Augusta

Hopefully the comparison with The Open at St Andrews last July will only relate to the opening round for Rory McIlroy on day one as Augusta, after he got within a couple of strokes of the course record on the opening day of The Masters, with the 21 year Northern Ireland star displaying his talents for all the world to see.

Nine months on from starting The Open Championship with a Major record-equalling 63 the young Northern Irishman began the 75th Masters Tournament with a seven under par 65.

It put McIlroy - third in the last two Majors of last season - into a three stroke lead over American Matt Kuchar just as favourite Phil Mickelson began his defence of the title with a scrambling par and Tiger Woods bogeyed the tenth and 11th to drop back to one over.

McIlroy followed his 63 with a windswept 80 in Scotland last summer, but the weather looks good for the week in Georgia and he hopes now to take over from Seve Ballesteros as the second youngest winner of the title - after Woods, of course.

His first shot of the day actually found sand, but after saving par with a deft chip to two feet he birdied the next three holes from three, five and 18 feet and picked up another shot at the ninth to turn in 32.

The 505 yard par four 11th is probably the hardest hole on Augusta National, but the Holywood golfer birdied that as well - as did England's Ross Fisher in a 69 - and after three-putting the long 13th for par holed from ten feet at the next and two-putted the 530 yard 15th.

Retief Goosen, who in contrast began his round by becoming only the fifth player in the tournament's history to make an eagle two on the 445 yard first, was only one off another record with his front nine 31.

But the twice runner-up mixed two further birdies with four bogeys in the next eight holes.

Fisher, whose wife Jo is expecting their second child early next week, shared third place in the clubhouse with American Brandt Snedeker on the same three under mark.

Woods had one birdie - at the short sixth - and eight pars going out, but was still producing the odd bad swing and his back-to-back bogeys on two of the most demanding holes came as no great surprise.

Playing partner and US Open Champion Graeme McDowell double-bogeyed the tenth to be one over as well and last year's runner-up Lee Westwood was alongside them after a bogey at the dangerous short 12th.

Ian Poulter, joint halfway leader with Westwood a year ago, birdied the third and sixth and remained two under starting for home - five adrift of McIlroy, but good enough to be in a tie for seventh. Justin Rose and Paul Casey were one further back early in their rounds.

Mickelson drove left off the first, then missed the green, but his famed short-game skills came to his rescue straightaway.

Not so Luke Donald. Winner of the eve-of-tournament par three contest - and fully aware nobody has gone to be crowned Masters Champion four days later - the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play champion was one over after six.

Fisher was in the first group of the day at 7.45am and from one over after four charged to four under before bogeying the 17th.

On his 2009 debut in the event the 30 year old stormed out in front on the opening day at five under after 16, but bogeyed the last two for a 69 and eventually finished down in 30th spot.

"I'm walking off a little bit disappointed after not making birdies at the two par fives on the back nine and then dropping a shot," he said, but it was still a fine start and his memories of the day will also include watching Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus - now 81 and 71 - hitting ceremonial opening drives as honorary starters.

"It was a special treat," said Fisher, given a slow play warning midway through his round. "They are two legends and they showed they've still got it."

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McIlroy Accenture Interview..No Sound

Rory McIlroy at Dove Mountain on Thursday

RORY MCILROY: I just missed a couple of greens. It was a little bit -- even yesterday I didn't hit that many greens. With the right-to-left winds, I'm trying to just play lip shots and just leave them more to the right. But Ben played -- if he plays like that the rest of the week, he'll be very tough to beat.

Q. (Inaudible.)

RORY MCILROY: It's match play, isn't it? I've done it to people before where I've been five or six under after a few holes. And this is one of the first times it's happened to me, but it's the nature of match play.

Q. The momentum starts -- what's it like, the momentum just goes away?

RORY MCILROY: It's not even momentum, it's just he plays better than you. And he keeps it on all the time. And when you get up, you just don't let the opponent get back in, and that's what he did today.

And I didn't give myself a chance, either. I didn't hit it close enough to get many chances for birdies. And every time I did have a chance for birdie, he rolled it in ahead of me. It was tough.

Q. (Inaudible.)

RORY MCILROY: Of course, I'm actually -- I would have -- I find this easier to take than getting beat on the last, you know. I don't mind this at all.

Q. He's an underrated player, as well?

RORY MCILROY: He's a great player, he's solid. If he plays -- I can't see him playing like that -- if he plays like that in spurts for the rest of the tournament, he's going to be a tough guy to get rid of.

Q. He's not as slow as people talk about?

RORY MCILROY: No, he's speeded up. I played him last year in Memphis, and I didn't find that at all.

Q. It didn't affect you at all?

RORY MCILROY: No, it was fine. Especially we played quick out there, because he was making birdies.

Q. What do you do now?

RORY MCILROY: I was just talking to JP that I think I'll probably go for Florida tonight, hopefully get adjusted to a little bit of a time change, get a bit of practice on Bermudagrass, get accustomed to the -- it's a great place to sort of practice, so I'll go and practice somewhere. I'm sure there's great hotels around there, go to the gym, just go punish myself for a few days.

Q. It's not even that, is it?

RORY MCILROY: It's not even that. I'm playing all right. I definitely didn't play as good this week as I did in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but it's not as if -- the score line says 8 and 7, but it wasn't that bad.

Q. Maybe a few drives here and there, as well?

RORY MCILROY: I actually drove it well, but just the drive on 10 and 11.

Q. No. 3 set you back a little bit?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, a little bit.

Q. Take it wide right off the tee?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah, the pin was front right, so I was trying to be cute with the second and hit that in the water.

Q. And knocked it stiff?

RORY MCILROY: Exactly.

Q. Left a couple of souvenirs in the pond?

RORY MCILROY: I certainly did.

Q. What did you hit off the tee there?

RORY MCILROY: 7. That was a shot where the wind was off to the right, and I was trying to hit that shot and got a little steep on it and sort of squared it off to the right.

Q. You'll get a little wind in Florida, a little steady on shore every day?

RORY MCILROY: Yeah.

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NORTHERN SOUL

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NORTHERN SOUL
Magazine
13 Nov 2010



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