Just 18 holes stand between Rory McIlroy and a Career Grand Slam-completing Green Jacket after the 35-year-old produced another sublime display at Augusta National to open up a two stroke 54-hole lead.
The Holywood man cut a dejected figure as he walked off the course on Thursday evening, seemingly destined for another case of ‘what might have been’ as a late stumble rapidly undid 14 holes of excellent work, but a little fortune – something that’s not regularly been on his side at the year’s first major – and a sublime back nine on day two got him back within two of the halfway lead.
And it only took two holes on moving day for the four-time major winner to move to the top of the leaderboard. A thumping 371-yard drive down the first carried the bunkers and left him 104 yards and after wedging to 10 feet, rolled the putt home to get off to the perfect start. But better was to come, and two more towering shots left him just over the back of the par-5 second.
Downhill, sliding hard from right-to-left, his chip was inch perfect, checking up before taking the slope and catching just enough of the left side of the hole to start birdie-eagle.
Eagle for the solo lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/gzdEIgccma
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2025
Keeping his foot on the pedal, a deliciously clipped wedge ground to a halt seven feet past the pin on three, and suddenly, his lead was two. 13 holes previous, he’d been seven back.
Yet another birdie followed on five, sandwiched by good pars on four and six, and he’d carved out a fresh slice of Masters history, becoming the first player ever to start a tournament round with six consecutive threes, but it would turn out to be a round of three thirds.
The opening third was sublime, but the middle third a little shaky. A wide right off the seventh tee was rescued by a great recovering chip, but after finding the fairway bunker on eight and laying up well back, he overshot the green on approach, failing to get up-and-down and registering a bogey ‘six.’
After a short birdie miss on nine, another overhit approach to 10 and an aggressive putt cost him his second bogey, and he had to scramble for pars on 11 and 12 to maintain a one-stroke advantage.
The middle third wasn’t pretty, but he’d hung in and limited the damage, and he had two par-5s to look forward to on the way home.
A textbook drive and safe miss on 13 were followed by a neat chip and putt for birdie, and he made a good par on 14 after finding the trees off the tee, which took him to 15. It was here that the wheels came off on Thursday, but after crushing his drive down the centre, he again took dead aim from 205 and began a quick walk as soon as the ball had left the club, the shot tracer showing it arcing perfectly on line and coming to rest six feet right of the flag. He buried the putt to card his second eagle of the day and go four clear.
Eagle on No. 15 launches Rory McIlroy into a four-shot lead. #themasters pic.twitter.com/ri6fA5yO7O
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2025
He continued to fire at flags, but birdie chances came and went on each of the last three, with the 17th presenting the best of these, but he signed for a second successive 66 and will be joined by Bryson DeChambeau who produced a grandstand finish of his own, birdieing 16 and 18 to draw within two.
“It was a dream start,” he said afterwards. “You want to be one- or two-under through three but I was four-under it was a dream start. I had a bit of a wobble but steadied myself with the par putt on 11 and then made most of my chances from there on. The six iron on 15 was my shot of the day.”
DeChambeau famously broke McIlroy’s heart in the US Open at Pinehurst last year, but he says he’s relishing the opporurtunity to enact revenge and with it, join Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods by becoming the sixth player to win each of golf’s current major championships at least once.
“I am not going to shy away from it,” he declared. “Days like tomorrow are the reasons why I get up and do what I do. I am excited by it.”
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