Augusta, GA …
Rory McIlroy insists all the pressure over the final round of the Masters will be on the shoulders of American rival Patrick Reed.
McIlroy grabbed an eighth hole eagle and four birdies, including a right fist pumping gem at the last, in a round of a seven-under par 65 to move within three shots of Reed who snatched two eagles, and within the space of three holes at 13 and 15, in a score of 67 to head to the fourth round at 14-under par.
Reed is not only headed for his best Masters finish in five Augusta National appearances but is now only 18 holes shy of a first Major Championship title.
McIlroy headed into day three sharing fourth place at four-under par and trailing five behind Reed.
The leader board heading to the final round of the Masters.
McIlroy soon sounded his intentions with back-to-back birdies at three and four before moving to seven-under par with a birdie on six.
McIlroy then moved into a share of the lead at nine-under par when he brilliantly eagled the par-5 eighth hole, and it was his first eagle, along with the prize of a pair of Augusta National crystal goblets since eagling the par-5 second hole on day three of the 2016 Masters.
But Mcllroy was in trouble with his second shot at the par-5 13th and, with the rain falling, loosing his shot left of the green and ending up deep in a big cluster of Azalea’s.
“All I could see was a sea of pink”, he later joked.
A Sea of Pink says Rory McIlroy who sent his second shot at 13 into the azalea’s and he comes out smelling like roses.
There was the sight of McIlroy standing amid the Azalea’s holding his umbrella before managing to get a club on his ball and coming out smelling like Roses after chipping his ball back to the front of the green.
“I was lucky just to see the ball, and I had a stance ‑‑ you know, it’s actually ‑‑ azaleas are actually pretty thin down below,” he said.
“They look pretty thick on top, but down below they are actually not too bad. I could take a stance and just sort of pick the club straight up and get it back down on top of it and just trundle it out through the pine straw and back on to the grass”.
And McIlroy then had a huge smile on his face walking off the green a few minutes later in saving par to remain at eight-under.
He was also in slightly blocked out by trees left of the fairway at par-5 15th and managing to save par while he was in the trees right at 17 and some 133-yards from the flag and also saved par.
McIlroy then saved the best for the 18th and showing his delight in holing a 17-foot birdie with a real ‘take notice’ right handed outreached fist pump for his 65 and an 11-under par total.
Rory McIlroy shows his excitement in birding the 18th hole in his round of 65.
The 18-hole effort was McIlroy’s equal lowest Augusta score and matched the 65 he shot on day one of the 2011 Masters.
But the golfer of seven years ago who went onto to implode with a final day 80 has since grown in stature to the point he’s now banging so loudly on that ‘Grand Slam Club’ front door the hinges hopefully will break off late on Sunday.
“I feel like all aspects of my game are in really good shape, and I’m much more relaxed. This isn’t my first time in this position now. I’ve been able to close the deal a few times before this, and I have that to fall back on tomorrow.
“I’ve got a lot of experience in these positions and experience that I’ve learned from, good and bad, and I feel like all of those experiences will help me tomorrow.”
And when reminded of his epic 2016 Ryder Cup Singles duel at Hazeltine, McIlroy stressed the importance of not finding himself getting into a head-to-head struggle with Reed.
“Yeah, there’s a lot more players in this golf tournament than just Patrick Reed and I,” he said. “You’ve got Jon on 8, Rickie on 9, and even looking at Henrik on 7 there. I know guys can get off to hot starts on a Sunday here, and you get a bit of momentum and do something ‑‑ Rickie was 5‑under for the front nine today; if he goes 5‑under for the front nine again tomorrow, golf tournament is wide open.
“It’s definitely not a two‑horse race at this point. There’s a lot more guys. I told myself today, leaderboards are huge here; it’s hard to miss them. But I said to myself, don’t concentrate on them too much. Try not to look at them. It’s hard not to, but ‑‑ because I just wanted to set myself a target today and go for that.
“Tomorrow, I’ll obviously know what Patrick Reed is doing, but apart from that, I’m going to set myself a target, try to get to that, and hopefully it’s enough.
“I feel like Patrick has got a three‑shot lead. I feel like all the pressure is on him. He’s got to go out and protect that, and he’s got a few guys chasing him that are pretty big‑time players. He’s got that to deal with and sleep on tonight.
“I feel like I can go out there and play like I’ve got nothing to lose. If I can do that, I feel like I’ll be okay. I mean, I don’t know ‑‑ I used the term “spoil the party”; I don’t know how much support he’ll have compared to me or whatever, but as I said, this isn’t a two‑horse race. There’s still a few guys in this golf tournament, and we have to treat it that way.”
