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Rory McIlroy followed up his worst first round at the Masters with one of his best, then revealed how “colorful” talk was responsible for the change in luck.
McIlroy’s 75th start was the worst in 12 Masters appearances and left him struggling to make the cut, but he rebounded in style with a bogey-free 66 second round to finish three-under, six shots away from the house lead. club.
“Jimmy gave me a pep talk between rounds and on the field,” McIlroy said, referring to his friend and Augusta National member Jimmy Dunne.
“Honestly, I’ve been playing really good coming here, and then I go into the first round and throw 75, and I think, ‘Where the hell did that come from?’
“I knew it was there, it was just a matter of trusting a little more and being committed. It was better this afternoon.”
When asked to describe the pep talk, McIlroy joked: “It was colorful.
“Hopefully I have my eye on the last 18 holes and I need a pretty similar couple of days over the weekend to give myself a chance.”
Shane Lowry (through 10) and Graeme McDowell (through 9) were both just inside the pair’s cutoff mark when night fell in Georgia; their second rounds will resume at 7:30 am local time (12:30 Irish time).
Open champion Lowry bogeyed his first hole, but then bounced back with three birdies. His playing partner, last year’s Masters winner Tiger Woods, remains at four under.
McDowell had seven pairs, a birdie and a bogey on his completed nine holes.
Rory McIlroy birdies No. 17 to go to 4 under for the day. #teachers pic.twitter.com/NeRzyEwhBX
– The Masters (@TheMasters) November 13, 2020
McIlroy faced a bunker shot at the 10th hole when the first round resumed on Friday morning, but was unable to save par and then had to shoot a penalty from the undergrowth with the help of a club member following a wild drive in 13, but at least he remembered his manners.
“Thanks and sorry for dirtying your green jacket,” McIlroy told the referee before launching back to the fairway on his way to another drop shot.
McIlroy also bogeyed on the 14th and followed a much-needed birdie on the 15th by throwing his tee shot on the 16th into the water.
“That’s so bad, my God,” McIlroy exclaimed in exasperation, though he was at least able to save a bogey after a mediocre launch from the drop zone.
“I was thinking coming in this morning, going up and down this ball at 10, playing the last few holes at three or four under par, going in and then coming back, and I did the opposite,” McIlroy added.
“That wasn’t ideal, and it was obviously not what I was thinking about. I turned it around really well and fired a good shot, at least I gave myself a chance to get into the weekend.”
McIlroy started his second round in the final nine and birdied on 10, 12, 15 and 17 before taking more shots in the second and eighth.
Full leaderboard
Playing alongside McIlroy, Dustin Johnson had threatened to put significant distance between himself and the chasing group when he outwitted Amen Corner with birdies at 11, 12 and 13 to briefly enjoy a three-shot lead.
However, the world number one made three putts on the 14th and dropped another shot on the 15th after hitting the water with his approach and finally added a second round of 70 to his starting 65.
Johnson hit eight consecutive pairs in the last nine before finishing with a birdie that gave him a share of the clubhouse lead (-9) with Justin Thomas, Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith.
McIlroy and Johnson’s playmate Patrick Cantlay hit 66 points to go down to eight alongside South Korea’s Sungjae Im (70), Hideki Matsuyama (up to 15) and Jon Rahm (up to 12).
Former champion Danny Willett and fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood shot 66 to sit at seven-under, alongside Justin Rose, Chengtsung Pan (through 16) and Louis Oosthuizen (through 12).
US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau (+1 to 12) is struggling to make the cut after a lost ball at 3 cost him a triple bogey, while two-time winner Bernhard Langer will play the weekend at the age of 63 years after finishing at three bass.
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