AUGUSTA, Ga — In the greatest of careers, there comes a time when an athlete’s many accomplishments are disregarded as attention focuses on the one gnawing failure. There are exceptions, of course. Tiger Woods, for one. He swept every title of note early in his youth, several times. Roger Federer too. But there are many for whom that observation holds true, as Dan Marino can testify. Or Charles Barkley.
Which might explain Rory McIlroy’s complicated relationship with Augusta National Golf Club.
The green jacket awarded to a Masters champion is famously the only trophy of note missing in McIlroy’s storied career.
U.S. Open? Check.
Original Open? Check.
PGA Championship? Dos.
FedEx Cup? Ditto.
Players Championship? Uh-huh.
McIlroy indisputably owns the most impressive résumé of his generation, yet every arrival down Magnolia Lane comes with the burden of unfulfilled expectation, and every exit its particular disappointments. The passage of years—this is McIlroy’s 14th appearance in the Masters—have afforded him a philosophical ease in explaining his feelings about the only course whose conquest stands between him and a defining career grand slam.
“It’s one of the best places on Earth,” he said Friday. “It’s such a cool place that you can never hate it.”
He paused a beat and offered a wry smile.
“Sometimes, I hate the results of the tournament, but in terms of the place and the club and the membership, it’s wonderful, and I always have a great time here.”
Perhaps not quite always.
He didn’t in 2011, when his four-shot lead entering the final round melted like snow in a Georgia summer. Or in 2018, when he played in the final group on Sunday with Patrick Reed but stayed in neutral all day and wound up tied for fifth. His half-dozen top-10 finishes don’t necessarily suggest a wealth of wasted opportunities. A number of those were logged via the service entrance, courtesy of a strong final round when out of contention. Only the two aforementioned years really represent painful near-misses.
“It’s maturity. It’s experience. It’s walking away 13 years in a row empty-handed,” McIlroy said by way of explanation for his sanguine approach to Masters matters these days. “It’s just sort of go out and play and see what happens.”
Friday’s second round demanded that kind of attitude, as gusts provided the only element that seems to unsettle the world’s best golfers these days: doubt—manifested in shot choices, club selections, and trajectories. In such conditions, watching the guy playing in front of you can offer valuable insight. Other times, not. For McIlroy on the 12th at Augusta National, it was the latter.
“Jordan [Spieth] hit two in the water, so that wasn’t a great visual,” he said. Then Brooks [Koepka] hit it first and hit it straight over the green. The wind died.”
McIlroy made par at 12 then eked out a couple of birdies over the closing holes to finish at 2-over-par, still within striking distance of a longed-for addition to his closet this weekend, but with work left to do.
“I still feel like I’m right there. You go out tomorrow and you play a decent front nine, and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things,” he said. “I’m in a decent position. I’d like to be a couple of shots better at least, but I’m still right there.”
His second-consecutive 73 was a tolerable return on what proved a troublesome scoring day that hobbled its share of pre-tournament favorites and looked certain to send some of them home early, including Spieth and Koepka. “I’m glad to be off the course at this point,” McIlroy said.
The four-time major champion has enough experience to know that Friday—and Saturday’s similarly cold and blustery forecast—isn’t a challenge particular to Augusta National, or to any venue, but to the ultimate prize itself. “This is what major championship golf is all about. It’s not easy, and it’s not supposed to be easy,” he said with a shrug. “I think the conditions look pretty similar tomorrow as well, so looking forward to that.”
Until then, he’ll spend the evening at home with his 20-month-old daughter, Poppy, but admits it won’t be with a head entirely clear of today’s frustrations, not least the double-bogey he carded on the 11th. “I’d like to say yes, but no,” he said, smiling. “No, I’m still playing with Poppy and thinking about the 6-iron on 11. So I’d love to say yes, but no.”
To an amiable suggestion that having more kids might make it easier to forget the demands of Augusta National, he replied, “One’s enough at the moment.”
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