‘My Swing Felt Horrific’ - Rory McIlroy Last Man On Driving Range After Sliding Down Masters Leaderboard
Rory McIlroy fell from contention after a disappointing second round in windy conditions at Augusta National
Rory McIlroy admitted his swing felt "horrific" in the closing stages of his second round at the Masters as the Northern Irishman fell away from contention at Augusta National.
The world No2 began the day at -1 but carded a birdie-less round featuring three bogeys and one double bogey to slip back to +4 and ten shots behind the lead, shared by Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa.
The second-round display all but ended any hopes of McIlroy breaking his ten-year major drought as he struggled to get to grips with the tricky, windy conditions at Augusta.
"Tough day, really tough day," the 34-year-old said after his round. "Scoring was very difficult. Most of the field couldn't really get anything going. It was just a matter of trying to hang in there as best you could.
"Mentally it's a grind because you just have to try to commit as best you can to the shot that you're trying to play.
"One second you'll have a shot that's playing 150, and then if the wind does something different, the shot could be playing 180. It could be a 30-yard difference. You have to commit to trying to play the right shot, but then you also have to hit it at the right time as well. So pretty tricky."
After the round, McIlroy was the last player seen at the driving range, hitting balls well into the darkness alongside his caddie Harry Diamond. The four-time Major champion is known for his prowess off the tee but ranked joint-83rd in the field for fairways hit in the first two rounds.
Get the Golf Monthly Newsletter
Subscribe to the Golf Monthly newsletter to stay up to date with all the latest tour news, equipment news, reviews, head-to-heads and buyer’s guides from our team of experienced experts.
Per Justin Ray, Friday's round also marked the first time since 2016 that he completed a round at the Masters without making a birdie.
However, despite being ten shots back at the halfway stage, McIlroy refused to rule out his chances of completing an unlikely comeback on the weekend.
"I won from 10 back in Dubai at the start of the year. But obviously, the Dubai Desert Classic and the Masters are two very different golf tournaments. We'll see," he added.
"Hopefully the conditions are a little better tomorrow. Yeah, I still think I can go out tomorrow and shoot a low one, get back into red numbers, and have half a chance going into Sunday."
McIlroy gets his third round underway at 10.55am local time alongside Colombia's Camilo Villegas.
Ben joined Golf Monthly having completed his NCTJ in multimedia sports journalism at News Associates, London. He is now a freelance journalist who also works for The Independent, Metro, UEFA and Stats Perform.
-
7 Takeaways From Tiger Woods' PGA Championship Press Conference
The 15-time Major winner addressed the media ahead of his efforts to claim the Wanamaker Trophy for the fifth time
By Mike Hall Published
-
Rory McIlroy Files For Divorce From Erica Stoll On Eve Of PGA Championship
Court documents filed in Florida on Monday show the World No.2 is separating from his wife Erica, just before the second men's Major of the year at Valhalla
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
Rory McIlroy Files For Divorce From Erica Stoll On Eve Of PGA Championship
Court documents filed in Florida on Monday show the World No.2 is separating from his wife Erica, just before the second men's Major of the year at Valhalla
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
The Unique (And Very Cool) Golf Ball Rory McIlroy Used In Wells Fargo Victory
Heading into the Wells Fargo Championship, the Northern Irishman made a subtle change to his golf ball
By Michael Weston Published
-
Can Valhalla Return Inspire Rory McIlroy To End Decade-Long Major Drought?
Can a return to the scene of his last victory at Valhalla a decade ago inspire Rory McIlroy to finally end his Major drought?
By Paul Higham Published
-
Are Masters Champions Exempt For Life?
Winning the Masters comes with a lifetime exemption to future tournaments
By Joel Kulasingham Published
-
'We Need Rory To Try To Keep Cantlay From Ruining The Tour' - Tournament Director Gives No-Holds-Barred Take On PGA Tour/PIF Negotiations
In an interview with Golfweek, an anonymous tournament director on the PGA Tour called for Rory McIlroy to return as a Policy Board player-director in order to help "get a deal done with LIV"
By Jonny Leighfield Published
-
‘A Subset Of People On The Board That Were Maybe Uncomfortable With Me Coming Back’ – McIlroy Rules Out PGA Tour Board Return
The four-time Major winner has admitted a "subset of people" were "uncomfortable" with the idea of him returning
By Mike Hall Published
-
'I'm Pretty Sure You'll See Us Teaming Up Again' - Tommy Fleetwood Hopes McIlroy Ryder Cup Pairing Wasn't A One-Off
Tommy Fleetwood has spoken to Golf Monthly about his pairing with Rory McIlroy at the 2023 Ryder Cup - and his hopes for teaming up again at Bethpage Black
By Mike Hall Published
-
Wells Fargo Championship Tee Times - Rounds One And Two
Rory McIlroy returns to action at the Quail Hollow signature event, just one week before the PGA Championship
By Mike Hall Published