Rory McIlroy has expressed his pride after surging back into contention with an impressive 66 at the Masters, drawing closer to leader Justin Rose among a host of star players vying for the top spot in the season's first Major.
The NI golf star looked to be out of the running when he encountered disastrous double bogeys towards the end of his opening round 72. However, McIlroy rebounded incredibly in his second round, commencing calmly before erupting on the back nine with a string of birdies and an outstanding eagle from the pine straw without dropping a shot.
Reflecting on his remarkable comeback, McIlroy said: "I think overall I am just proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night. I just had to remind myself that I played really good golf yesterday, I wasn't going to let two bad holes sort of dictate the narrative for the rest of the week."
Focused on resetting after the rough end to his first round, he added: "Once I left the property last night, I just sort of tried to leave what had happened here. I rushed out of here to get home to see Poppy before she went to bed."
He stressed his ability to rebound stating: "I feel like I just did a good job of resetting. I don't think I proved anything. I just backed up the belief that I'm as resilient as anyone else out here.", reports the Mirror.
However, McIlroy conceded that fortune played a part in his stunning recovery, particularly highlighting his risky 4-iron shot from 189 yards that narrowly missed Rae's Creek, leading to a seven-foot eagle putt on No. 13.
"When the ball was in the air, I was like: 'You idiot, what did you do?' I rode my luck a little bit on 13 and 14 and 15 and thankfully got away with it a little bit."
"I think those are the sorts of things that you need to happen in major championships.I feel like it got a little unfortunate yesterday in some parts, and I got a little fortunate today."
Only two golfers have won the Masters after recording two double bogeys, with Craig Stadler being the last in 1982. McIlroy has struggled on Fridays at the Masters, carding 77 in his last two appearances, but he enters the weekend just two shots behind his Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose.
US Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, who defeated McIlroy to win the US Open last year, is one shot behind Rose, while 2019 Open winner Shane Lowry is also in contention after his 68.
Upon entering the press room, McIlroy glanced at the leaderboard, saying: "I was just looking for my name. I was not really worried about the others!".
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox
English (United States) ·