AUGUSTA, Ga. — When Rory McIlroy went to place his tee within the floor on No. 1 for the primary time Thursday as defending Masters champion, the acquainted nervous shake in his hand confirmed up like clockwork.
It was factor to really feel.
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After 52 weeks of dialog about finishing his profession Grand Slam, the load it lifted off his shoulders and the occasional wrestle to inspire himself for The Next Thing, McIlroy hoped he’d have that acquainted sensation of struggling to set his ball on the tee as he ready to hit his first shot of the Masters. For a golfer, it’s virtually like proof of life.
“I’m thankful that I felt the same as I always have,” he stated. “I think it would be worrisome if I didn’t feel that way because it definitely still means something to me.”
Year after 12 months, McIlroy’s nervousness at Augusta National has been the dominant storyline of his relationship with this event — even final 12 months when he needed to overcome some psychological disasters on Sunday to lastly declare his inexperienced jacket. It could be onerous, if not unimaginable, to say definitively that McIlroy has come again right here freed up from these demons. This is golf, in any case.
But if that have been the case for McIlroy, it will most likely manifest in a spherical just like the one he performed Thursday: All over the place off the tee however relentlessly dedicated to his photographs, environment friendly across the greens and lethal on the par-5s the place his size and expertise offers him such an enormous benefit.
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Translation: After capturing 67 for the co-lead on a day the place his sport wasn’t practically that good, Rory may be as harmful as ever as he tries to change into the primary golfer since Tiger Woods in 2001-02 to win back-to-back right here.
“I feel like the way I played, 5-under sort of exceeded where I thought I would be or what I wanted to do,” he stated. “I think a fair score for me today would have been like 2-under maybe with some of the places I hit it. But again, I used my head and got up-and-down when I needed to. I didn’t compound mistakes. Again, that’s just a learning curve that you have to go through around here, and I did it well today.”
In the previous, McIlroy stated, he may need gotten tentative and tried to information the ball across the course after making some mediocre swings on the primary handful of holes. This time, he simply stored swinging away, trusting that ultimately he’d discover a higher rhythm. That occurred for him on the again 9, the place he birdied Nos. 13, 14 and 15 to maneuver to the highest of the leaderboard alongside Sam Burns.
Is that as a result of successful a Masters has given McIlroy a distinct mentality round this place, or was it only a day the place he scored higher than he performed? Time will inform. Maybe all that issues for McIlroy is whether or not he believes it.
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“I think winning a Masters makes it easier to win your second one,” he stated. “I do. It’s hard to say because there’s still shots out there that you feel a little bit tight with, and you just have to stand up and commit to making a good swing and not worry about really where it goes.
“But I think it’s easier for me to make those swings and not worry about where it goes when I know that I can go to the champions’ locker room and put my green jacket on and have a Coke Zero at the end of the day.”
McIlroy did most of his harm Thursday on the par-5s regardless of lacking the green on all 4 of them.
On No. 2, he drove it into the pine straw on the best, overcooked his punch out into the gallery on the left however pitched it only a couple toes previous the opening for a straightforward birdie putt.
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On No. 8, McIlroy discovered the best tough and used a 5-wood to run it up onto the inexperienced — an excellent shot that tracked towards the flag earlier than stopping 24 toes quick to place him in two-putt birdie vary.
On No. 13, McIlroy went a bit wayward into the best pine straw, forcing him to put as much as 60 yards. Though his strategy went 14 toes previous the opening, he rolled within the putt with a little bit fist pump to maintain the momentum going.
Then on No. 15, he needed to lay up out of the left tough to 82 yards. Though not as exact as he’d like with the wedge, McIlroy drained a 29-footer down the hill.
Last 12 months, one of many extra outstanding components of McIlroy’s victory was what number of strokes he let get away on the par-5s, making three eagles, 5 birdies, 4 pars, a bogey and two doubles. If he can journey a gentle birdie prepare on these holes, he’ll possible be very robust to beat.
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“I still have high expectations of myself, but my expectations are more, ‘Did I make good decisions today? Was I committed? Was I trusting?’ I think it took me a while to get to that point where, if I focus on the process and the little mini goals of not compounding errors, like today, hitting it in trees and (not) trying to be a hero, making good decisions, thinking my way around the golf course, I think those are the expectations I have for myself. And if I can live up to those expectations, then the scores and the results should take care of itself.”