Rory McIlroy seemed to grind hard due to the difficult conditions in the second round of the 2024 Masters. The Northern Irishman finished his Friday’s play with a birdie-less score of 5 over 77. He stated that his swing at Augusta National was quite “horrific” as he was left a ten-stroke deficit of the joint leaders.
Despite starting his round with 1 under par score on Friday, the four-time major winner’s three bogeys and a double bogey left with just one stroke less than the cut line. After completing his second round, McIlroy spoke to the media. He said that scoring was quite tough and most of the players could not play well. As quoted by Golf Monthly, the 34-year-old said,
“Tough day, really tough day.” McIlroy added, “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.”
Rory McIlroy also said that playing in the second round of the Masters was mentally difficult for him. So much so that his shot went 180 degrees instead of a 150-degree attempt.
“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.” McIlroy continued,”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.”
Rory McIlroy was ranked T35 on the leaderboard before the start of the third round. He is paired alongside Camilo Villegas and will tee off at 10:55 a.m. ET.
Jack Nicklaus Gives His Valuable Advice To Rory McIlroy For Completing His Grand Slam
Jack Nicklaus’ stature in the history of golf is comparable to none. After all, winning 18 major tournaments is no joke! The Golden Bear recently gave a valuable piece of advice to Rory McIlroy who is struggling to win a green jacket to complete his grand slam.
In a recent press conference, before the honorary start at the Masters, Jack Nicklaus was asked if McIlroy could complete his grand slam. The Golden Bear backed the Northern Irishman to complete it sooner or later but advised him to do it before he grew older. As quoted by Mirror, Nicklaus said,
“The answer to that I think is yes.” Nicklaus added, “I closed the deal when I was 26 years old. And Tiger closed it when he was probably younger than I, and Gary, who was 29. As he gets older, he gets tougher because all of a sudden it’s a conversation, the talk.”
Jack Nicklaus added that Rory McIlroy had to completely concentrate at Augusta National if he wanted to win the Masters. The 84-year-old added that he loved the golfer and would love to see him complete his grand slam.
“He has to concentrate 100% of the time. He has lapses where he makes double or triple bogeys. I don’t know why it happens but it happens. But I love him. I root for him every week. I would love to see him do it,” Nicklaus said.
Rory McIlroy’s dream to win a green jacket at the 2024 Masters seems bleak as he is currently lagging behind the joint leaders by ten strokes. To get a chance to win the tournament on Sunday, he will have to perform above his level in the third round at Augusta National.
