Rory McIlroy still believes he has ‘half a chance’ of winning the Masters and completing the Grand Slam despite a birdie-less 77, which leaves him 10 shots ahead at the halfway point and his swing is ‘horrible’ at the end of his second round.
The world No. 2 made three bogeys and a double bogey at a wind-ravaged Augusta National on Friday, dropping two shots at 11 as he found the water, to move to four in a tournament led by Scottie Scheffler , Max Homa and Bryson DeChambeau. on six sous.
McIlroy said afterwards that he was content to make the cut – those seven points higher or worse missed the weekend – but refused to rule out his hopes of securing a first major title since 2014.
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McIlroy made double bogey on 11th hole as his chances of completing career Grand Slam took a major blow
The Northern Irishman said: “I still think I can go out tomorrow and shoot low, get back into the red numbers and have half a chance before Sunday.
“I won out of 10 in Dubai earlier this year. But obviously the Dubai Desert Classic and the Masters are two very different golf tournaments. We’ll see. My golf swing was horrible for the last six or seven holes , just hitting everywhere. Especially that 11th hole. It felt like it took an hour to play that hole.
The Masters – Live
Saturday April 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Rory: I tried to hang on as best I could
McIlroy added: “It was stops and starts, hard to find a rhythm with the conditions and obviously the slow pace of the game as well. It was a tough day, a really tough day, tough to get a score.
McIlroy is 10 shots off the pace heading into the weekend
“I felt like everything went well. Even going through the last four holes, coming into the clubhouse and getting a tee time tomorrow, I’m pretty happy with it.
“Scoring was very difficult. Most of the players weren’t really able to get things going. It was just about trying to hang on as best you could. Mentally it’s a task difficult because you just have to try to commit as best you can to the plan you are trying to play.
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Watch highlights from the second round of the Masters at Augusta National.
“One second you’ll have a shot that plays 150 yards, and then if the wind does something different, the shot might play 180 yards. It could be a difference of 30 yards.
“You have to commit to trying to play the right shot, but you also have to hit it at the right time, so it’s quite tricky.”
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Reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm says he’s relieved to qualify after battling his second-round swing
Rahm: As difficult a golf course as I’ve seen in a long time
Defending champion Jon Rahm shot a four-over 76 to move to five-over and, like McIlroy, said he struggled with his swing.
“It’s a very bad day to not be comfortable with the swing, that’s for sure. I fought all day, never comfortable,” said the Spaniard, who is looking to become the first consecutive Masters winner since Tiger Woods. .
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Watch highlights from the second round of the Masters at Augusta National.
“I didn’t give myself many chances, and it was a last ditch effort at the end to try to make the cut. Luckily, I made it. I have a lot of work to do if I want to have a lucky Sunday.
Regarding the gusty conditions, Rahm added: “A few times I wondered why we were out there, especially when I got there at 18 and saw the whole front of the green filled with sand.
The Masters – Live
Saturday April 13 at 3:00 p.m.
“I understand they want us to finish (but) I imagine they were about to announce it a few times, especially when we were on the 11th green.
“We were getting these massive gusts every two minutes or so. It was extremely difficult. It’s about as hard a golf course as I’ve seen in a very long time.”
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