In today’s trio, I focus on Justin Rose, Bryson DeChambeau, and Rory McIlroy in moving day at the Masters. Up until this point, they have all played wonderful golf. Justin Rose set the pace in round one, playing more conservatively yesterday with lots of 3-woods off tees. McIlroy completely banished the demons of Thursday with an inspired second-nine charge yesterday. Sawed-off irons, risky approaches, and a bouncy step saw McIlroy climb forward. DeChambeau, with his tremendous power and entertaining personality, looks primed for today.
Rory gets out and runs
Rory McIlroy started first of the three, teeing off along Corey Conners. On the first, he flew the fairway bunkers with a drive that travelled 371 yards. His gap wedge approach from 106 yards nestled to 10 feet from the hole. He drained the birdied putt, and the roars began. On the second, his driver flashed again. McIlroy laced a 369-yard drive over the bunkers on the right side of the fairway. After his six iron finished past the green, McIlroy chipped in for eagle to take the solo lead. On the third, McIlroy let the driver go on the short par three. A 308-yard drive left him 33 yards to the pin. He pitched past the hole and converted the birdie putt. Skipping past the fourth where McIlroy made a nice par, he came to the fifth tee and unleashed the driver 342 yards. The jaw-dropping power allowed him to hit a nine iron into the fifth green.
CBS Reporter Dottie Pepper joked that she needed earplugs to quiet the early roars for McIlroy.
On the sixth and the seventh holes, McIlroy made clutch pars to keep his lead. His first bogey of the day occurred on the par-five eighth. A drive that found the fairway bunker forced him to lay up. From there, McIlroy sailed long of the green in approach and failed to get up and down.
MORE: Rory McIlroy shines in moving day at the Masters Tournament
At the next tee, McIlroy righted the ship. He made par on No. 9 and moved onto the second nine with a two-stroke lead.
On No. 10, McIlroy executed a precise tee shot and an approach that found the green, albeit far from the hole. From 58 feet, McIlroy three-putted to move backward toward his pursuers. Things settled down for McIlroy after pars on the 11th and 12th.
McIlroy went into attack mode on No. 13. His drive carried 316 yards onto the right side in the rough.
Trevor Immelman noted, “His driver is a weapon! Isn’t it?”
From 236 yards, his iron finished just off the back of the green. A delicate chip followed by a deft putt resulted in a birdie and an extension of his lead.
McIlroy struck on No. 15. He hit his drive 339 yards down the middle of the fairway. With 209 yards to the hole, he hoisted his six iron safely onto the green. He rolled in the eagle putt, and Jim Nantz proclaimed, “Big-time eagle!” This sequence was a statement from the Northern Irishman.
Pars on 16,17, and 18 saw McIlroy finish with a 66 today at 12 under par for the tournament.
In conversation with Amanda Balionis, McIlroy said, “I’m just going to be in my own world for the next 24 hours.”
He’ll hold a two-shot lead going into his pairing with Bryson DeChambeau.
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Bryson battles hard until the end
Before Bryson’s round began, he spent about 15 minutes in the parking lot going over the strategy of each hole with his caddie, Gregory Bodine.
On the very first hole, DeChambeau’s strategy included a 45-foot lengthy, slopey, wonderfully paced birdie putt. On the second, DeChambeau made a 6-foot putt for a birdie to keep pace with the others off to a hot start. The third hole forced DeChambeau into an uneasy position. His drive took off well left, and his approach did not reach the green. After chipping up past the hole, DeChambeau missed his putt, unable to save par. On the fifth, DeChambeau saved momentum. His drive found the middle of the fairway, leaving him 157 yards into the green. Oddly, DeChambeau pulled his approach left into the greenside bunker. From the sand, DeChambeau played an excellent shot, leaving a tap-in par.
Similar to his playing partner, Bryson carded a bogey on the seventh due to a wayward drive, an inaccurate approach and a missed par putt. The energy between DeChambeau and Rose began to feel a bit deflated.
Rebounding, DeChambeau made light work of No. 8. With a par on the ninth, he turned to the second nine one stroke behind McIlroy. A masterful par save took place on the tenth. DeChambeau hit his 323-yard drive to the right side of the fairway. From here, he left his approach short and left, in a dangerously short-sighted position. He bumped his 31-yard wedge shot into the side of the green where the ball trundled out to two feet from the hole.
After a par on 11, DeChambeau found the front bunker on 12. He made a bogey to fall down the leader board. On the thirteenth, DeChambeau wasted a golden opportunity. After a great drive, he had a seven iron into the green. DeChambeau pulled it left into the bunker and settled for par from there.
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A gritty par on the 14th kept DeChambeau churning. Trying to match his competitor McIlroy on No. 15, DeChambeau stripped a drive down the middle of the fairway. With 229 yards to the hole, DeChambeau pulled his seven iron left 30 yards. A chip and a putt resulted in DeChambeau moving into second place. He capitalized on the following hole, No. 16. His tee shot settled close to the hole, and he converted the putt.
Once he collected his ball from the hole on 16, he turned left and stared into the crowd of patrons like a villain facing down his adversary.
On the final hole, DeChambeau connected on a 48-foot birdie putt for one last haymaker of the day. The surrounding crowd erupted into joyous celebrations.
At once, Nantz said, “He’s trying to bring everybody with him for tomorrow.” We will see if Bryson and the patrons come together tomorrow for a victory.
Justin Rose tried his best to keep up with the leaders
Of the three competitors in my trio, Rose lacks the firepower, but he has the most experience at Augusta National and in the majors. The lack of power was evident on the first couple of holes where Rose began par-par-par. On No. 4, Rose slipped. From 34 feet, he three-putted with a couple of strokes brushed too firmly through the break. On the sixth tee, Rose left his shot well short of the back hole location, 53 feet exactly. Once his ball landed, he showed frustration toward his caddie, “Fooch.” His birdie putt raced 12 feet past the hole, but he made the par putt and maintained momentum.
On the seventh, Rose’s second shot found the bunker. His attempt from the sand raced beyond the hole, and he ultimately carded a bogey. He rebounded quickly with a nice birdie on the par-five eighth to stay within three strokes of McIlroy. It was his first birdie of the day. A tantalizing par on the ninth saw Rose make the turn two strokes behind McIlroy. Moving through the tenth with a par, Rose played tough on 11, unfortunately carding a bogey. He drove it right where his ball stopped behind the trees. Rose cut his approach left to right. It finished 20 feet left of the green. He positioned his ball in the back of his stance, hit a low runner, and watched it skirt 15 feet by the hole.
Moving past his par on the twelfth, Rose played No. 13 smartly but missed his makeable birdie attempt. Alongside his playing partner, they did not close in on McIlroy’s lead. On the 14th, Rose displayed his veteran grit. He drained his 21-foot birdie putt to return to 7 under par.
The moment of deflation for Justin Rose came on the 16th green. Unfortunately, he three-putted for bogey from five feet, plummeting down the leader board. Perhaps, this was the moment Rose lost the tournament.
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