Typical McIlroy gamble keeps Masters dream alive

Tormented on Thursday after a rotten three-hole spell, a radiant Rory McIlroy produced a stunning six-under par second round of 66 to reignite hopes of a Masters title.

- JACK RATHBORN

Those two double-bogeys on 15 and 17 frittered away his tidy work in Round 1 and a sense of deja vu left his legion of fans cursing. The Northern Irishman slipped away from the property without even a word for the media, evidently livid after scuppering such a glorious opportunity to stake a claim for that elusive green jacket.

Seven shots behind Justin Rose was a concern, but perhaps four behind the champion, Scottie Scheffler, riled him further. After all, there’s only so much you can do when chasing the American if he continues to plot his way around this course with such ease.

Fireworks were required on Friday, then, yet beyond chopping down the par-five second for birdie, McIlroy displayed the patience and mental fortitude that evaded him on that costly opening back nine, making seven consecutive pars.

“You have to focus on executing the best shots you can,” Bryson DeChambeau, one shot better off than McIlroy at -7, said, echoing the unseen battle from within around this majestic yet torturous corner of Georgia. “It’s cliched, but you have to stay incredibly patient, hit it in the middle of the greens.”