McIlroy seizes control of Masters with brave shots

It was the tee shot heard around the world.

- HARRY LATHAM-COYLE

Stood on the first tee at Augusta National, the open and inviting fairway sprawling in front of him, Rory McIlroy assessed a situation he has seen so many times before. Fifty-one times before at a major the Northern Irishman has made the weekend, so often in contention as the day begins; so often slipping away at some point over the final 36 holes. In this last decade, each despair has brought fresh doubts; every near miss stretching the scarring further across the greatest golfing talent of his generation.

From etiquette to equipment, caddie to coach, just about every aspect of McIlroy’s approach has been questioned in the 11-year drought – the curiosity that is a record-threatening career that as yet feels unfulfilled requiring deep examination. In Masters week, the scrutiny only heightens; while the wardrobe and career grand slam remain incomplete, and until the green jacket is worn, so it will remain.

One would therefore have forgiven McIlroy for a degree of caution as he drew driver from bag at the first. One cannot win the Masters on a Saturday but one can certainly lose it – as McIlroy knows. A fabulous 66 on Friday had seen him surge back into contention but it was a brilliant round that revealed vulnerabilities – a few fairways missed, not all greens found in regulation. Surely this was a time to play the percentages and play it safe; solid, rather than spectacular, to ease into the round.