‘I’ve been on this course so much’: Rory McIlroy credits scouting trips for stellar Masters showing
Rory McIlroy has a six-shot lead entering Saturday’s third round of the Masters. Photograph: Mike Blake/Reuters Rory McIlroy has explained how scouting trips to Augusta National in the weeks leading up to the Masters have played a significant role in his domination of staging of the major. McIlroy’s second round of 65 – which included six birdies in the closing seven holes – set a Masters record, with the defending champion the first man to lead the tournament by six at the halfway point.
Entering the Masters, it was assumed McIlroy’s three-week break from PGA Tour business was to conserve energy. Instead, he made smart use of his private jet as he looks to become just the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters titles. Related: Rory McIlroy surges into six-shot Masters lead with stunning second-round flourish “I honestly just don’t like the three tournaments leading up to this event,” said McIlroy with only half a smile.
“I’d rather come up here. I did a couple of days where I dropped [daughter] Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with Poppy and [wife] Erica. I did a couple of day trips like that where I felt it was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio.
It wasn’t really about conserving energy, but just I felt the more time I could spend up here, the better. “I’ve been on this golf course so much the last three weeks. That has been a combination of practice and chipping and putting around greens, and then just playing one ball and shooting scores and ending up in weird places that you maybe never find yourself and just trying to figure it out.
I think just spending so much time up here has been a big part of it. ” McIlroy insisted the margin of his advantage will not play a big part in his psychology from round three. He will have Sam Burns for company on Saturday with Patrick Reed and Justin Rose in the penultimate group.