Rory McIlroy catches fire, shoots 66 to get back into contention at the Masters

Rory McIlroy’s fragile mental state got a big boost when he left Augusta National on Thursday night, shortly after a pair of late double bogeys had cast a pall on an otherwise brilliant round, in time to put his 4-year-old daughter, Poppy, to bed.

It got another when he arrived on Friday and spoke with famed sports psychologist Bob Rotella.

His advice to McIlroy: Be patient.

The 35-year-old Northern Irishman did exactly that during his second round of the Masters, methodically touring the first nine before catching fire on the second. He made three birdies and an eagle down the stretch, resulting in a 6-under 66 that put him right back in contention as McIlroy tries to chase down the only leg missing from the career Grand Slam.

“I think overall just proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night,” said McIlroy, who after so many close calls seems to be the sentimental favorite — if not the outright one — to finally win a green jacket.

“I just had to remind myself that I played really good golf yesterday, and you know, I wasn’t going to let, you know, two bad holes sort of dictate the narrative for the rest of the week. But yeah, just ultimately proud of how I got back into it today.”

McIlroy’s run began at the 10th, when he stuck his approach within 2 feet. It continued at the next, when a 351-yard drive set up another good approach that McIlroy stuck to 5 feet for another birdie. On the par-3 12th, he was fortunate to see his tee shot bounce out of the bushes left of the green, leaving him with an up-and-down opportunity to save par.

Then came the reachable par-5 13th, where McIlroy’s drive found the pine straw right of the fairway.

He had a good lie and nothing in his way, though, and about 190 yards to the front of the green. McIlroy went back and forth between his 4-iron and 5-iron, ultimately settled on the 4, and then thought for one frightful moment that a slight mishit might not have enough oomph to carry it past the water fronting the green.

“I was like: ‘You idiot. What did you do?’” McIlroy said. “It’s a pin that even if you do hit it into the hazard, it’s a pretty — not a routine up-and-down, but a little easier than, say, where the pin was yesterday in that front section.

“Yeah,” McIlroy said, “I rode my luck a little bit with that second shot, but was nice to take advantage of it.”

McIlroy added another birdie at the par-5 15th, where his chip from behind the green Thursday took a big hop, picked up speed and rolled all the way into the water. It was the first of his two double bogeys down the stretch, and to come back and birdie the same hole less than 24 hours later underscored the way McIlroy was able to bounce back Friday.

“He just kind of had it going. He didn’t make many mistakes,” said Akshay Bhatia, who played in the same group. “He drove it on a rope the first two days when I played with him. It’s really cool to see. He’s the best driver in our game.”

It was the sixth time that McIlroy shot 66 or better at the Masters, moving into a tie with Jack Nicklaus and Jordan Spieth for the second most in tournament history. Tiger Woods has eight such rounds — and five green jackets.

Perhaps by the end of the weekend, McIlroy will have one, too.

Justin Rose continued to lead the way, following his opening 65 with a 1-under 71 to reach 8 under. Bryson DeChambeau was one shot back after his 68 on Friday. Then came McIlroy, right behind them on a leaderboard filled with big names.

He was quick to caution that leading on Friday is not the same as leading on Sunday. McIlroy has been in that position, too, and failed to finish the job. But he gave himself a chance with a stellar second round, and that was all he really wanted.

“Again, golf tournaments are so long, and there’s so much that can happen, even in the next 36 holes,” McIlroy said. “My mindset was: ‘I shot even par yesterday. I probably need to get to somewhere between 12- and 15-under to win this tournament.’

“You know, there was plenty of time to do that. So yeah, again, just about staying patient.”

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