'Rory Roars' Fill Augusta National as Rory McIlroy Delights Everyone — and Himself

Only the world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was better this week at the Masters than the 32-year-old Ulsterman, who put on a memorable Sunday show.

Author:
Ross Dellenger
Updated:
Apr 11, 2022
Original:
Apr 10, 2022

AUGUSTA, Ga. – If Kendall Jennings was on an Australian football field, as she often is, in her jersey, her hair braided and her cleats on, maybe she’d have a piece of golf history. Maybe she would have shoved aside grown men (she’s more than capable) to corral the golf ball that Rory McIlroy tossed into the crowd.

Unfortunately, on this Sunday afternoon at the Masters, Jennings donned her Sunday best — a colorful dress, her hair falling past her shoulders as she sat, prim and proper, on the 18th green of one of the fanciest golf courses in the world.

“I’m trying to be civilized,” the Aussie football player said playfully.

Instead, after McIlroy’s ball ricocheted off Jennings’ wounded hand — she jammed her finger in the scrum — a man three rows in front of her snatched the ball and held it up toward the heavens.

Indeed, it was quite heavenly — the ball in which the Irishman knocked around Augusta National for an unblemished 8-under-par final-round 64. Few have shot such a round here — 12 others to be exact. He’s only the eighth player to shoot a 64 in the final round, tying the course record for a Day 4 score (Nick Price and Greg Norman hold the tournament record with 63s).

The Tiger Roars, so plentiful here earlier this week, were replaced Sunday by Rory Roars. A large group of patrons in tow, he paraded around the golf course in near perfect conditions (70 and sunny with a slight breeze), carving through Augusta in a remarkable display of big hitting off the tee and smooth touch around the greens.

The 32-year-old combined six birdies with an eagle on the par-5 13th, when he nestled a 200-yard second shot to 10 feet and made the putt. He led the field in driving distance this week (318.5 yards) and needed just 22 putts while holing three shots from off the green on Sunday: a putt from the fringe on 7, a chip from edge on 10 and a snaking dribbler from the sand on the 18th.

Entering the day 10 strokes behind eventual champion and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy finished runner-up, three shots behind Scheffler and leaving this place — the only major he’s never won — feeling better than ever about his game, this course and his future chances here.

“I don’t think I’ve ever walked away from this tournament as happy as I am today,” he said. “The only person that beat me this week is the guy who is the best golfer in the world.”

The 64 was all part of his pre-round plan. For a chance to catch Scheffler, McIlroy entered the day believing he needed to shoot 63. He purposely took a more aggressive approach Sunday firing at pins he’d never normally test.

“I thought to myself, ‘What the hell? Let’s give it a go here,’” McIlroy said.

His holeout from the sand on 18 elicited a thunderous roar and pulled him within three shots of Scheffler. McIlroy was close enough that Masters officials delayed his interview with reporters until the completion of the tournament. Scheffler had five holes to play. You just never know, right?

After all, McIlroy himself knows about having a Sunday lead at this place. In 2011, he entered the final round with a four-shot lead before blowing it with an 80.

“I know how it feels and what can happen,” he said. “I wanted to put a little bit of pressure on.”

Scheffler plowed forward, though. He birdied Nos. 14 and 15 to coast to the victory, solidifying another Augusta Almost for McIlroy and leaving him one major shy of the career Grand Slam (he’s got a British Open, two PGAs and the U.S. Open).

Despite that, he’s played so well here. This is his third top-5 finish in the last six Masters. It’s his seventh top-10 here since 2014. He feels great about his chances at this place. He feels wonderful about his current swing (he’s not obsessively analyzing it on video like he used to, he said).

So what’s missing? Stringing four strong rounds together. He seems to start slow here and then sizzle on Sunday. His final-round scoring average here since 2013 is 68.7. McIlroy has shot seven rounds in the 60s in his last nine final rounds at Augusta. He’s shot a combined five rounds in the 60s in Days 1-3.

Maybe he should take that more aggressive approach earlier in the week. That’s easier said than done, he says. You don’t want to shoot yourself out of the tournament. He’s had many of those 60-something Sundays while trailing big, just like this weekend.

By then, the pressure’s off.

“I’ll keep coming back year after year before I get the hang of this thing and finally get one,” he said. “I’ve known that I have the game to win at this place. It’s just a matter of having that game for four days in a row and not shooting yourself in the foot.”

The foot-shooting happened Friday this week in a two-hole span, he says. He double bogeyed the par-4 11th after bogeying the par-4 10th — a pair of dread what ifs in a tournament he lost by three.

Sunday’s round could have been better too. He missed the fairway at No. 14 costing himself a chance to attack the pin placement. At the par-5 15th, another missed tee shot meant a layup. On the par-3 16th, he just missed a 22-footer for birdie on the high side.

But there’s not much to quibble about with this round — one of the best ever on this golf course. It was the best round of the week by three shots, and it was punctuated with a raucous exclamation point — an 18-yard shot out of the bunker guarding the 18th green’s right side. The ball came splashing out of the sand, landed softly on the high side and snaked down into the cup.

McIlroy tossed his club in excitement, and the crowd roared. Hats were thrown. Beer was spilled.

The Irishman leaned down, plucked the golf ball from the cup, gave it a smacker of a kiss and then launched it into the crowd.

There stood Jennings, who plays Aussie football for the DC Eagles Football Club in Washington. She lunged forward, the ball ricocheted off her hands, found the turf and then was scooped up by a man who declined to reveal his name or be the subject of an interview.

And there was Jennings, having left a piece of Masters history quite literally slip through her fingers.

“Hey!” she barked. “I’m in a dress!”

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