Rory McIlroy climbed to the 10th most sensible in the Masters standings with 8 under par after his third circular on Saturday.
The Irishman shot a 67 to tie for ninth with C. T. Pan and Jon Rahm when he entered the clubhouse shortly after 3pm. Y. McIlroy made just one shot higher than the 66 he threw on Friday, but an unequivocal improvement from the 75 he threw on his first round Thursday.
After an opening of 75, @McIlroyRory is back in the mix. https:/t. co/8Xm9nqR73A
If McIlroy can stay in the most sensible 10 before the end of the third circular, it’s still the biggest question. At the end of McIlroy’s circular, Dustin Johnson (14 bass) had more advantage of two punches over Justin Thomas in 11 holes.
Johnson, Thomas, Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith entered the day in a four-for-four draw for first place.
Saturday’s ranking
Ratings for McIlroy’s arrival
1. Dustin Johnson (-14)
2. Justin Thomas (-12)
T3. Abraham Ancer (-11)
T3. Sungjae Im (-11)
5. Dylan Frittelli (-10)
T6. Sébastien Muñoz (-9)
T6. Patrick Reed (-9)
T6. Cameron Smith (-9)
T9. Rory McIlroy (-8)
T9. Connecticut. Bread (-8)
T9. Jon Rahm (-8)
Full rating Masters. com.
McIlroy reversed his tournament after shooting 3 at a time in his first round. Over the next 30 holes, McIlroy had 11 under par and entered the contest.
Rory leaves the bunker at 12th #themasters https://t. co/GKSyiyJ16I
On Saturday he is critical to the Northern Ireland home, as he finished the first nine with 3 birdies and no bogeys, then started back nine with two more birdies to move to 8 bass. With a wonderful chance to win even more floor in par five, 13th. In the hole, McIlroy made his first mistake of the day by throwing his exit shot at the very tricky and his moment fired a few feet from the green, to see him roll back and into the water. Then he missed his birdie and putts, giving him the first ghost on his score card all day.
The pair five that’s still at No. 15 wouldn’t get much better. McIlroy left his moment shot far below the green, dropping him into the water, but he would still save the pair.
He could have been a great eldes killer for McIlroy, on the other hand, he responded with a birdie in par 3 No. 16 to return to 8 low.
Seriously, Rory McIlroy’s most sensible 10 backdoor to Augusta may be one of the safest bets in the game https://t. co/D66YgUhBY0
Overall, the 31-year-old hit 11 vegetables in regular time and needed more than two putts to escape only once. More importantly, the short game has more strength for McIlroy over the course of the week, after averaging 1. 67 putts consistent with Hollow in his first round, McIlroy dropped his average to 1. 56 on Friday before achieving 1. 33 putts consistent with hollow on Saturday.
That puts him in the most sensible way before Sunday’s last circular, as he seeks to finish fourth or more for the first time in Augusta since 2015.
After the way he played on Saturday, a green jacket is also out of the question.
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