For a small man, Rory McIlroy casts a protracted shadow. On Saturday, it lined each single one of many 52 different males within the subject on the Masters, in order that even the world’s No 1 golfer, Scottie Scheffler, discovered himself enjoying within the shade. Scheffler is a well-liked golfer, and a selected favorite with the followers round right here after successful the event twice up to now three years, however as McIlroy’s spherical went on, Scheffler’s gallery began to skinny faster than Jordan Spieth’s hair. By the point he made the flip, you may just about take your choose of the positions round whichever inexperienced he was on. The centre of gravity was with McIlroy, again on the earlier inexperienced.
Scheffler was a frontrunner throughout each of these victories, he led the sector from the second spherical proper by way of to the end each occasions. Which signifies that this 12 months he’s within the unfamiliar place of making an attempt to scrap his means up previous McIlroy, and everybody else in his means, into first place. He’s the tortoise chasing the hare. He scored an even-par 72, which left him 5 below par, and effectively off McIlroy’s lead.
Chasing doesn’t a lot swimsuit Scheffler. Particularly this 12 months, when his finely tuned sport appears just a bit out of sync, like a clock that’s slipped a couple of seconds off. He began the day as considered one of a gaggle of 4 gamers tied on 5 below, three photographs behind Justin Rose’s lead, however discovered himself having to work onerous simply to hold on to what he had. Scheffler performed an excellent spherical of unhealthy golf, during which he made lots of errors and managed to scramble again from them over and once more. He ended up in a bunker on the 2nd, the 4th, the fifth and the seventh, and someway he nonetheless managed to return by way of the primary 9 in degree par.
Another day, it might have been adequate, however not when McIlroy was enjoying the best way he was simply a few teams again down the course. Scheffler knew it too. You may at all times hear the roars at Augusta Nationwide, however one of many massive variations this 12 months is that the hurricane which blew by way of final September has eliminated so many bushes you may see lots of what’s occurring round you too. In order Scheffler sweated his means across the opening holes, par, birdie, par, par, par, he was pursued by the sight, and sound, of McIlroy over his shoulder, tearing his means by way of that exact same stretch in birdie, eagle, birdie, par, birdie.
And, up on the large white scoreboards across the course, the large pink numbers stored operating up alongside McIlroy’s title, seven below par, then 9, then 10, then 11.
Scheffler’s steady-as-she-goes golf is all effectively and good when his nearest opponents are making errors, however much less efficient when they’re operating up the type of low scores that they managed on Saturday. And it began to point out.
On the fifth, Scheffler snapped. He hit his drive within the one place he wished to keep away from, in the direction of the pair of massive bunkers down the left facet of the golf green. “Dang it Scotty!” Scheffler shouted as he tossed his tee down on the bottom. “What the heck was that?” Which is a blue streak by his requirements. He bought fortunate that point, his ball someway fetched up on the isthmus between the 2 sand traps, however he didn’t on the seventh, the place he chopped his second out of the tough into the large again bunker, a shot that left him doubled over in frustration. He dropped one shot there and one other on the twelfth, the place he took two putts after chipping on to the inexperienced.
However he picked up a second birdie at 15, after chipping to 6 ft, however he missed the possibility to attain a 3rd on 18. Which left him proper again the place he started, on 5 below, solely so much additional again from the lead than he had been at the start of the day.
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Scheffler’s accomplice, Tyrrell Hatton, wasn’t doing any higher. They have been an odd pair, the 2 of them, little and enormous, kitted out in almost equivalent outfits. Hatton, squat, barrel-chested and with a livid mood, Scheffler straight-laced and square-shouldered as a tailor’s dummy.
Hatton did handle to hit his tee shot flush into the cup on the par-three sixth. Sadly for him, it was a beer cup that had been tucked below somebody’s seat within the entrance row of the gallery. Hatton noticed the humorous facet of that, however not the bogeys he made on the 1st, twelfth, sixteenth and 18th. On the twelfth Hatton tossed his ball straight into the water after tapping it in. Hatton at all times has the air of a time-bomb that’s bought three seconds left on the clock. He completed three over for the day, and so proper out of it, which is a reminder of simply how incorrect issues can go at Augusta, and the way effectively Scheffler had accomplished to cease his personal spherical getting away from him.
Understanding Hatton, he’ll in all probability have had a few selection phrases to say about all of it. “Dang” and “Heck”, possibly.