Rory McIlroy wasted no time leaving Augusta National Golf Club on Thursday afternoon. After a tough finish to his otherwise impressive opening round at the Masters, he was eager to get out of there. Following a pair of double bogeys in his final four holes, McIlroy bypassed reporters and headed home to spend time with his 4-year-old daughter, Poppy.
“Once I left the property last night, I just tried to leave what had happened here,” McIlroy said on Friday. “I rushed out of here to go home to see Poppy before she went to bed. So that was nice to get to see her before she went to sleep. … I feel like I just did a good job of resetting.”
His strategy paid off as McIlroy bounced back on Friday, shooting a bogey-free 68 to put him just two shots behind leader Justin Rose at the halfway mark of the tournament. After a solid front nine, McIlroy dominated Amen Corner with two consecutive birdies and an impressive eagle at the par-5 13th.
Despite his initial panic during the shot, McIlroy capitalized on the opportunity and made one more birdie on the back nine. Reflecting on his performance, McIlroy acknowledged the challenges of Augusta National but remained focused on each shot.
With plenty of big names in contention, including Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler, McIlroy knows he still has a long way to go to secure his first green jacket and end his major championship drought.
“I just backed up the belief that I have in myself, and the belief that I’m as resilient as anyone else out there,” McIlroy said. “Again, like I’ve been really proud of how resilient I’ve been the whole way through my career, and I think today was just another example of that.”
As McIlroy faces the challenges ahead, he remains confident in his abilities to compete at the highest level.