Anyone who watched Rory McIlroy during the third round would agree it was a phenomenal performance. He opened with a birdie on Tea Olive, but it was the eagle on Pink Dogwood that truly electrified the crowd at Augusta National. As if that wasn’t enough, the Irishman added another eagle on the 15th and capped off his round with an impressive 66. His two eagles helped him tie the record of most eagles in a single round in major history. Although the roars echoed across the greens, Jason Day believes they were nothing compared to the cheers Tiger Woods used to receive.

After the second round, Jason Day was asked about his thoughts on the cheers and roars from fans and whether he believes it was because of the Irishman’s performance. Day immediately denied the claim and said, “No. I mean, not really.” He also went on to give a 6-word reality check and added, “It wasn’t a Tiger Woods cheer.” The golfer later explained the whole incident and his experience of witnessing the hype around Tiger Woods.

“I mean, I remember just standing on 7, and Tiger holed a putt on 9 from four feet for par, and you would have thought he holed it from the fairway. It was unbelievable. I was standing there like, what happened?” Jason Day noted. At the 2019 Masters, when Woods was vying for his 15th major after 13 years of drought, the crowd was something else. Especially on the final hole, Holly, where he secured the green jacket with a putt, the cheers and applause were so thunderous that the commentators could barely be heard for a moment.

Cheers for Woods were beyond what one could imagine. In 2010, when Woods played the Masters, he was unsure. unsure of how fans would react to her comeback on the greens after the publicised divorce but to his surprise, fans just wanted him to make them “proud.” Galleries that were one or two deep 20 minutes earlier swelled to mob scenes when Woods and his group arrived that year. Fans applauded his game, and even Woods was shocked.  “It was unbelievable,” Woods said. “I mean, all day. I haven’t heard them cheer this loud in all my years here.” Fans seated behind the 12th tee even gave him a standing ovation as he and playing partner Matt Kuchar approached the hole.

However, at Augusta National, the Irishman is the hot topic right now. For all the right reasons. It’s been more than a decade since Rory McIlroy won his last major at the 2014 PGA Championship. With that, the golfer currently has four major titles and is one green jacket away from completing his career grand slam. Last year at the US Open, he was incredibly close to winning his fifth major title. However, a bogey at 18th snatched away the victory from him and gave it to Bryson DeChambeau.

Moving to the final round, the cheers might increase even more, and Day agrees with that. To this he added, “There are definitely cheers — obviously there’s going to be a lot of people cheering for him tomorrow just because he can be one of the only few to have the Grand Slam, and that’s something he’s been chasing — I think this is his 11th time trying to do that and accomplish that.”  In his last four Augusta appearances, the Irishman has missed two cuts, a T2 finish in 2022, and a T22 place in 2024.

Speaking of the US Open, last year, the excited crowd at Pinehurst No. 2 filled the greens with “USA” chants to support Bryson DeChambeau. But this time, the audience seems to be more inclined towards the Irishman. Sometimes, the cheers and roars make it hard to focus on the game. How does McIlroy plan on tackling that?

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Rory McIlroy will keep his “head down” 

As per Brandel Chamblee, the 4x major champion crumbles in the heat of the battle. So, with the pressure of delivering green jacket-worthy performance while all the eyes are on you, it’s going to be hard for Rory McIlroy to keep his focus. To tackle this, he recently shared his plan for the final day.

“Tomorrow in that final group is going to be — it’s going to be a little rowdy and a little loud. I’m just going to have to settle in and really try to keep myself in my own little bubble and keep my head down and, you know, sort of approach tomorrow with the same attitude that I have tried to approach the last three days with,” he said.

McIlroy is indeed glad to have supporters by his side and says, “Yeah, look, it’s amazing to have the support. You know, these Patrons and these galleries are a pleasure to play in front of, each and every year we come back.” At the same time, he wants to stay grounded and not let the cheers and praise distract him from his game.

Do you think Rory McIlroy can win the masters with this attitude? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!