The dream is gone; the man is grown. And Rory McIlroy is comfortably numb. The four-time Major winner hoped to better his five-over 77 from Friday. He did. But only so far as to match the opening round 71 at the Masters. The Northern Irish pro, however, is not too dejected. Rather, he has lots of positives to carry forward to his next pitstop.

The leaderboard looks packed at the moment. Max Homa, Scottie Scheffler, Collin Morikawa, Bryson DeChambeau, Ludvig Aberg, Nicolai Hojgaard; usual suspects and surprise additions. McIlroy, though, sits away from the bustling top. Ten shots separate him from where he is and where he wants to be. What’s left there for McIlroy? Not much, but enough for the Ulsterman to unleash his full force on Sunday. 

A stoical McIlroy only looks forward 

Asked what he would be playing for in the final round, McIlroy said, “Just go out and finish on a positive note. Shoot a good round of golf and move on to Hilton Head next week in a good frame of mind, I guess.” Now, you also have to consider that, since coming off a fiery start in Dubai, Rory McIlroy had to wait until last week to see his name in the top ten. 

His iron game left him scrambling for an answer. It was as if he had two different swings. In search of wisdom, Ulsterman traveled to Vegas, to Butch Harmon’s abode. The four-hour session was more about instilling confidence, along with some technical tidbits, that McIlroy tested at the par 72, 7555 Georgia pitch. 

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He will carry the results to Harbor Town Golf Links next week. That will be McIlroy’s third consecutive outing. The four-time Major wasn’t a confirmed spot for the $20 million purse signature event. It was expected that the 34-year-old might opt for a break after the first major. But Rory McIlroy has different ideas. “I think I’m like 50th in the FedExCup. I need to get all the events under my belt as fast as I can,” the Ulsterman told the waiting press.

McIlroy qualified for the field as one of the top 50 on last year’s FedEx Cup points list. The World No. 2 has played the event only twice before. First in 2009, netting a T58, and last in 2020, settling for a T41. Only twice out of his eight rounds here has McIlroy broken 70. Strangely enough, McIlroy skipped RBC Heritage last year after missing the cut at the Masters, incurring a $3 million fine. This time, though, he has plenty to look forward to. 

Masters was a test of patience for Rory McIlroy

Except for SG: Off the Tee, where he is the fourth best in the Tour, McIlroy has been outside the top 15 in the Masters field in strokes gained. Friday was the worst. The Ulsterman reached only six greens in regulation out of 18. McIlroy admits Augusta National tested his patience “a lot.” Today as well, just like it did yesterday. More so because of the gutsy wind that jeopardized his plans several times. A stoical McIlroy said, “You’ve got to try to have as much acceptance as possible and try to keep hitting good shots and move on.”

He was pretty fast to move on. Rory McIlroy was on the practicing greens late on Friday. “I just wanted to go and try and find some rhythm last night,” the 24-time PGA Tour winner explained. He guessed that his strokes gained numbers were “pretty good” today. They were. The Ulsterman is 3rd in SG: Tee to Green, 4th in SG: Off the Tee, and 8th in SG: Around the Green.

Solid numbers for a player who is outside the top ten in all but one of these areas on the PGA Tour. McIlroy hopes to take these positive notes to South Carolina. The Green Jacket dream, though, has to wait. At least a year.