"TaylorMade 22."
OK, you think to yourself, that’s exactly what I want to hear from Rory.
No smile, no jokes, none of his patented good-guy routine. He’s become one of your favorite players over the years for this very attitude toward the game. He might be the best player in the world, but he doesn’t treat golf as if it’s an end to a means.
All of which makes him an easy answer to the question: With which player would you most want to play golf and enjoy a round at the 19th hole?
Of course, all of those qualities are great — on every other day of the year. Not today.
No, today you want him to be rude and ruthless, showing a mean streak that he rarely owns. Hearing those words — “TaylorMade 22” for his brand of ball and the number he always uses – proves that the good-guy routine won’t be in effect for today.
Those words also leave you kicking yourself.
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There are no phones allowed inside the gates of Augusta National. You’d thought +180 was an intriguing live outright number for Rory entering the day, considering he was just two strokes off the lead, but in your rush to get to the course, you never pulled the trigger.
You’re still thinking about that missed opportunity as McIlroy bashes a driver down the middle of the fairway, and again when he stuffs his approach to four feet, and yet again when he calmly sinks his birdie putt to immediately move to within one stroke of the lead.
While all eyes are on Rory, you’ve also been watching Koepka — and for good reason.
Not one to lack for excitement, he’s providing plenty of it on the first hole. So, what does he do?
- Matches the birdie from McIlroy to keep pace.
- Fails to get up and down from the greenside bunker and makes bogey.
