Rory McIlroy treads water trying to keep his Masters dream alive

“I feel like I’m right there,” said Rory McIlroy on Friday night, as he weighed his chances after back‑to‑back rounds of 73 on Thursday and Friday. “You go out tomorrow and you play a decent front nine, and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things.” Seventeen hours later, he stepped out on to the 1st tee and, thwack, dumped his opening drive right into a fairway bunker, then, crack, whacked his second shot into the lip where it rebounded and fell back down by his feet. His third made it on to the green, where he took two putts from 20ft. So McIlroy started his charge to the top by dropping a shot.

From there, it was off to long downhill dog-leg 2nd, which has been the easiest hole on the course this week. The field have made more than a hundred birdies there. Just the place to get that run up the leaderboard going, then. This time there was a long, loud cry of “Right!” as McIlroy’s drive whizzed overhead into the gallery, after that he fizzed his second into the front bunker, and scrambled his way out in even par. On to the stiff uphill 3rd then, a trickier proposition this, but McIlroy earned a birdie chance with a brilliant approach that landed 7ft from the pin. Then he missed the putt. Oh, Rory.

Who ever hoped harder than a McIlroy fan in Masters week? And who ever suffered more for their faith? After 14 years of watching this sort of carry on, a lot of the locals have given up backing him to win. He still draws a large gallery, and has a lot of support, but it feels tinged with sympathy. A lot of them moved on from anticipation through frustration to lower expectations. And then he goes and makes a putt like the one he rolled in from 37ft for a birdie on the 4th, and you are reminded why Gary Player said