Rory McIlroy’s start yesterday wasn’t just electric, it was historic. His birdie-eagle-birdie start was just the fourth at the Masters over the last 40 years (a span totaling nearly 25,000 tournament rounds). He became the first player in Masters history to start a round with five consecutive threes on the card, then made another three at the sixth hole for good measure.
After bogeys at eight and 10, Rory rebounded down the stretch. His three at 15 gave him the second round of his major championship career with multiple eagles — the other coming in the third round of his Open Championship win in 2014.
McIlroy was phenomenal through the bag, ranking in the top five in the field Saturday in strokes gained off the tee, approach and around the green. His 25 putts Saturday were not just his lowest total this week but also tied for fewest hit by anyone in the field.
Saturday was the seventh round of 66 or better in McIlroy’s Masters career, one shy of Tiger Woods for most all time. Across all majors, it was his 22nd career round of 66 or lower, also trailing only Woods (28) for most since the inception of the Masters 91 years ago.