Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Rory McIlroy will be worthy of consideration equal to iconic golfers Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus should he win the Masters to complete a career Grand Slam, says rival Jason Day. World number two McIlroy of Northern Ireland, a four-time major champion, fired a second consecutive six-under par 66 on Saturday to grab a two-stroke lead entering Sunday’s final round at Augusta National. McIlroy can win his first major title since 2014 and join a career Slam list that includes Nicklaus, Woods, Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, and Gary Player.
Asked if McIlroy would join Woods and Nicklaus on a “Mount Rushmore” of modern golf, Australia’s Day — seven shots adrift after a 71 — said, “Yes, if he goes ahead and wins it.” He’s the best player of our generation for sure,” Day said. “He just makes things look so easy.” McIlroy has won 28 US PGA Tour titles, including the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Players Championship in the past two months. “He’s making a boat load of birdies. He’s coming off a lot of confidence winning the Players,” Day said. “He seems like he’s very focused and level-headed right now and he’s going to be a very difficult person to beat tomorrow, just the way that he’s looking off the golf course before the round. Very confident, very balanced in himself.”
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While McIlroy has failed the past 10 years to complete the Slam by winning a green jacket, Day sees a difference in how he meets the challenge now. “He seemed very focused, determined to obviously accomplish that,” Day said. “I know it’s in the back of his mind, but I think he’s running off so much confidence and has so much belief in his game that it’s almost like he knows it’s going to happen, kind of thing. And when you’re playing like that, it’s very dangerous.”
Canada’s Corey Conners, who stands third on 208 after a 70 on Saturday, played alongside McIlroy in round three and watched McIlroy go four-under in the first three holes. “It was a pretty amazing start Rory had,” Conners said. “Rory is a world-class player and a lot of people cheering him on. His length is pretty impressive. His firepower and ability to kind of hit the right shot at the right time, kind of get himself on a run, was impressive. He’ll definitely be tough to try and hunt down.”
Day marveled also, noting McIlroy stumbled with bogeys at the eighth and 10th only to go birdie-eagle at the par-five 13th and 15th holes. “But he’s explosive enough to be able to do that,” Day said. “There’s not many guys on this planet that are able to do something like that. That’s what’s impressive about him.”
– Lowry hunts title too –
Ireland’s Shane Lowry, a long-time pal of McIlroy, wasn’t in the mood to hand out praise after closing with back-to-back bogeys to shoot 72 and fall seven back. “Rory obviously was playing good,” Lowry said. “The roars, you had to stand off it a little bit, wait for him to hit the shots.” But Lowry was frustrated quickly about questions regarding McIlroy. “I’m not going to stand here and talk about Rory for 10 minutes. I’m trying to win the tournament as well,” Lowry told reporters. “I know that’s what y’all want me to talk about, but I’ve just had a (bad) finish, I’ve got a chance to win the Masters tomorrow, and I’m going to go hit some balls.”
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