Rory McIlroy OUT of The Masters as wait for career grand slam goes on
Rory McIlroy is packing his bags early after missing the cut at The Masters.
Rory McIlroy was many people's tip to win The Masters and complete the career grand slam this week but the World No.2 has missed the cut at Augusta National.
McIlroy got off to a slow start with a level-par 72 and then fared even worse on day two with a dismal 5-over 77.
The dominant driving display and improved short game we all saw at the WGC Match Play last month completely disappeared for the World No.2 on the hallowed Georgia turf this week.
McIlroy bogeyed the 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th and 11th after finding the water with his approach shot.
He bounced back with birdies on the par-5s at 13 and 15 but he would then hand them back with bogeys at 16 and 18.
McIlroy finished on 5-over par, which is 17 shots behind LIV Golf's Brooks Koepka, who played the par-5s in 5-under on Friday to race into the lead on 12-under par.
Rory McIlroy has now missed the cut in 3 of his 15 appearances at #TheMasters
The previous two came in 2010 and 2021. pic.twitter.com/Au7irQ0NFt— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) April 7, 2023
Unfortunately for McIlroy, he won't even get a chance to chase down Koepka as he has missed the cut mark.
It marks the third time in 15 Masters appearances where McIlroy has missed the cut (2010, 2021, 2023).
The afternoon groups are still out on the course but no matter what happens here on in, 5-over par will not be good enough to make the cut.
Tiger Woods is currently on the cut mark as he heads into the back nine.
After the round, Koepka questioned his decision to move to LIV Golf in a huge $125m move.
That's because he's fully fit now having been plagued by knee troubles the past couple of seasons.
Koepka, who became the first player to win twice on LIV Golf last weekend, is going in search of his fifth major title and his first Masters.
Should Koepka slip on the famous Green Jacket on Sunday, he would just need to etch his name on the Claret Jug at The Open in order to complete the career grand slam.
That is what McIlroy was hoping to achieve this week at Augusta National, but the Ulsterman's wait to enter the record books goes on for at least another 12 months.
McIlroy turns 34 on May 4, while Koepka is 33 on May 3.
We threw an interesting career grand slam debate over to our Twitter followers: will Koepka complete the career grand slam before McIlroy?!
Get involved in our latest poll:
Will Brooks Koepka complete the career grand slam before Rory McIlroy?
— GolfMagic (@GolfMagic) April 7, 2023
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Andy first joined the brand on a month's work experience back in April 2011, and he now assumes the Editor role. When Andy joined GolfMagic it was a small site with potential.
