Scott Michaux

2 months ago | irishexaminer.com | Scott Michaux

For players packing up and leaving Augusta National, thoughts for most turn to a signature event this week at Harbour Town or the next major chance in May at Quail Hollow. For some, it’s already time to start looking ahead to the Ryder Cup in September. American Justin Thomas left the Masters with a desultory finish outside the top 30, but he was already talking about Bethpage Black and the U.S. chance to win back the Ryder Cup on home soil.

2 months ago | irishexaminer.com | Scott Michaux

One of the greatest things about the Masters is it’s the only major played at the same venue every year, creating a continuous thread that builds a tapestry the golf world comes to know by heart. That familiarity can also be a curse, as Rory McIlroy can attest. Like so many tragic Augusta figures before him, McIlroy has long stood out like a blister on Augusta’s quilt.

2 months ago | irishexaminer.com | Scott Michaux

Is this it? Is this the day that Rory McIlroy exorcises the two biggest heartbreaks of his long career and assumes his place in the pantheon of golf’s most complete major champions? Dawn broke on a glorious Sunday in Georgia, crisp with anticipation for what could be one of the greatest showdowns in Masters history.

2 months ago | irishexaminer.com | Scott Michaux

The weekend table is set for what has the potential to be a remarkable 89th Masters. Justin Rose clung to the top of the board with a 1-under 71, finishing at 8-under and with the overnight night for the ninth time in his 20 Masters – a record for a player without a victory. But stellar list of chasers is hot on the heels of the 44-year-old Englishman. “I think the leaderboard is stacking up very favorably for what looks like world-class players right up there,” said Rose.

2 months ago | irishexaminer.com | Scott Michaux

The patrons were packed thick around a cluster of marquee groupings playing one after another on Friday morning. In the very middle of the lineup were two men who couldn’t be more different in many ways and yet so very much alike in others. Rory McIlroy and Ludvig Åberg are separated by 10 years on the time line and at least six inches vertically.