New York Post, Sunday, November 15, 2020nypost.comMAN OF THE HOUR: Dustin Johnson, teeing off
on the 11th hole Saturday, holds a commanding four-
shot lead entering the final round of the Masters at
Augusta National, where Johnson’s fiancée, Paulina
Gretzky (inset), had the best seat in the house to
watch him putt without spectators. EPA; Reuters
A
UGUSTA, Ga. — It was a
pairing that perfectly em-
bodies the Masters and
its enduring traditions.
Rory McIlroy and Bernhard
Langer played the third round
together Saturday at Augusta
National, a Masters green
jacket in the balance and both
on the cusp of contention.
McIlroy is a 31-year-old in
his prime, Langer a 63-year-old
who on Saturday became the
oldest player ever to make the
cut at the Masters.
McIlroy has what Langer
wishes he still had: length.
But, of much more impor-
tance, Langer has what McIl-
roy wants more than anything
in his professional life: a green
jacket.
Langer won the Masters in
1985 and 1993. He has a spot of
his own in the Champions
Locker Room, where his green
jacket hangs. And he
has an invite to the tour-
nament every year for
the rest of his life, a
place-setting at the an-
nual Champions Dinner.
McIlroy, who’s already
won the U.S. Open
(twice), a PGA Champi-
onship and a British
Open, would take one
green jacket. If — some
believe when — McIlroy
wins one, he would join
five legends of the sport
as the only men ever to
complete a career Grand
Slam: Jack Nicklaus, Ti-
ger Woods, Gary Player,
Ben Hogan and Gene Sar-
azen.
McIlroy, on a brilliant
sunny Saturday, shook off
his dodgy opening-round
75 Thursday and followed
it with a second-round 66
and a 5-under 67 in the
third round to claw back
to 8-under for the tourna-
ment.
Unfortunately for the af-
fable Northern Irishman
who recently became a fa-
ther for the first time, that
opening round stumble
left him with too steep a
hill to climb. He’s too far
back from the lead held by
Dustin Johnson, who on
Saturday looked like he
was getting ready to run
away and hide, shooting a
7-under 65 and leading at
16-under.
“I have zero thoughts
about winning this golf
tournament right now,’’ McIl-
roy said. “I think I’ve left my-
self too far back after the bad
first day, but I’ll go and give it a
good effort [Sunday] and see
where that leaves me.’’
He conceded that, at tourna-
ment’s end, he’ll “look back at
[the first round] and rue some
of the shots that I hit and someof the thought processes I had
and just try to learn from it
and be better the next time.’’
His past two rounds have
shown McIlroy what was pos-
sible this week, what he left on
the table.
“Yeah, 11-under for the last
two days, I think that sort of
speaks for itself,’’ he said. “The
good golf was in there, I just
didn’t allow myself to play that
way on the first 18 holes. This
course can do that. This
course can make you a little bit
careful and a little bit tentative
at times.
“I’ve al-
ways said I
play my
best golf
when I’m
trusting
and freer,
and I’ve
been a lot
freer over the last 36 holes.’’
Langer plays free, because he
has zero to lose. He’s already
got his two Masters victories
and all the spoils that come
with it. This week is an annual
treat for him.
“I hope to make the cut [ev-
ery year],’’ he said. “But it’s
getting longer and longer, es-
pecially this year. I don’t think
the course has ever played this
long. I don’t remember hitting
3-woods into so many par 4s ...
and hybrids. I mean, on 17, I hit
a beautiful drive and I hit 2 hy-
brid. Rory hit driver and pitch-
ing wedge, I think. That’s what
I’m competing against.
Langer estimated McIlroy’s tee
shots were “some 40, sometimes
80 or 100’’ yards beyond his.When those numbers were
relayed to McIlroy, he joked,
“I’d like to know where the 40
was.’’
Ouch.
Turning serious, McIlroy
marveled at the ageless
Langer.
“I try to think about what
scores I would shoot if I was hit-
ting it where he hit it,’’ McIlroy
said. “Honestly, it’s like me play-
ing an 8,500-yard golf course.
That’s what it’s like. It’s so im-
pressive, just the way he me-
thodically plots his way around
and gets it
up and
down when
he needs to.
It’s really
cool to
watch.
“I wish in
30 years’
time I’m
back here doing the exact
same thing.’’
The thing is, he’ll need to
win one of those green jackets
to be invited back in 30 years’
time.
“Of course, you want to be
part of that for the rest of your
life if you can,’’ McIlroy said.
“Winning the Masters would
be cool, winning the Grand
Slam would be cool. There’s a
lot of great things that come
along with that, but at the end
of the day you have to try to
simplify it as much as you can.
It’s just a golf tournament, and
you’re playing against guys
you see every week.
“It shouldn’t be that differ-
ent.’’
Except that it is.Mark CannizzaroMarkCannizzaro
McIlroy has a look
at life of a champ
GENERATIONAL DIVIDE: Playing partners Bernhard
Langer (left) and Rory McIlroy shake hands at the end
of the third round Saturday. Reuters