McIlroy's Masters to lose

 McIlroy's Masters to lose

Jason Day desperately wants to be the first Australian to win the Masters, but he knows this one’s Rory McIlroy’s to lose.

“Rory, the way he's hitting the ball, he can pretty much go out there and he can shoot a couple under par I think and probably win,” the 23-year-old Australian conceded.

“A lot of guys, four shots back, so there's a lot of pressure on us to obviously go out there and score early and try and put some pressure on him so he can make some mistakes.

“But you know, he's very mentally tough.

“I think Rory is going to be a little nervous tomorrow, but the way he’s hitting it, he’s going to be very, very tough to catch.”

Day knows of what he speaks, having played alongside McIlroy for three straight days; a front-row seat to one of the great ball-striking exhibitions in Masters history.

Long, bombed drives followed by high, accurate irons that land softly and a deft touch around the greens is hard to beat around Augusta National.


As he was on Friday, McIlroy again wasn’t deadly on the greens, but in truth he didn’t need to be.

It seems he’s heeded well the advice given to him recently by Jack Nicklaus.

The Golden Bear told the 21-year-old prodigy that majors are often won not by brilliance, but by avoiding mistakes, sidestepping landmines and staying patient while others implode, then capitalizing on opportunities.
But the greens have hardened and his ball scampered into a swale over the back of the green and from there the best he could do with a chip was 8 feet.

He lipped that one out, too.

“It was a tough start and again, just a lot of patience,” he said.

The truth is that he also did himself in: he missed a gimme, barely 2 feet, on the 11th for par, three-putted the 15th for par after a heroic second shot over the water, and failed to get up-and-down on the eighth for birdie.
And let’s not even talk about the bogey on the last after he split the fairway with his tee shot.
Nicklaus certainly won a few with that blueprint - as did Tiger Woods - and McIlroy’s employing it as he seeks to become the first wire-to-wire winner of a green jacket since Raymond Floyd in 1976.

In a sense, McIlroy’s Saturday round might have been his best.

Certainly his opening 65 was more spectacular, but on Saturday he showed an aplomb and cool-headedness beyond his years.

He didn’t panic when Day briefly took a one-shot lead after the fifth hole, didn’t try to do anything heroic when he fell to 1 over par for the day after a bogey at the 10th; just stayed the course and took his chances when they came.

He birdied the two easy par 5s on the back - hitting both greens in two shots with irons - and got a bonus when a 35-footer fell on 17.

His closest pursuers, four shots behind, are Day, past champion Angel Cabrera, K.J. Choi and the impressive young South African Charl Schwartzel.

Behind them are Adam Scott and Luke Donald, both at 7 under par, with the highest American on the leader board Bo Van Pelt at 6 under.

Tiger Woods?

He had a Saturday to forget.

One that served to remind again just how long it’s been since he’s been able to put together good back-to-back rounds.

After the promise of the final 11 holes on Friday, Woods stumbled to a sloppy 2-over-par 74, falling seven shots back of McIlroy‘s lead.

Though he hasn’t given up - he replied “Absolutely,” as only he can, when asked if he could still win - Woods knows he’ll be relying on train wrecks ahead of him if he’s to somehow snatch a fifth Masters title.

Train wrecks and the co-operation of his putter, which again let him down on Saturday.

He didn’t really hit the ball appreciably better or worse than he had in shooting 66 the day before, but the story of his day is told in putts: 26 on Friday, 33 on Saturday.

“I had two three-putts in there and then I hit just a lot of beautiful putts that didn’t go in,” he later bemoaned.

The motif of his day was set early.

“Right from the get-go,” he said, forlornly. “I piped a 3-wood (on the first) and it ended up right in a divot. Not only in a divot, but it settled down in a divot.”

Other players used to privately complain that Woods, in his prime, always got the good breaks.

Not anymore.

His par putt on the opening hole lipped out. On a steamy afternoon, it was a start that visibly deflated him.

The par on two was particularly galling as Woods’ second shot, a fairway metal, landed by the pin of the par 5.
It shouldn’t be overlooked, however, that McIlroy took 32 putts on Saturday, just one fewer than Woods, yet beat him by four.

McIlroy hasn’t always been automatic on Sundays. He held a share of the lead earlier this year in Dubai and barely finished inside the top 10. He’s had other stumbles on the European Tour.

But the kid’s got that look in his eye.

“I've been saying it all week: I feel comfortable, comfortable with my game, comfortable with the way I've prepared, and all of a sudden I'm finally feeling comfortable on this golf course,” he said.

“A combination like that, you know, you're going to feel pretty good.”

12 Destinations Worthy of Second Chances

12 Destinations Worthy of Second Chances

Natural disasters, political turmoil & some generally bad PR have plagued these global spots, but they have recovered & are more than ready for your visit.

Comeback Destinations: New York City

It was bad enough when reports showed that New York City hotels and apartments were among the top bedbug hot spots in the U.S., but when it was revealed that several landmarks, retail facilities and even a Times Square movie theater were infested, fear spiked and cancellations followed. Swift and aggressive action was taken, and while some places continue to struggle, bedbug reports have tapered off. Being one of the most visited cities in the world, New York will certainly recover

Comeback Destinations: New York City
It was bad enough when reports showed that New York City hotels and apartments were among the top bedbug hot spots in the U.S., but when it was revealed that several landmarks, retail facilities and even a Times Square movie theater were infested, fear spiked and cancellations followed. Swift and aggressive action was taken, and while some places continue to struggle, bedbug reports have tapered off. Being one of the most visited cities in the world, New York will certainly recover

Comeback Destinations: Colombia
In a remarkably short time, Colombia has gone from being a place besieged by drug violence and extortion-related kidnappings to being the fastest-rising travel destination in South America. Tourism buzz about the stability, affordability and abundance of offerings cautiously went mainstream in 2007, and momentum continues to grow. Attractions such as Cartagena, arguably the best-preserved colonial town in South America, the liveliness of Medellín, exceptional national parks, culturally rich pueblos (villages) and beaches on two oceans are raising the collective eyebrows of the tourism industry.

Comeback Destinations: Nicaragua
Lingering mental snapshots of Sandinistas and political instability are hard to dismiss, but colonial architecture, strong eco-tourism and two lengths of fetching coastline have made tourism the largest industry in Nicaragua. Visitors flock to Granada, the country’s oldest colonial city, and the well-preserved town of León. Natural attractions include massive lakes, hiking on volcanoes and diving off the Corn Islands. Although with rising popularity comes rising prices, for the time being Nicaragua is an excellent travel value.

Comeback Destinations: Australia
The global financial crisis affected tourism to Australia harder than most destinations because of the time and expense of traveling there. A brief upswing, peaking with TV talk-show host Oprah Winfrey’s high-profile visit to the country in December 2010, has dipped again after severe flooding and a destructive cyclone in early 2011. Cleanup has been largely completed, and tourism marketing is back to full throttle. Even with the less favorable U.S./Australian dollar exchange rate, the country remains an excellent value, replete with singular attractions, first-rate cuisine, diving and outdoor activities.

Comeback Destinations: Albania
Formerly one of the most inaccessible countries in Eastern Europe, Albania was opened to Western tourists in the late 1980s, though restrictions and lack of infrastructure made travel here unappealing until the early 2000s. Now Albania is appearing on all manner of places-to-travel lists. Only a fraction of the cost of Greece, Italy and Croatia, Albania offers similarly inviting rivers, mountain springs, captivating towns, Roman ruins and nearly 225 miles of coastline.

Comeback Destinations: Myanmar
Be it in the wake of natural disaster, civil unrest, political instability or simply bad public relations, travel to "comeback destinations" can sometimes seem iffy. It can also be incredibly rewarding. Being among the first to arrive at a recovering destination often means few crowds, great deals and special moments. Here are 12 to consider.

Comeback Destinations: Thailand
Coups and political protests in Thailand are frequent and generally peaceful. However, the protests in spring 2010 were violent, and the resulting PR damage has caused serious concern in a country that relies heavily on tourism. Traveling Thailand is still generally safer than in many Western countries, and although the protests affected only a small part of Bangkok, the whole country is working to polish its image. This is translating into excellent travel deals, particularly in resort areas such as Phuket, Koh Samui, Krabi and Pattaya, all of which have completely recovered from the 2005 tsunami.

Comeback Destinations: Mazatlán, Mexico
Widely reported increases in crime and gang-related violence in Mexican border towns and a few resort towns, most notably Acapulco, have done significant PR damage of late. As of this writing, although a State Department travel advisory still exists, it adds, "Millions of U.S. citizens safely visit Mexico each year." Nevertheless, Mexico is in damage-control mode, which means a torrent of comeback incentives. Mazatlán stands out among resort cities with exceptional restaurants scattered along the pedestrian-friendly resort strip and an easily accessible, worthwhile historic center, with a bustling food market.

Comeback Destinations: New Orleans
Just as New Orleans was shaking off the effects of Hurricane Katrina, the BP oil spill knocked it back onto the ropes. Although the spill didn’t affect the city itself, media coverage suggested otherwise. An average city might have struggled for untold years to recover its tourism numbers, but New Orleans is no average city. The tenacious tourism destination is working hard to restore its image; meanwhile, crowds — while not exactly sparse — are for the time being a little more manageable for those wanting some elbow room on Bourbon Street.

Comeback Destinations: Detroit
Having been a symbol and one-word punch line for struggling, disagreeable cities for as long as it has, Detroit's transformation into an alluring destination seems farfetched. But, in fact, tourism is a growth industry, with about 16 million people visiting annually. Leisure visitors are drawn by the North American International Auto Show; the multiday Motown Winter Blast outdoor carnival and music festival; and The Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village, America's largest indoor-outdoor museum complex and theme park celebrating America’s past and the birth of modern automobile manufacturing. Soon they could be coming to pay homage to a new statue of a famous cyborg crime-fighter

Comeback Destinations: Chile
On Feb. 27, 2010, a magnitude 8.8 earthquake, one of the largest quakes in recorded history, hit just off the coast of Maule region in Chile, about 200 miles southwest of the capital, Santiago. A year later, recovery is ongoing, but critical infrastructure has been restored to the famously narrow country, which stretches for more than 2,600 scenic miles, from the Atacama Desert — the driest in the world — past volcanoes, lakes, geysers, steppes, beaches and glaciers. As for low-impact activities, consider the eye-widening statistic that Chile is the world's fifth-largest exporter of wine.