World no. 1 still praying
to the gods of Augusta

After Rory McIlroy shot his final round 80 to tumble off the US Masters leaderboard last year, some wise heads counselled him and said his career would be defined not by what he did that day but by what he would do afterwards.

It’s astonishing to think that less than 12 months after he cut such a forlorn figure during his back nine implosion, McIlroy could be so firmly placed at the head of world golf. His wire-to-wire win in the US Open was the emphatic answer to questions about his steel at the majors. And in 2012 he has emerged as the player everyone else in the field has their eye on.

In that respect, he’s Tiger Woods without the baggage. At 22, he’s the second youngest ever world number one behind Woods, reaching the top with his win in the Honda Classic. And with his fast finishing third in the WGC Cadillac Championship he has now posted ten top five finishes from his last 11 tournaments.

Even the one he missed was a more than reasonable tie for 11th in the Dubai World Championship at the end of last year.

In his first five tournaments this year he has been second in Abu Dhabi, fifth in the Omega Dubai

Desert Classic, second in the World Match Play, won the Honda and third in the Cadillac.

And yet, if he is in contention on the back nine at the Masters again this year, we’ll still be holding our breath as he heads into holes 11, 12 and 13 at Amen Corner. Last year after leading at the 54 hole mark, he started his back nine with a triple bogey on the tenth and if that wasn’t enough his green jacket hopes were ended with a bogey on 11 and a double on 12.

His return to Augusta will be riveting to watch. Indeed, 2012 is shaping as a classic Masters. Charl Schwartzel has been building nicely to a return to form and looks set for a solid title defence and Phil Mickelson’s magnificent final round to win at Pebble Beach last month means he’s another former winner almost certain to contend again.

Then there’s Woods, whose final round 62 in the Honda followed by his withdrawal from the Cadillac with Achilles troubles makes him the Masters’ mystery. Much has been of his retreat from the Cadillac but just maybe it was a strategic withdrawal.

Just imagine the back nine on Easter Sunday with Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy and Phil Mickelson on the leaderboard.

Justin Rose’s win in the WGC Cadillac, using his new Rocketballz clubs, was a reminder of his immense talent and then there’s the Australians Jason Day and Adam Scott, who finished equal second to Schwartzel last year.

Day has had a slow start to the year after a busy end to 2011. But if you leave out the back nine of his first round in the Cadillac there were enough signs to show that he is starting to warm up again. And we know he can play Augusta.

Scott’s fade out in the Cadillac was a worry but there’s still plenty of time to get some momentum back and Geoff Ogilvy, too, will be itching to get to Augusta where he performed so well last year.

The $US 8 million Masters will be held from April 5-8 and Beyond The Fairways will have a full report in our April online edition.