Watch Rory McIlroy's miraculous save of one of the worst chips ever
Golf is an interesting game. Even the world’s best players can be undone by the difficulty of, as Winston Churchill once put it, “hitting a wee ball into a wee hole with weapons ill-suited for that very purpose.”
Rory McIlroy, however, has one big advantage over the weekend duffer.
Specifically, when he hits his wee ball into a dreadful situation, he is skilled enough to hit it out of that situation, and that’s how you get this spectacular par save after two atrocious approach shots.
Golf at its finest.#QuickHits pic.twitter.com/qAq96dtJ9Z
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) February 10, 2018
McIlroy’s second shot into the par-4 eighth hole at Pebble Beach drifted far to the left, landing above the hole on a downhill lie in deep rough.
By McIlroy’s standards, the shot was terrible, landing about 20 yards left and 20 yards short of where he likely wanted the ball to land.
Facing a third shot from the deep rough, McIlroy tried to chip the ball onto the fringe of the green, hoping it would release to within a few feet of the pin and put himself in position for a short part putt.
At least, that was the plan.
Instead, McIlroy hit one of those rare shots where even the worst hacker could brag, “I could have done better than that.” His chip traveled about 15 feet, failing to escape the deep rough.
Facing the reality of a bogey, McIlroy showed how quickly the best players in the world can put a bad shot behind them. His chip landed where he hoped his previous shot would — on the fringe of the green — and then rolled straight into the cup for a par.
On the scorecard, it will look like the same as if he hit the perfect drive, a great approach and then two-putted for par. Instead, his deft touch on his fourth shot all but erased the two terrible shots that preceded it.
Unfortunately for McIlroy, he missed the cut by two strokes. But he did provide the highlight shows with one of the best shots of the day.
Meanwhile, there’s been plenty to love at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am as the final day of competition began with Dustin Johnson tied with Ted Potter, Jr. at 14-under, and trying to hold off the likes of Jason Day, Chez Reavie and Troy Merritt.
And because its Pebble Beach, you get the combination of great golf, great scenery and the chance to see celebrities play in the pro-am portion of the tournament.
Sunday’s amateur leaderboard features Arizona Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald, with his pro partner Kevin Streelman, leading the likes of MLB pitcher Justin Verlander (with Russell Knox) and entertainer Alfonso Ribeiro (with William McGirt).
McIlroy may be out, but he left one heck of a highlight behind. We’ll see if anyone can top it on Sunday.
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