AUGUSTA NATIONAL IS is a golf club more famed for it’s strict rules and firm commitment to tradition and etiquette than openness and innovation, but on Thursday the Masters broke new ground with Rory McIlroy talking live on television during his round.
The Northern Irishman wore ear-pods at times during his first round of level-par 72, allowing him to offer instant insight into his performance to television networks.
“The club reached out to us last week and just enquired if I would be interested in doing it,” said McIlroy.
Well this is pretty cool from Rory as he chats to the media WHILE playing at The Masters 🤯 pic.twitter.com/eLHSDofj1l
“I did it a couple weeks ago at the Match Play. It definitely feels a little less intrusive with the ear piece rather than someone right up next to you with the microphone like they’ve been doing it in Europe for a couple of years.
“I thought it would be a cool thing to do. I did it in Austin and didn’t feel like it took me out of my rhythm in any way or made me think about things too much. So it’s nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what’s going on out here.”
While Augusta National may seem an unlikely place for such a development, since mobile phones are banned from the course, McIlroy said that he wasn’t surprised at their willingness to innovate.
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“I think with the previous chairman (Billy Payne), he definitely brought things forward. Then I think since Chairman (Fred) Ridley has come along, he’s really tried to push the envelope as well,” he said.
“So I think Augusta have a great balance of blending that history and that tradition but also making sure we’re keeping up with the times.”
American Max Homa also conducted an interview on the 14th hole, having been one of the players who has pioneered the live link-ups.
“I was one of the people early on talking about doing it and kind of helped in a way form the idea. Then the actual smart people took over. So I’m just a fan of it, and I think it’s good for golf. It’s good for the fans. I think it makes coverage more interesting,” he said, adding that the intrusion didn’t impact hugely on his focus.
“It’s like being on a phone call for 10 minutes. It’s not the end of the world. It might be a shade distracting, but I think if it’s 5% distracting and it’s 95% something positive for golf, I can get past that.”
McIlroy said he would love to see Tiger Woods be the next to don the ear-pods, but he was also frank in his assessment of the likelihood of that occurring:
“Zero”.
McIlroy embraced the possibility of challenging conditions as he looks to play himself back into contention in the 87th Masters.
McIlroy, who needs to claim a coveted green jacket at Augusta National to complete a career grand slam, lies seven shots off the lead shared by Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka.
With bad weather forecast, Friday’s tee times have been brought forward by 30 minutes with McIlroy among the early starters hoping to get all 18 holes in without disruption.
“I think when you’re chasing it’s probably the harder the better,” McIlroy said. “The more difficult the course is, I think that’s probably favourable conditions for chasing a little bit or trying to catch up.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen on Friday. Hopefully we don’t get affected by it too much and we can get out there and play 18 holes uninterrupted and I can shoot something in the mid-60s and get myself back in it.”
The challenge faced by McIlroy was compounded by the strength in depth on the leaderboard, with Cameron Young and Jason Day two off the lead and seven players a shot further back on four under.
That group included defending champion Scottie Scheffler, former Open champion Shane Lowry and 2013 winner Adam Scott, as well as US Amateur champion Sam Bennett.
Tiger Woods faced an uphill battle to avoid missing the cut for the first time as a professional after an opening 74.
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Mic'd up Rory McIlroy goes live during Masters
AUGUSTA NATIONAL IS is a golf club more famed for it’s strict rules and firm commitment to tradition and etiquette than openness and innovation, but on Thursday the Masters broke new ground with Rory McIlroy talking live on television during his round.
The Northern Irishman wore ear-pods at times during his first round of level-par 72, allowing him to offer instant insight into his performance to television networks.
“The club reached out to us last week and just enquired if I would be interested in doing it,” said McIlroy.
“I did it a couple weeks ago at the Match Play. It definitely feels a little less intrusive with the ear piece rather than someone right up next to you with the microphone like they’ve been doing it in Europe for a couple of years.
“I thought it would be a cool thing to do. I did it in Austin and didn’t feel like it took me out of my rhythm in any way or made me think about things too much. So it’s nice to provide the audience at home a little bit more insight into what’s going on out here.”
While Augusta National may seem an unlikely place for such a development, since mobile phones are banned from the course, McIlroy said that he wasn’t surprised at their willingness to innovate.
“I think with the previous chairman (Billy Payne), he definitely brought things forward. Then I think since Chairman (Fred) Ridley has come along, he’s really tried to push the envelope as well,” he said.
“So I think Augusta have a great balance of blending that history and that tradition but also making sure we’re keeping up with the times.”
American Max Homa also conducted an interview on the 14th hole, having been one of the players who has pioneered the live link-ups.
“I was one of the people early on talking about doing it and kind of helped in a way form the idea. Then the actual smart people took over. So I’m just a fan of it, and I think it’s good for golf. It’s good for the fans. I think it makes coverage more interesting,” he said, adding that the intrusion didn’t impact hugely on his focus.
“It’s like being on a phone call for 10 minutes. It’s not the end of the world. It might be a shade distracting, but I think if it’s 5% distracting and it’s 95% something positive for golf, I can get past that.”
McIlroy said he would love to see Tiger Woods be the next to don the ear-pods, but he was also frank in his assessment of the likelihood of that occurring:
“Zero”.
McIlroy embraced the possibility of challenging conditions as he looks to play himself back into contention in the 87th Masters.
McIlroy, who needs to claim a coveted green jacket at Augusta National to complete a career grand slam, lies seven shots off the lead shared by Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Brooks Koepka.
With bad weather forecast, Friday’s tee times have been brought forward by 30 minutes with McIlroy among the early starters hoping to get all 18 holes in without disruption.
“I think when you’re chasing it’s probably the harder the better,” McIlroy said. “The more difficult the course is, I think that’s probably favourable conditions for chasing a little bit or trying to catch up.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen on Friday. Hopefully we don’t get affected by it too much and we can get out there and play 18 holes uninterrupted and I can shoot something in the mid-60s and get myself back in it.”
The challenge faced by McIlroy was compounded by the strength in depth on the leaderboard, with Cameron Young and Jason Day two off the lead and seven players a shot further back on four under.
That group included defending champion Scottie Scheffler, former Open champion Shane Lowry and 2013 winner Adam Scott, as well as US Amateur champion Sam Bennett.
Tiger Woods faced an uphill battle to avoid missing the cut for the first time as a professional after an opening 74.
– © AFP 2023
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