Rory McIlroy ready to go green with gutsy Masters performance

Rory McIlroy is poised.

It was an odd enough round for McIlroy native but he is in a great position to attack going into Masters weekend at Augusta. Four birdies, three bogeys and a plethora of clutch pars. As most golfers struggled against Augusta National, McIlroy carded a gutsy round. Having only erred once in his opening round of 69, McIlroy found himself bogeying three times in his first six holes. Luckily enough there were birdies on the second and third holes while he negotiated Amen Corner without dropping a stitch and came home with consecutive birdies on 13 and 14. The Holywood native's highlight of the round was surely his 27-foot birdie putt on 14 that got him to -4. [caption id="attachment_156074" align="aligncenter" width="744"] Credit: Masters.com[/caption] There he remained. With the putter back in his command again, McIlroy is looking good for a weekend charge. That was good but Rickie Fowler trumped him, and then some, with one hell of a drain. The American finished up on -2 after a round of 71 that included this 66-foot excursion on the 6th hole that saved his par. https://twitter.com/TheMasters/status/982290897994792960 Patrick Reed, Fowler's compatriot, reached the turn at -8 but sliced and diced with the famous old course on his way back to the clubhouse. All told, however, McIlroy is right in the hunt for that much sought-after green blazer.