Rory McIlroy Believes He Can "Reel In" Jordan Spieth Over the Next 54 Holes

Rory McIlroy was charging up the leaderboard on the back nine of his first round at the Masters; that is until he hit the par-3 16th hole. McIlroy, who was coming off of an eagle at 13 and a birdie on 15, finished the 16th with a bogey and then made another bogey on the 18th. It’s not how McIlroy wanted to finish his first round with his biggest competitor, Jordan Spieth, sitting pretty in the lead by two strokes at six-under.

After his round, McIlroy told media members:

"“He’s very, very comfortable here. You look at the way he played in 2014 and 2015 and look at what he’s done this year; it’s a golf course he’s comfortable on and he’s going to be tough to beat this week. “I feel I’m going to have to play good golf, but I feel there’s enough good golf in me so that I can reel him in over the next 54 holes.”"

McIlroy is correct that Spieth is comfortable at Augusta; he’s done something that McIlroy hasn’t managed to do; win.

After his round, Spieth’s playing partner Paul Casey, who had a pretty spectacular round himself shooting 69, said, “It is like playing with a Tiger or a Phil.”

"“It is like playing with a Tiger or a Phil,” said Paul Casey, who played against both at the height of their careers. Casey is in his 10th Masters and was alongside Spieth on Thursday. “Playing with Jordan, there definitely is something there. “He just exudes ‑‑ it’s obvious he’s a major champion, but he just exudes that sort of, whatever ‘that’ is … It’s a knowing, it’s a confidence. It’s the way he walks. It’s the way he stands. It goes all the way through from the way he speaks and the way he shakes your hand and the way he deals with people. It’s wonderful.” “I was impressed by everything today,” Casey said. “That was a flawless round of golf.”"

If McIlroy wants to complete the career grand slam and win his first green jacket, he’s going to have to turn in some low numbers to keep up with Spieth.

I know I wouldn’t mind seeing Rory charging up the board on the back nine on Sunday and making things interesting.