
Rory McIlroy initially held a six-shot lead at The Masters.
Collin Morikawa shot a four-under 68 on Saturday at The Masters.
Collin Morikawa responded to a question about whether he finds Rory McIlroy intimidating, though the specific details of his response were not provided.
Rory McIlroy's six-shot lead was quickly narrowed in the third round of The Masters.
Collin Morikawa was asked about Rory McIlroy's intimidating presence during The Masters, where McIlroy initially held a six-shot lead. Morikawa is among the competitors, having shot a four-under 68 on Saturday.
Photo by Megan Briggs/TGL/TGL via Getty Images
Rory McIlroy was the man of the moment on the first two days of The Masters, seemingly closing in on another major title.
McIlroy soared to a record six-shot lead at Augusta National, although that gap was quickly narrowed in the third round.
Among the chasing pack was Collin Morikawa, who continued his fine run at the tournament with a four-under 68 on Saturday.
The American will enter Sunday at The Masters on five-under, despite having been severely hampered by a back injury this season.
Along with discussing that injury after his third round, Morikawa was asked if he would describe McIlroy as intimidating, following comments from the 36-hole leader saying he wasnât an intimidating player.
Also asked what intimidating means to him at Augusta, he said: âI would say⊠I think the biggest intimidating thing out here, especially when youâve never been here, is just how grand everything is, right, and how vast it expands.
âWe stand right here, and you can see⊠if youâre a little taller, you can see 18, 9, 8, 1, 2 over there, 7. Itâs just so vast and large in the sense of you donât really see that at many places.
âI think when youâre able to really focus in on every hole, youâre able to play golf and just focus on that one shot. Iâve been able to do that.
âIntimidating, is Rory? I donât know.
âWhen the guy is driving the ball lights-out, I donât know if intimidating is the word, but itâs a feat of itself and itâs pretty impressive.
âBut Iâve learned to figure out how to play golf courses myself, and when Iâm on, I feel like Iâm on, and hopefully weâre able to keep up with everyone.â
Photo by Ben Jared/PGA TOUR via Getty Images
Morikawa and McIlroy had plenty in common entering The Masters, with both players having been dealing with back injuries.
But despite that far from ideal preparation for the major tournament, the duo have been hugely impressive this week.
Morikawa last played on the PGA Tour at The Players Championship this time last month, but withdrew after just one hole because of his injury.
Sharing how close he was to making a similar decision at Augusta, he said: âI donât think I was ever to the point of, like, where I was going to pull out.
âMaybe thatâs a little selfish of me, but I was very thankful that the weather was going to be like this, that it wasnât going to be soft, and I was going to have to carry drivers a lot farther.
âI can kind of hit some low runners. I was worried a little bit about the firm greens, but make pars out here.
âI think Iâve played enough out here to where I know I can kind of work it around some holes and get away with it.â
Morikawa was delighted to make the Masters cut, but he may now have grand plans to pull off an even bigger shock on Sunday.
Heâs certainly exceeded expectations given his back issue, which he will be hoping can hold out for one more round.
Read more:
Shane Lowry makes Masters history after hitting hole-in-one during round three
Michael Kim names the one player that he thinks can challenge Rory McIlroy at The Masters
Paul McGinley states how Rory McIlroy is âvery differentâ to Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus
Share this article



See every story in Sports â including breaking news and analysis.