Justin Rose struggles to keep his cool in the heat but Masters dream lives on | Andy Bull

Three-time runner-up throws his putter after missing birdie chance on the 4th as he seeks Augusta glory after long wait

Hot days and hard greens at the Masters. It was up in the mid- 80s by lunchtime on Friday, and that was if you were underneath the trees with a Georgia peach ice-cream sandwich. Out there on the other side of the ropes it looked a whole lot hotter again. The world’s best golfers sweated away chasing after Rory McIlroy’s lead in conditions which, they all agreed, could yet get as tough as they come at Augusta National. By midway through the afternoon McIlroy loomed over the tournament like the Augusta sun, and you worried players who made the mistake of looking right at the big white leaderboards might burn their eyes on the numbers he was running up.

A way up ahead along the course, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth were each doing their best to just stay focused on their own game. There was a time, and not so long ago, when both Spieth and Koepka had a claim to be even better than the man they were now trailing, and Rose, of course, played one of the very best rounds of his life to finish runner-up to McIlroy here last year. They have won nine majors between the three of them, but with McIlroy in this sort of form, it was hard work just to stay within a short iron’s distance of him over the weekend.

Continue reading...