Donald Trump has named the three players he would like to see win The Masters this weekend – and World No.2 Rory McIlroy has not made the cut.
McIlroy roared back into contention on Friday with a bogey-free 66 to leave himself just two shots behind leader Justin Rose at the halfway stage.
The Northern Irishman is searching for his first major triumph since 2014 at Augusta National this week, while a win would also see him become just the sixth player to complete the career Grand Slam.
McIlroy, though, has his work cut out for him this weekend, with a host of top players also in contention for the Green Jacket.
And the 35-year-old will not have the support of the American President who named three other players he was rooting for this weekend.
‘They’re all friends of mine. They have some great ones. Scottie Scheffler’s great. Bryson [DeChambeau] is great. Justin Rose, they’re all friends of mine,’ Trump, a keen golfer himself, said aboard Air Force One on Friday when asked who he would like to win the Masters.
‘It’s going to be a very good Masters. Looks like it’s going to be a very good Masters. Some fantastic golfers at the top.’
While Rose currently sits atop the leaderboard, DeChambeau is hot on his heels as the big-hitting American looks to land his third career major.
The LIV Golf star has formed a close relationship with the President in recent years and even made a surprise cameo appearance on stage during Trump’s victory speech following the election in November.
Masters second round leaderboard
-8 J Rose (Eng); -7 B DeChambeau (US); -6 C Conners (Can), R McIlroy (NI); -5 M McCarty (US), S Lowry (Ire), S Scheffler (US), T Hatton (Eng)
Selected others: -3 L Aberg (Swe), C Morikawa (US); -2 T Fleetwood (Eng); Level M Fitzpatrick (Eng), A Rai (Eng); +2 J Rahm (Spa); D Willett (Eng); +6 R MacIntyre (Sco), +10 L Canter (Eng)
‘It definitely can be tough at times when you’re thinking about it,’ DeChambeau reflected after his second round.
‘I think grounding yourself is super important, realizing where you’re at, knowing how many holes you have left, knowing there’s a lot of golf left. Not getting too far ahead of yourself is important, and that’s something that you have to learn over the course of time with a lot of experience.
‘You have to put yourself in position. You have to fail. You have to lose. You have to win. You have to come from behind. You have to hold the lead.
‘All those expectations and feelings have to get conquered in your mind. That’s why this game is played between your ears.’
Scheffler, meanwhile, is three shots back of the lead as he looks to become the first person since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win back-to-back Masters.
‘We’ve got a great golf course, conditions should be really good, challenging, and we’ve got some great guys on top of the leaderboard, so it should be a fun weekend,’ the World No.1 said after his round on Friday.
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