Rory McIlroy leading, having a ball
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Chubby Chandler chuckled telling the story, shaking his head at the same time.
It was the night before the first round of the Masters, a moment players have been pointing toward for days, weeks, months, and one of his prized clients chose to play football in the Augusta streets with his buddies.
“Your football, not our football,” Chandler said, knowing that his audience incorrectly assumed Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy was kicking a soccer ball around. “They were slinging it … passing it there and back. Then a little old lady came and — off you go.”
Apparently, McIlroy and his friends were making too much noise in front of their rented home, and out came a neighbor to admonish them.
Instead of pulling the “do you know who I am?” routine, McIlroy apologized — it was already dark — and retreated inside, his first-round tee time only about 12 hours away.
Clearly, this is a new way to prepare for major championships.
McIlroy put himself in the mix at his third consecutive major championship Thursday, shooting a 7-under-par 65 to share the 18-hole lead with Spain’s Alvaro Quiros. At 21, McIlroy is the youngest player to lead after the first round of the Masters — breaking the record set by Seve Ballesteros, who was 23 in 1980.
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