AUGUSTA -- The Northeast Georgia World’s Fair and Long Drive Exposition -- aka the Masters -- enters its final day here without any clear design for its closing ceremonies.
Surely, the lad from Northern Ireland, barely old enough to raise a pint let alone win a major, has an excellent chance of performing a victory jig at the end. Rory McIlroy, 21, has shown not one sign of flagging in the heat -- both actual and metaphysical.
Rather than shrink from the responsibility of leading the Masters, he has grown his lead every day -- from tied for first Thursday, to two up Friday to a four-stroke advantage after his 2-under 70 on Saturday. There has been a geometric purity to his results.
Representatives of his nation are quite excited about his possibilities. Just moments after McIlroy walked away from the 18th green Saturday, he received a text message from fellow Irishman and reigning U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell.
“He told me he loves me. ... I don’t know if that was the beer talking or what,” McIlroy laughed.
But so many other global representatives are vying for the Sunday spotlight.
Four back of McIlroy at 8 under are an Argentinan (Angel Cabrera), a South African (Charl Schwartzel), a Korean (K.J. Choi), and an Australian (Jason Day).
You could pretty well spin a globe and randomly stop it with your finger and point to a place with a stake in Sunday’s fourth round. So long as you don’t end up at that unfortunate land mass dividing Canada from Mexico.
There is not an American in the top seven. The host country’s hopes rest with a Tiger Woods who has reverted to committing crimes against the short game -- only two players Saturday took more than his 33 putts -- as well a token Bo (Van Pelt) and Bubba (Watson). Van Pelt is at 6 under, the other two a stroke behind him.
This development led to what passes for country-club smack talk.
“There is just a bunch of really good players coming through. America is big, but the world is bigger,” Schwartzel said.
Should form hold and an international player take the Masters, all four Grand Slam titles will be held by a non-American player.
For anyone to catch McIlroy, he’ll have to start acting his age. Over the first three days he has displayed a poise and imperviousness to pressure not seen in such a player since 1997, when the 21-year-old Woods scorched the earth here with his 12-stroke victory.
Twelve holes into the third round, McIlroy was tied with Day at 9 under. Then the kid kicked it in, playing the final six holes in 3 under. The last of his three birdies was by virtue of one of those Gooney Golf putts in which Augusta National specializes, a 33-foot downhill, sidehill number that he was just hoping to keep somewhere in Richmond County.
“That was a bonus,” he said. “I hit the putt perfectly where I lined it up. It was tracking the whole way and just dropped in the middle. It was great because I had been waiting for that sort of putt to drop all day.”
The chap who has played with McIlroy each of the first three days -- and was left in his wake at Saturday’s close -- said that no one should expect his youth to be a factor today.
“Obviously I think Rory is going to be a little nervous,” Day said. “But the way he’s hitting it, he’s going to be very, very tough to catch. We need to work at it and hopefully one of us can catch him.”
Another multinational story that bears watching today is that of Australian pairing of Day and Adam Scott.
It is one of the enduring oddities of the Masters that it is the one major no Australian has captured -- one of the chief reasons being that Greg Norman was born there. He was a runner-up here three times, often in agonizing ways, like blowing a six-shot lead on Sunday and watching Larry Mize pitch in from 140 feet in a sudden-death playoff.
Aussie Jim Ferrier began the so-called Australian jinx in 1950 when he surrendered a three-shot lead with six to play. Craig Perry led by a stroke after the third round in 1992, but followed that with a 78. Stuart Appleby’s third-round lead disappeared in 2007 when, paired with Woods, he was so excited he took double bogey on Sunday’s first hole.
Routinely, the Aussies here have spiraled down the drain here -- in a direction opposite they would at home, of course.
Such history lessons wear on them, but they must be addressed. It was Scott’s turn Saturday after his 67 -- tied for the low round of the day, putting him at 7 under for the tournament -- thrust him into contention.
“The dream of coming here and just playing [as an Australian] is huge, and to win, even bigger -- probably indescribable,” Scott said.
“I don’t think the guys here carry a burden [of history]. No one here is thinking there’s a voodoo on us from Australia. We are not a huge country, but we certainly get our fair share of guys in this tournament. But no one’s got over the line yet. But it’s going to happen.”
A wide world of possibilities has opened up to this Masters Sunday, presenting the type of variety usually found in only the very best beer stores over here.
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