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Though having left his run too late to catch Scheffler, McIlroy
nevertheless electrified the crowd when he holed a 55-foot
bunker shot at the par-four 18th at Augusta National.
After landing the ball on the edge of the green and watching it
curl slowly and deliciously downhill into the middle of the hole
for a birdie, a pumped-up McIlroy reacted as though he had just
won the Masters and completed the career Grand Slam.
"That's as happy as I've been on the golf course right there,"
McIlroy said. "Probably come up a little bit short but I gave it
a great go and I can't ask anything more of myself.
"It's going to be my best finish ever, probably not quite good
enough but I'll come back next year and keep trying."
McIlroy's 64 was the eighth in the final round at the Masters,
the most recent by Jordan Spieth in 2018. Greg Norman and Nick
Price hold the outright course record of 63.
Not to be outdone, British Open champion Collin Morikawa also
holed his shot from the same bunker moments after McIlroy.
McIlroy finished at seven-under 281, but in the end had left
himself too far behind Scheffler at the start of the day to have
a realistic chance, after teeing off 10 shots behind.
"It's what you dream about, getting yourself in position,"
McIlroy said.
"I wasn't quite close enough to the lead but to play as well as
I did and to finish like this is absolutely incredible."
McIlroy has won a British Open, a U.S. Open and two PGA
Championships, but still needs a Masters to complete the Grand
Slam of all four modern majors.
(Reporting by Andrew Both; editing by Ken Ferris)
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