Rory McIlroy made eye-watering decision on Masters first tee before birdie-eagle start

made the eye-watering decision to whack his golf ball as hard as he could on his first tee shot at the start of his third round at . The 35-year-old drove the ball 56 yards further than any of his rivals managed as his tee shot travelled a staggering 371 yards before coming to a rest.

McIlroy endured a tough opening day at Augusta on Thursday as he scored two double bogeys on the final four holes to finish the day on even par. But he put himself in the mix for silverware on day two as he to move to six under par. He started his third round just two strokes behind leader Justin Rose and was tied in third place alongside Corey Conners.

McIlroy had become the new favourite after his display on Friday and appeared to be full of confidence as he lined up his opening shot on day three. And his huge hit certainly grabbed plenty of attention among spectators.

The four-time Major winner went on to birdie the opening hole as he putted with his third shot of the day.

He then illustrated his prodigious talents on the second hole as he conquered the par five in three shots to land an eagle courtesy of a delightful chip shot.

Incredibly, he landed his second birdie of the day just moments later on the third. And his outstanding start to the third round moved him two strokes ahead of Rose at the top of the leaderboard, with Bryson DeChambeau climbing to second on nine under.

McIlroy's mood will have drastically improved over the last 48 hours after he refused to speak to the media following his disappointing finish to his first round.

And after putting himself in contention on day two, the Northern Irishman explained: "I think, overall, just proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night.

"I wasn't going to let two bad holes sort of dictate the narrative for the rest of the week. But, yeah, ultimately just proud of how I got back into it.

"I had a good conversation with [sports psychologist] Bob Rotella about not pushing too hard too early, just tried to stay really, really patient and that was rewarded with a nice little stretch in the middle of the round.

"I don't think I proved anything. If anything I just backed up the belief I have in myself and the belief that I'm as resilient as anyone else out here."