PHOENIX – Ha Na Jang topped the crowded leaderboard Friday when darkness ended play at the LPGA Tour’s JTBC Founders Cup.

Jang birdied her final four holes to reach 11 under with seven holes left in the second round. She opened with a 4-under 68 on Thursday at Desert Ridge.

Fellow South Korean player Hyo Joo Kim was a stroke back.

Kim played 30 holes Friday in the tournament that fell behind Thursday when rain delayed the start four hours. The Evian winner last year in France for her first major title, she completed a 65 in the first round and had a 69 in the second.

“I was sleepy this morning,” Kim said. “I just played relaxed and I just think to myself, `Hit soft.’ That’s the key for me.”

Only half of the 132 players finished the second round.

Stacy Lewis and Kim Kaufman were 9 under.

Lewis, the 2013 winner, also played 30 holes. She opened with a 64, making seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch to take the first-round lead, and had a 71 in the afternoon.

“I didn’t do too much different other than I just got on the wrong side of the hole,” Lewis said. “The first round, I basically gave myself a lot of uphill putts, and then it was downhill, sidehill swingers. You’re not going to make very many of them.”

Kaufman bogeyed her final hole of the day, the par-4 12th.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko was in the group at 7 under with eight holes left. The 17-year-old New Zealander opened with a 66 on Thursday and was 1 under in the second round.

Ko won the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. She nearly won last year at Desert Ridge, squandering a three-stroke lead with 13 holes left while tying for second – a stroke behind Karrie Webb.

Michelle Wie, paired with Ko, was 1 under overall after opening with a 73.

Webb, also the 2011 winner, shot 67-70 playing alongside Lewis.

“It was a long day, early morning,” Webb said. “I think I made the most of the conditions this morning with the greens being freshly mowed. They got a little slow and bumpy this afternoon, but all in all, I feel like I played pretty solidly.”

Playing partner Yani Tseng, the 2012 winner, struggled with rounds of 75-77. She was 131st, nine strokes ahead of last-place Christine Song.

Canada’s Alena Sharp was much better. She sits tied for 27th at 4-under 140 (68-72) thru her first two rounds.

PHOENIX – Stacy Lewis had seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch Friday morning to take the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s JTBC Founders Cup.

The 2013 winner at Desert Ridge, Lewis was 2 under through six holes Thursday when play was suspended because of darkness. After opening with a bogey on No. 7, she birdied Nos. 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15 and 16 and finished with an 8-under 64.

“It was just solid,” Lewis said. “The golf course is in such good shape, you get some putts around the hole, you can definitely make them. Just hit a few close. I hit a 4-iron into about 6 inches, so that always helps.”

The start Thursday was delayed four hours because of rain and wet conditions.

South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim was a stroke back. She played her final 12 holes Friday.

Top-ranked Lydia Ko, Tiffany Joh, Sophia Popov, Kim Kaufman and Karine Icher shot 66. Icher played her final 11 holes Friday.

The 17-year-old Ko has six LPGA Tour titles and 10 worldwide victories in pro events, winning the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. She nearly won last year at Desert Ridge, squandering a three-stroke lead with 13 holes left and ending up tying for second – a stroke behind Karrie Webb.

“I wasn’t surprised Lydia shot what she did,” Lewis said. “Just kind of motivated me to get up there with her.”

The second-ranked Lewis had a 50-minute break before starting the second round.

“If you’ve got to play a lot of holes and you’re on a roll, that’s where you want to be,” Lewis said. “Things feel good. It will be a quick turnaround.”

Webb, also the 2011 winner, had a 67 playing alongside Lewis.

“Very solid,” Webb said. “I feel like 5 under is perhaps the worst I could have shot, so that’s always a nice thing to say. I felt very comfortable out there.”

Michelle Wie opened with a 73 on Thursday. She’s playing in a group with Ko.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Equipped with his first PGA Tour lead in 67 starts, Morgan Hoffmann played Friday like he wanted to keep it in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

Hoffman made birdies on half of his holes for a 7-under 65, giving him a three-shot lead over Henrik Stenson, Harris English and defending champion Matt Every going into the weekend on soft and defenseless Bay Hill.

Stenson, English and Every each had a 66.

Rory McIlroy also got into the mix – finally – by making five straight birdies on his back nine for a 66, his first sub-70 score in three PGA Tour events this year. He was five shots behind and headed in the right direction in his final start before the Masters.

Bay Hill has greens that are so stressed that they will be replaced this summer. They are slow and receptive, a recipe for low scoring, and it shows.

Hoffmann was at 13-under 131, one short of the 36-hole record at Bay Hill. The cut was at 142, matching the lowest score to make the cut in 27 years at Bay Hill. It was the first time the cut was under par, but only because the tournament changed par to 70 (instead of 72) in 2008.

“I’m trying to birdie every hole out there, so it was good,” Hoffmann said. “Just hitting great putts and good shots into the greens really helps. It’s nice to hit some greens for a change. This year hasn’t been that great, and it’s a good change.”

The 25-year-old from Oklahoma State made six birdies on the front nine, including four in a row, and he finished with a 6-iron out of the rough and over the water – the ball landed just four paces onto the green – for a par that kept him in control.

Hoffmann came into the week at No. 158 in the “strokes gained” statistic from tee-to-green. He leads the field at Bay Hill.

Next up is how well he holds up on the weekend.

Stenson, who has finished fourth in his two Florida events already, birdied his last four holes for a 30 on the back nine. He will be playing in the penultimate group with English, who is No. 52 in the world just outside qualifying for the Masters.

“Got to keep the pedal down and keep aggressive,” English said.

He is coming off a top 10 at Innisbrook in which he closed with a 65, which moved him up eight spots in the ranking.

McIlroy had dinner with Palmer on Thursday night and was treading water Friday morning until an 18-foot birdie putt on the par-3 second hold got him going. He birdied the next four holes, though he lost some momentum at the end with a bogey on No. 8 and a scrambling par on his final hole.

“It would be nice to finish the round off a little better, but still a good score and sets me up well for the weekend,” McIlroy said. “I think each and every day I’m feeling a little more comfortable, especially on the greens. Obviously, we played in the morning so we got the best of the greens, and it’s easier to trust the lines you pick for yourself. But happy with how I putted today, and putt like that over the weekend, I’ll have a chance.”

A lot of that depends on Hoffmann, who is coming off a pair of 12-hour range sessions this weekend to try to rely on a slight fade.

Every has only one top 10 since he won at Bay Hill a year ago, and he has not finished in the top 25 in his last 17 tournaments. But he is confident he is headed in the right direction with his swing, and it showed for two days. He ran off four straight birdies at the end of his round for a 66 and was at 134.

“I’m really excited to play golf because I know I have good stuff coming really, really soon,” Every said. “And I said before, you can lie to yourself. I’ve done it before all the time where I think I can win at the start of weeks. It’s like probably how Rory feels every week.”

McIlroy, playing in Palmer’s tournament for the first time, had dinner with the King on Thursday night after his opening round (and a drug test). They chatted more about commercial possibilities and old-time golf stories than McIlroy’s bid to win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam.

Palmer also insisted the 25-year-old McIlroy have a banana split.

“I’ll be going to the gym this afternoon,” McIlroy said. “It was fantastic, it really was. He’s telling stories of the old days and talking about a few of the things he’s done more from a commercial standpoint, the drink and golf courses and all this sort of stuff – stuff that I could potentially be getting into in the future.”

He said Palmer also told him how close he was to his father.

“It was just great to be in his presence, and great to be in his company, and I had a good time,” McIlroy said.

Canada’s Nick Taylor fared well Friday, carding a blazing 7-under par 65 to jump 67 spots up the leaderboard into a tie for 40th at 3-under.

David Hearn carded a 73 and shared 55th spot at 2-under 142.  Graham DeLaet was even at 144 and missed the cut.

SANTO ANTONIO DA SERRA, Portugal – Bad weather disrupted the Madeira Islands Open for a second straight day on Friday as organizers were forced to suspend the first round again.

Play was stopped after heavy rain flooded the greens on the Clube de Golf Santo da Serra course, with Denmark’s Joachim B. Hansen holding the clubhouse lead after a 4-under 68. He was one shot ahead of England’s Andrew Marshall and French pair Adrien Saddier and Jean-Baptiste Gonnet. The four were among roughly half the field able to complete the first round.

Play is scheduled to resume on Saturday.

On Thursday, heavy winds sweeping the Portuguese archipelago kept play from starting and led to organizers reducing the event to 54 holes.

Last year, heavy fog during the first three days of the event forced organizers to reduce it to 36 holes.

Ida Pieracci grew up beside the San Jose Country Club and considers it her second home.

At 102 years of age, she holds the record for most holes-in-one at the club, with 11, and continues to play golf four or five days per week.

When asked what the key to living a long and happy life was, she replied, “Just being a good kid!”

Watch Ida’s video below, and if her story doesn’t get you excited first day of spring, I’m not sure what will.

A couple of weeks ago, most of you witnessed (or saw the replay on TV, YouTube, social media, etc.) Rory McIlroy throwing his 3-iron into a lake on No. 8 at Doral after hitting his ball there. There were many mixed reactions and a lot of airtime for one shot (two, if you count the club throw)! For many the reaction was negative. How could he do this on national (international) television? What a bad example he is setting for the young kids watching! Nike should drop his sponsorship; he’s giving his equipment supplier a bad name! How can a player with that much talent lose his cool and not control his emotions?

Personally, I loved it. Maybe because it made me feel better about all the clubs I’ve thrown or broken in my career, but more so because Rory, on that one shot, expressed what most golfers that play competitively would love to do at least once in order to let some steam out!

Yeah, it’s not a great example to show the kids, but these are also the same kids that play video games such as Grand theft auto, Call of duty, Assassins Creed, etc… (I’m not really up to date on these since I’ve never played them, I’ve only watched kids do it).

Maybe it’s not so bad to see the No. 1 golfer in the world behave like a normal kid (he’s a kid to all of us senior golfers) and show his true emotions instead of holding it in.

Maybe kids will better identify with Rory now and know that if they work and practice hard, they can be like him with his tremendous talent (and some faults as well).

As far as Nike is concerned, I would double the amount of his contract for three reasons:

1. There is no such thing as bad publicity (I’m certain the marketing wiz can figure out how much airtime Rory received for the throw around the world).
2. The throw has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of Rory’s equipment. It was a bad swing, not a bad 3-iron!
3. Rory’s reaction after the incident – he said all the right things and he meant it. To paraphrase: “It felt good at the time, but now I regret it! It was not very role-model-ish on my part!”

Rory also tossed his club where there was absolutely no danger of injuring someone (maybe the odd turtle or slow moving bass). It’s better than to breaking a shaft which could create hurt someone!

When the best player in the world reacts this way to a really bad shot, you then realize how difficult golf really is to master.

Everyone talks about bringing back the fun in golf these days. When exactly did golf stop being? McIlroy’s group had more fun after the throw than at any other time during the round. Stenson made some funny comments during and after the round and Bubba Watson mentioned that all players get frustrated and that he understood Rory’s reaction at the time.

That’s why golf is such a great sport, one moment you can hit the best shot of your life and the next you can chunk it in a lake or bunker!

It’s fun because it’s challenging!

It’s fun because you can play with your friends and make fun of each other or praise each other when you hit a great shot!

It’s fun because you’re outdoors instead of sitting inside playing the video games mentioned above!

It’s fun because you can always improve and you’re happy when you do!

It’s fun because you can play a different course every day in different conditions, anywhere in the world.

It’s fun because you can identify with the best players in the world when they miss a shot or hit a great one! And now, we can all identify a little more with Rory McIlroy.

Remi Bouchard is Golf Canada’s Regional Director of Membership for Quebec and New Brunswick. Bouchard has been a golf professional at Le Mirage Golf Club, in Terrebonne, Que. since 1992, and represented the club in competitions at both the provincial and national level. From 2001 to 2004, in collaboration with Sports Business International, Bouchard also helped develop and teach a business training program which uses golf as the teaching platform. An accomplished professional golfer, Bouchard also has more than 20 years experience in sponsor relationships and recruiting. He’s a PGA of Canada member; been named Professional of the Year five times by the Quebec PGA; has more than 70 victories as a pro over past 20 years; and is a former Quebec junior (1982) and amateur (1986) champion. In addition, he has served on the Canadian Tour’s Board of Directors and also as President of the Canadian Tour. If you are a golf club in Quebec or New Brunswick, please contact Remi at rbouchard@golfcanada.ca to discuss the benefits of being a Golf Canada member club, and what you can do to help grow the game of golf in Canada.

PHOENIX – Top-ranked Lydia Ko shot a 6-under 66 on Thursday for a share of the lead in the suspended first round of the JTBC Founders Cup.

The 17-year-old Ko rebounded from a three-putt bogey on the seventh hole with a 12-foot birdie putt on the eighth and finished with a par to join Tiffany Joh, Sophia Popov and Kim Kaufman atop the leaderboard at Desert Ridge.

The start was delayed four hours because of rain and wet conditions on the Wildfire layout. Only half of the 132 players finished before play was suspended because of darkness.

Ko has broken par in her last 21 tour rounds and 24 worldwide, a streak that started in the first round of her victory last year in the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship.

She nearly won last year at Desert Ridge, squandering a three-stroke lead with 13 holes left and ending up tying for second – a stroke behind Karrie Webb.

The South Korean-born New Zealander has six LPGA Tour titles and 10 worldwide victories in professional events, winning the Women’s Australian Open and the Ladies European Tour’s New Zealand Women’s Open in consecutive weeks this year. She also tied for second in the opener in Florida and was second two weeks ago in Singapore.

Joh birdied six of the first 10 holes and closed with eight pars.

Popov arrived in Phoenix on Tuesday after spending last week in a Naples, Florida, hospital because of an infection and the flu. In her only other tour start as a pro, she missed the cut in Australia in February.

South Korea’s In Gee Chun and Thailand’s Moriya Jutanugarn shot 67, and the Netherlands’ Dewi Claire Schreefel also was 5 under with eight holes left.

Webb, also the winner of the inaugural tournament in 2011, was 2 under with 12 holes left in her round with 2013 winner Stacy Lewis and 2012 champion Yani Tseng. Lewis also was 2 under, and Tseng 1 under.

Michelle Wie had a late triple bogey in a 73 playing alongside Ko. Getting over strep throat that hit her in the Bahamas and a sinus infection that bothered her in two events in Asia, Wie has broken 70 only once in 15 rounds this season.

Italy’s Giulia Molinaro had a hole-in-one on the 148-yard 17th hole to win a 2016 Kia K900. The Monday qualifier was 1 under with nine holes left.

Canada’s Alena Sharp only played four holes Thursday but was able to card four birdies to sit 4-under for a share of 8th spot.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Morgan Hoffmann’s day began with news that his 97-year-old grandmother died Thursday morning. It ended with his first lead on the PGA Tour.

Hoffman began his round with a 35-foot birdie putt on No. 10 and finished it with a 9-iron that touched the hole before stopping inches away for birdie. He also holed a bunker shot for eagle on the par-5 sixth, leading to a 6-under 66 and a one-shot lead in the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

It all was a lot to chew on for the 25-year-old Hoffmann, who cooks his own meals to eat on the golf course (bison steak was for lunch Thursday).

“Mentally, I’m in kind of a weird state right now,” he said. “My grandma passed away this morning, so I’m just pretty chilled out there and loving life right now. Just wish my family the best at home. My whole family texted me and said, `Nanny is playing golf with pop up there,’ which was pretty cool.”

Hoffmann hopes to attend a memorial service for Dorothy Lionetti in Ft. Lauderdale on Saturday night. It should be a short trip considering Hoffmann pilots his own plane that he recently bought from his buddy David Booth, who plays left wing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He was inspired to be a pilot after meeting with the tournament host during the Palmer Cup in 2009.

Hoffman, clearly, is not the garden variety PGA Tour player.

“I have a lot of stuff you guys didn’t ask,” he said with a perfect smile.

Not to be forgotten was his golf. He had a one-shot lead over five players, including Ian Poulter and Kevin Na. The group at 68 included Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson and Brandt Snedeker.

Poulter, who made an eagle from just off the 16th green, had his own distraction. His 3-year-old son was taken to the hospital Wednesday night with a low oxygen level and pneumonia. It was a long night, with a bit of a scare, but Joshua was doing better Thursday morning.

“I suppose it was a blessing, last tee time off,” said Poulter, who was in the afternoon group of starters.

Rory McIlroy hit 17 greens in regulation in his Bay Hill debut and one-putted only two greens, including a 15-foot birdie on the 18th for a 70. McIlroy two-putted from 18 feet for birdie on No. 6, and his lone bogey came with an approach into the water on the par-5 16th. He twirled the club when he saw the splash, though it stayed in his hands.

In his third American event this year, the world’s No. 1 player still hasn’t broken 70. But he’s getting there.

“Seeing signs of my game that I like,” McIlroy said. “Another three days of hopefully solid golf and try and get into contention, and that will put me in a good place going into Augusta.”

Hoffmann also is headed to Augusta National for the first time, courtesy of making the Tour Championship last year on the strength of a pair of top 10s in the FedEx Cup playoffs. He just hasn’t followed up on his finish at the start of this season, with no top 10s in nine tournaments.

But after missing the cut at Innisbrook, he spent 12 hours at home in south Florida hitting balls and trying to hit cut shots to stop the aggravating two-way miss. The work appears to be paying off. He missed only two fairways and four greens, none by a great length.

Twelve hours on the range can be exhausting, and when asked if he had at least stopped for lunch, Hoffmann shared his culinary preferences.

He cooks the night before and packs six small meals to eat during the day. The only thing missing is the cutlery, even for a bison steak. “Barehanded it,” he said. He limits his carbohydrates to brown rice and sweet potatoes, along with some vegetables. On the road, he picks hotels with a small kitchen.

“I just figure it’s better than eating candy bars or protein bars,” he said. “I have real food out there.”

Hoffman, who went to Oklahoma State, first met Palmer at the 2009 Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills. The King shared the importance of a legible autograph (he worked on that) and his affection for flying. Palmer was among the first golfers to fly his own plane and only gave up the controls four years ago.

So it felt only fitting that his first lead after any round on tour would come at the Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “Arnie has inspired me very heavily since 2009 when I played the Palmer Cup at Cherry Hills, and we talked for about an hour about flying. He’s inspired me to get my pilot’s license and fly myself to tournaments, which I’m now doing. It’s pretty cool, and he’s been a big inspiration in my life.”

Three-shots back of Hoffman with a share of 18th is David Hearn. The Brantford, Ont., native opened with a 3-under par 69 and was the low Canuck thru 18 holes.

Graham Delaet is tied for 93rd after a 2-over 74, while Nick Taylor had a 76 (+4) and has a share of 107th.

Adam, Taylor, Garrett, Corey and Chris.

These aren’t the names of the members of the newest boy band topping the charts (although it kind of sounds like it could be). No, this band of brothers are recent products of Golf Canada’s national team program (Corey Conners is still a member) that are embarking on the next stage of their respective golf journeys together.

Adam Svensson, the 21-year-old from B.C., announced Tuesday he has turned professional. He’ll concentrate on PGA Tour Canada – and a few events on the Web.com Tour – this year. This comes after Svensson won seven times in NCAA Division II in 2014 for Barry University and he realized he was ready for the professional ranks.

Svensson joins fellow Golf Canada teammates Taylor Pendrith and Chris Hemmerich on the Canadian circuit. Pendrith, known for his long drives and deft touch around the greens will be heading to PGA Tour Canada Q-school in April, while Hemmerich, on the heels of a successful stretch in 2014, has full status on that tour.

Meanwhile, Corey Conners remains an amateur, if only for another month, so then he can participate in The Masters. He earned a spot in that field thanks to his runner-up finish at the U.S. Amateur last year.

And then there’s Garrett Rank. Rank, the elder statesman of the group, captured the 2014 Canadian Mid-Amateur Championship and will participate in this year’s RBC Canadian Open. While Rank could have continued playing golf full-time, he shifted gears and concentrated more on being a hockey referee. Most would say this was a good decision: Rank has officiated a handful of NHL games already this season.

It’s no secret Golf Canada can’t teach someone how to hit a 350-yard drive (Pendrith) or win back-to-back NCAA championships (Svensson), but the importance of their time with the program isn’t lost on the young men.

“It’s crazy to think that wherever this group of players go, there’s at least one of us near the top of the leaderboard,” says Hemmerich. “It’s pretty fun. It speaks for itself as far as the kind of program Golf Canada is running.”

Both Svensson and Pendrith are a part of Golf Canada’s new Young Pro Program. While Pendrith explains the program really helped to prepare him to make good decisions and have good habits, Svensson explains it’s a team that will help him out through the first steps of his pro career.

“It’s another support group,” he says. “I’ve known Derek (Ingram, the men’s head coach) for many years and I can call him at any time. Golf Canada has been great to me.”

Not lost on the young men are the changes that lay ahead – not so much from a golf perspective, but from the day-to-day way they must carry themselves.

“The physical side hasn’t changed. Its just golf,” says Pendrith. “But you’re not playing for (amateur) points, you’re playing for dollars. It’s a mental adjustment.”

“It’s totally different now seeing how seriously some people take it. It’s starting to sink in,” continues Hemmerich. “Every shot in pro golf means a couple hundred bucks at this level, a couple thousand bucks at the next level, and a lot more at the level after that. Every shot matters.”

Each man credits their agents for alleviating some of the pressure they’re feeling as young professionals (Conners, too). SportBox, who also manage Graham DeLaet and Mike Weir, represents Svensson. Adam Hadwin’s team at Higher Ground Sports is looking after Hemmerich. Pendrith is represented by agency in the U.S. called Empire Sports Management, and Conners has Chubby Chandler of International Sports Management in his corner.

They are alone on the golf course, but have a number of people encouraging them behind-the-scenes.

“It takes a lot of pressure of me,” Svensson says of his team. “I can call them anytime, and they’re a great bunch of dudes.”

Comments like “great bunch of dudes” and Hemmerich saying he’s “fired up” for the 2015 season quickly remind you that there’s a part of each of these men that still make them kids.

But don’t mistake their fun attitudes for lack-of-motivation. Once Conners joins Hemmerich, Pendrith and Svensson later this year as a professional, Canadian golf fans will be treated to seeing this fine crop of players in action.

And, no matter what the future has in store for them, by getting to this point, they’ve already sung the song of success.

ORLANDO, Fla. – Rory McIlroy is adding a new wrinkle to his preparations for the Masters.

McIlroy makes his debut in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Thursday, his final tournament before he tries to complete the career Grand Slam and win a third straight major at Augusta National in three weeks.

He began playing the Masters in 2009, and this is the fourth pre-Augusta schedule he has tried.

“I thought I’d just mix it up a little bit this year,” McIlroy said Wednesday. “Play here and then I’ll have a couple weeks off to get ready for Augusta. Back in `11, I took three weeks off before the Masters. It worked pretty well – for 63 holes, not quite 72. So just trying to adopt a similar approach.”

That was the closest the 25-year-old McIlroy has been to a green jacket. He had a four-shot lead going into the final round in 2011 only to shoot 80 in the final round. Then again, he tried that same schedule – three weeks off before the Masters – in 2012 and tied for 40th.

He twice has played one week before the Masters at the Shell Houston Open (2010, 2014), and in 2013 played Houston and San Antonio before the Masters.

The search continues, though every player has a different idea how to get ready.

Bay Hill is a popular spot this year. The world’s No. 1 player at the Arnold Palmer Invitational for the first time is joined by three others from the top five in the world ranking in Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott and Jason Day. The tournament had all of the top five until Bubba Watson withdrew on Wednesday because a childhood friend died unexpectedly and he wanted to be at the funeral.

McIlroy is more interested in his game being ready. Even though he won in Dubai and was runner-up in Abu Dhabi at the start of the year, his return to America hasn’t been glowing. He missed the cut at the Honda Classic and somehow got into the top 10 at Doral, though he was eight shots behind the winner, Dustin Johnson, and still hasn’t broken 70 in his six rounds on the PGA Tour this year.

Longtime swing coach Michael Bannon came over from Northern Ireland late last week and they worked together for five days.

“That was sort of an unplanned visit,” McIlroy said. “The last five days have been really good work with him, just one-on-one, no one else around. It’s been really good. So feeling much better about my game now than I was walking off Doral 10 days ago.”

And there has been time for fun and relaxation – at Augusta National, no less.

McIlroy took his father, Gerry, there last week for a two-day trip that resembled a father-son outing with a few powerful people – Augusta National members Ed Hurley and Jimmy Dunne, along with the Manning clan of NFL fame.

He described it as “100 percent fun, zero percent serious.”

“I didn’t hit any extra balls. I played one ball the whole time,” McIlroy said. “Really wanted to go and enjoy it with my dad. That was what the whole thing was about. There’s four father-and-sons, and we had a great time.”

He said he played “pretty well” the first day, without mentioning a score. For a four-time major champion, “pretty well” can mean just about anything. McIlroy wasn’t saying, except that it was in the 60s but not the course record.

The highlight might have been off the golf course. McIlroy was in the gym at 6 a.m. Friday at the club when he got some unexpected company – a pair of Super Bowl MVPs. First, Tom Brady came in. Fifteen minutes later, Peyton Manning showed up.

“That was my time to leave,” McIlroy said.

Along with being a little in awe, McIlroy was impressed. The Masters is three weeks away. Training camp for the NFL is four months away.

“It’s their offseason,” McIlroy said. “I guess for me it was to see all those guys in the gym before their season starts and they’re so dedicated and committed to what they do, especially those two guys, Peyton and Tom. They’re both in their mid-30s and they want to prolong their careers as much as they can.

“To see them putting so much into it even after 15 successful years … it was great for me to see. It was inspirational in some ways.”

He said there was some football talk, mostly about all the trades that were going on.

“It was nice to be in that little world for a couple of days and experience it,” he said.

He gets back to his world Thursday at Bay Hill, with the Masters just around the corner.