Akshay Bhatia points out what Rory McIlroy did during his second round at The Masters which was ‘a joke’ 

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Akshay Bhatia played alongside Rory McIlroy in the first two rounds at The Masters.

Bhatia actually bettered the world number two on Thursday at Augusta National with a two-under-par 70 versus his even-par 72

But Friday was completely different as the American only just made the cut after shooting a 74, while McIlroy produced an outstanding 66.

Bhatia praised his playing partner in his post-round interview and said that something he did was “a joke” – in a good way.

• READ MORE: Tiger Woods’ former coach has point to make after Rory McIlroy chips his ball into the water at Augusta National

Akshay Bhatia was mightily impressed by Rory McIlroy in Masters second round

The pressure was on McIlroy after two double bogeys on Thursday ruined what was an excellent round up until then.

And the Northern Irishman responded in the best possible way, making four birdies and an eagle to move up to third in the leaderboard.

Bhatia said that McIlroy’s birdies on the 10th and 11th holes were particularly impressive, and it was “awesome to see” him play so well.

He explained: “Yeah, I mean, he started out pretty solid to start the day, and then making birdie on 10 and 11 is a joke here. I think most people realize… he hit it to a foot on 10, and then he hit it to four feet on 11.

“And then obviously 13, he obviously wasn’t trying to hit it there and then it covered and then he makes the putt. Then 15, that ball stays right on the green and it’s a great two-putt there. Nice up-and-down on 16. Really good shot on 17.

“He just kind of had it going. He didn’t make many mistakes. He drove it on a rope the first two days when I played with him. It’s really cool to see. He’s the best driver in our game currently, so yeah, it’s awesome to see.”

Akshay Bhatia says what he’s trying to do like Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy

At 23 years old, Bhatia is one of the youngest players in the Masters field. Unlike McIlroy, there’s absolutely no pressure on him to succeed at this stage in his career.

However, that’s not the mindset that Bhatia is carrying with him this week, admitting that he wants to emulate McIlroy and Jordan Spieth in winning majors early on.

He said: “It’s just try and get more comfortable in the majors and try and figure out the golf course here especially. But yeah, I mean, a lot of guys have had success at a young age, like Jordan and Rory and obviously Ludvig.

“I’m still trying to kind of get more and more into that group per se and trying to be in the mix more. I definitely have to sharpen a lot of things up.”