Ludvig Aberg shares what he noticed about Rory McIlroy during the first two days at The Masters after playing with him

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Whisper it quietly, but Rory McIlroy appears to have left himself with a phenomenal chance of winning The Masters after another brilliant performance on Saturday at Augusta National.

When Rory McIlroy made two double bogeys in the final four holes on Thursday at The Masters, it seemed that the Northern Irishman was going to have to wait another year for a chance at the career grand slam.

But those of us writing the 35-year-old off have been made to eat our words. Whatever happens on Sunday, McIlroy has done incredibly well to put himself on pole position with 18 holes to play.

Ludvig Aberg had a front row seat for the highs and lows of the first two days for McIlroy. The Ryder Cup teammates were grouped together along with Akshay Bhatia.

Ludvig Aberg shares what he noticed after playing two rounds with Rory McIlroy at The Masters

And following the Swede’s third round, he was asked about what he made of McIlroy’s performance over the dramatic first two days.

“It was great. He played very, very good. I’ve said it before, I think when he plays his best golf, it’s hard to catch him. I don’t think there’s a lot of guys in this world that can catch him when he plays at his best,” he said.

“We all saw it. Whenever he gets into the mode of playing really well, he’s a really good golf player.”

Aberg impressed by how McIlroy responded to nightmare finish on Thursday at Augusta

McIlroy appeared to be fairly angry after his final four holes on Thursday. McIlroy did not speak to the media, and it seemed that the pressure had got to him once again.

And Aberg suggested that the reaction at the start of Friday’s round really amazed him as McIlroy went on to completely turn his tournament around.

“Yeah, I was impressed how during the second round he started off — not necessarily slow, but you can just tell that he trusts his game so much that knowing that at any time he can make six birdies in a row, which he can hit it as high as anyone and he can stop it on a dime. He knows that, and he definitely uses that to his advantage,” he added.

McIlroy showed more of that resilience on Saturday. He made bogeys on eight and 10 at the moment he had the chance to completely leave the field behind. And it seemed that going from chasing the tournament to being chased had got to him.

However, he was three under par for the final eight holes to ensure that he would lead going into Sunday. Another fast start in the final round could be huge for his chances.