Like father, like daughter – Poppy McIlroy delights Augusta crowd with long putt

Rory McIlroy’s four-year-old daughter showed her father how it was done by delighting the Augusta crowd with a monster putt on the eve of the 89th Masters.

The Northern Irishman, who needs to win the Masters to complete the career grand slam, helped Poppy sink a long birdie putt on the final hole.

“Yeah, very cool,” McIlroy said when asked about that moment.

“It’s just such a fun afternoon. Being out there with Shane (Lowry) and Tommy (Fleetwood) and their families, we’re all very, very close, so to have the kids out there and them having fun is the most important thing.

“It’s a really nice way to sort of end the preparation going into what is the serious part of the week. So it’s nice to be able to get out here and do this.”

Colombia’s Nico Echavarria faces an extra hurdle to overcome in his bid to claim a first major title after winning the par-three contest.

Echavarria birdied the second extra hole to beat American JJ Spaun in a play-off after the pair completed the nine-hole course in the grounds of Augusta National in five under par.

Since the contest started in 1960, nobody has ever become par-three and Masters champion in the same week, a fact which often sees players deliberately not shoot the best score possible.

US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley and five-time major winner Brooks Koepka both made a hole-in-one on the sixth, with fellow American Tom Hoge recording an ace on the fourth.