A day after dazzling spectators with a six-under par 66, despite it being his first competitive round in over six weeks, world No1 Rory McIlroy was a shadow of his own self yesterday as he chunked shots and three-putted.
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And yet, it is a tribute to his mental strength, and how well he has been playing lately, that the Northern Irishman managed to turn what could have been an ugly over-par round into a respectable two-under par 70.
That kept McIlroy firmly in contention at the halfway stage, placed tied second at 136, just two shots behind leader Henrik Stenson.
McIlroy said: “I just didn’t quite have it. I guess you’re going to get rounds like that when you’re coming back from a little bit of a lay‑off.
Just under 3 hours until I hit my first competitive golf shot in 6 weeks. To say I’m excited is an understatement. #imready
— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) November 20, 2014
“I felt like I did well. I grinded out a score, which was the main thing. I’m still pretty close to the lead. So there are still 36 holes to go, and I’m still in a good position.
“Henrik obviously knows how to play well on this golf course. I will have to make sure he does not run away too far tomorrow.”
Nice first day back at the office….
— Rory Mcilroy (@McIlroyRory) November 20, 2014
McIlroy got off to a fast start with a birdie on his opening hole, but then made 12 straight pars, making par on holes he should have made birdies on, and saving pars on certain holes where bogeys looked imminent.
One such hole was the par-5 seventh, where he hit a fat, duckhook second shot with a five-wood and could only make a par. On the par- 5 18th, he slammed a monster tee shot into the water hazard, and had to be content with a par again.
He did make three birdies late into the round, on the 14th, 15th and 17th, but he spoiled that stretch with a three-putt bogey on the 16th.
McIlroy’s fellow overnight leader, Shane Lowry, endured an up and down day. The Irishman struggled badly at the start with three bogies from his opening four holes before a birdie at the 9th and hole-in-one on the par-three 13th saw him finish one-under for the day and three shots off Stenson.
“It was a beautiful shot, a perfect number for my six iron,” said Lowry. “It’s my first in tournament play and only my second ever so it was pretty exciting. It was hard to go on and play the next hole after that.”