Rory McIlroy may have taken one more stroke in his second 18 holes than he did in his first at the 2025 Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass, but he feels his game was in better shape in round two.
“Much better!” he rubberstamped after his round. “Hit it much better off the tee. I think I hit more fairways in six holes today than I did in 18 yesterday. Yeah, got it in play much better and then from there was able to give myself some opportunities and obviously make some birdies early. Couldn’t quite continue that on to the back nine, but it was much better off the tee.”
The world number two hit just four of 14 fairways in round one, but managed to grind out a five-under 67 that included a Houdini-esque birdie from the trees on 18, but starting round two on the 10th, he found the short grass on each of the first three holes, birdieing the first with a sublime chip-in after missing the green left and holed an eight-footer for another birdie on 12. The only disappointing factor was that he failed to take advantage of the par-5 11th. Further birdies at 14, 16 and a second-successive birdie on 18 got him to the turn at -5 for the day and -10 overall, and a neat up-and-down on the par-5 second got him into a share of the lead at -11.
Unfortunately, that would be his final birdie of the day, and he began to leave himself work to do for par after coming up short on the par-3 third and overshooting the green from 113 yards on the fourth.
The bogey-free streak finally came to an end on six after finding the long bunker left of the fairway and then finding another left of the green, but he regrouped to card two more pars before reaching the par-5 ninth where, having just avoided the left rough off the tee, he fancied retaking a share of the lead at -11.
Going for the green was a bold move, and his fairway wood didn’t have the requisite height to carry the sprawling trees that guard the green from the left-hand side, and he was forced to pitch out sideways and, from 84 yards, took three to get down and slipped back to -9.
Despite the disappointing finish, he knows he’s in good shape going into the weekend and, with the wind expected to pick up, he’s relishing the opportunity to take on a golf course that will play much tougher and bear its teeth considerably more.
“Yeah, I’m looking forward to it,” he said. “I think it’s going to be really important to try to flight your ball and keep it under the tree line. I think once it gets above the tree line here it can start to really get hit by it. And it does, it does swirl a little bit, but I think when the wind is so strong, it will be a little more consistent. But, yeah, this course is challenging enough, but with a wind like that, yeah, I’m excited for that challenge.”
Shane Lowry and Seamus Power are both among the late starters on day two and Lowry, starting the day at level-par, sits just above the provisional cutline while Power, four further back, will need a round in the 60s if he’s to have any chance of earning a weekend tee time and a paycheck in what is the most lucrative event on the PGA Tour calendar.
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