After looking completely out of sorts on day one of the US PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, Rory McIlroy looked a lot more like The Masters champion and the world number two on Friday, but despite twice getting himself into red figures for the tournament, back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18 dropped him back to +1 and he made the cut with nothing to spare.
An excellent par save from the bunker on the first was followed by a regulation birdie on the second, and McIlroy was up-and-running. Four more pars followed, but he took care of the par-5 seventh and drivable par-4 eighth to work his way to -3 for the day by the turn, and another birdie on the par-5 10th got him into red figures for the tournament for the first time since the sixth hole in his opening round.
The Holywood man’s putter had been his most valuable club on the day to this point, taking just 11 counting putts for his 10 holes, but back-to-back misses from inside 10 feet on the next two led to bogeys as he fell back the wrong side of par.
More short-game wizardry and normal service being resumed with the flatstick saw him claw his way back into red figures again with good par saves on 13 and 16, and back-to-back birdies on 14 and 15, but an inexcusable miss from three feet on the par-3 17th, combined with a wild pull off the 18th tee made for a disappointing finish and a 69 that will feel like a 73.
His Championship hopes are now hanging by a thread, as he trails leader Jhonnatan Vegas by nine, but more crucially, trails Scottie Scheffler by six.
The world number one wasn’t at his brilliant best, but he managed to grind out a three-under 68 to extend his lead over his nearest challenger in the world rankings and in the pre-tournament betting by one stroke on day two.
Tom McKibbin is the best placed Irishman left in the tournament after Shane Lowry, Pádraig Harrington and Séamus Power all missed the cut, meaning all hopes of an Irish Grand Slam in 2025 majors rest solely on the two Holywood men.
After opening with a one-under round of 70, McKibbin played steady golf on day two, making just a single birdie and a single bogey – the former coming on the par-5 15th (his sixth) and the latter coming on the par-4 ninth (his last), to go into the weekend in a share of 36th.
Other notable big names on the leaderboard and heading into the weekend are Matt Fitzpatrick and Si Woo Kim who share second place along with Matthieu Pavon at -6. Kim’s chances were bolstered by an incredible 252-yard hole-in-one on the sixth, making him only the second player after Ernie Els to record holes-in-one in both the PGA and Open Championships after he aced the 17th at Royal Troon last year.
Max Homa sits alongside Scheffler at -5, with Bob MacIntyre and Ryan Fox at -3 and Bryson DeChambeau lurking ominously at -3. Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, and Viktor Hovland are at +2, as is US Ryder Cup Captain Keegan Bradley who is currently leading in the battle of the captains with Luke Donald also through to the weekend at -1.
Going home along with Lowry, Harrington and Power are Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Ludvig Aberg, Justin Thomas, Brooks Koepka, and Patrick Cantlay, among others.
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