Two double bogeys in his first three holes looked to have ended any chance of an Augusta-esque Rory McIlroy comeback to get back into the mix in the U.S. Open at Oakmont, and though he trails leader Sam Burns by nine, he’s still in with an outside chance of pushing his way into contention after a closing birdie secured him a Saturday tee time.
After looking like he was back to something approaching his best for the opening nine holes on Thursday, Dr Jekyll turned into Mr Hyde on the back and he found himself languishing at +4 after the first 18 holes.
Shoulders slumped, that trademark bounce notable by its absence, the horror start to round two was a continuation of his sloppy finish to round one, but though the spark that he was seeking failed to arrive, to his credit, he refused to throw in the towel.
A birdie on the ninth as finally, a putt from outside 30 feet dropped, boosted his chances of making the cut, but when he gave that shot back on 11 after missing the fairway with an iron, he ramped up the pressure for the closing stretch.
Needing to play the final five in at least one-under, and more likely two-under, a crunching drive up 14 saw him reach the greenside bunker on the 367-yard par-4 and splash out to seven feet, but the horseshoe that followed suggested that it was time for the pilot to start warming up his jet engines.
As quickly as those engines were on, they were back off again when he holed a 20-footer on 15, but he knew that he’d be relying on help from the field if +7 was to make it. Par on 16 was fine with the drivable 17th to come, but when he carved his tee shot right of the intended target, his frustrations boiled over and he smashed the tee marker with his 3-wood.
It was a petulant display of anger, as he’ll readily admit, but it was evident of two things. One, that he was still struggling and it was getting under his skin, and two, that he was desperate to see weekend action.
Maybe failing to get up and down from the bunker was suitable payback for the destruction of property, but there was still another smash and grab in him, and this time, it was of the right sort.
A 373-yard drive down the centre of the 18th fairway and a 124-yard wedge to five feet set up a closing birdie chance and one that, should he hole it, would remove all doubt that his name would be on the teesheet for Saturday. And in it went, for a +6 36-hole tally.
With just three players in red figures, the winning tally could yet be over-par come Sunday evening, meaning McIlroy could be within four or five shots of the effective lead and tied for 47th, will have the benefit of an early tee time on moving day.
But for the second day running, he opted not to talk to the press.
Shane Lowry, playing alongside Rory, signed off with an eight-over 78 that included a one-stroke penalty for picking up his ball before putting down a marker on the 14th. He was well outside the cutline and destined for home anyway, so he was able to see the funny side of it, calling it “probably one of the stupidest things” he’s ever done on a golf course.
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