When round two of the second FedEx Cup playoff event got underway on Friday Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry were both looking to better their even par scores in round one.
McIlroy, who was grouped with Scottie Scheffler, struggled off the tee, as he did in round one, but the grand slam winner scored well to post a 4-under-par round and while that put him in solo 11th place on the leaderboard he finds himself 10 shots adrift of runaway leader Robert MacIntyre.
A double bogey on the par-3 third hole was the only blemish on the 36-year-old’s scorecard, as he made four birdies – making three-in-a-row on holes nine, 10 and 11. But McIlroy’s best work came on the par-5 16th, splitting the fairway with a 329-yard drive and following it up with a 268-yard approach to land seven feet from the hole to make eagle.
“I scored better, but still not great. I played a good back nine and I scored well. I made a few saves. But I still want to try to hit a few more fairways. Still struggling to get the ball in play. But when I do get the ball in play, I give myself plenty of chances and make some birdies,” said the world no.2.
Shane Lowry also had a tough day on the tee boxes but scrambled well to finish his round two at one-under-par and is in a tie for 16th.
A birdie on the par-5 fourth after a missed fairway cancelled out a sore bogey on the hole prior as the Offaly man found a run of form, birdieing the seventh and 10th holes.
Seven pars in a row showed some consistency for Lowry but a bogey finish on the par-4 18th going from the fairway bunker to the greenside bunker was not the ending the 38-year-old would have wanted.
The man who can’t seem to put a foot wrong at the moment though is Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre as the 29-year-old followed up his round one score of 62 with another brilliant bogey-free score of 64 and he extended his lead to five strokes at the top of the leaderboard.
MacIntyre, sitting at 14-under-par heading into the third round, showcased some exceptional iron play and he looks to be the man to beat this weekend.
“I’ve played beautifully the last two days. Yesterday the putter was on fire. Today I felt like my iron play was exceptional. But I’ve been putting in the work the last couple of weeks to make it,” said MacIntyre.
“When I’m comfortable with a putter in my hands, it’s a dangerous thing… it’s only 36 holes gone. There’s a long way to go. I’m comfortable with who I am. I’m comfortable with the team around me, and I’m comfortable on this golf course. Just go and play golf,” he added confidently.
World no.1 Scottie Scheffler holds the solo second position, five strokes behind MacIntyre, after a bogey-free five-under-par round two.
“I would have liked to get to have gotten a couple better looks down the stretch, but didn’t hit as many fairways the last few holes, and out here with the way the holes are shaped, you’ve got to be in play, and did a good job of saving pars when I needed to on the back,” said Scheffler.
Impressive rounds for Michael Kim and Maverick McNealy see them enter the Ryder Cup conversation as this is the last counting event for the US with the six automatic qualifiers set to be finalised after the tournament.
A three-under-par round sees Harry Hall in T8 and into the projected top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings as Akshay Bhatia drops to a projected 32nd.
“(I) just got one job to do, and that’s go recover now and get ready for tomorrow,” said Hall.
Round three gets underway on Saturday as wet conditions are expected.
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