With four holes to play, Rory McIlroy was in serious danger of missing his first cut since the RBC Canadian Open back in June, but the world number two showed the kind of mental resolve which has become one of the most potent weapons in his arsenal to birdie three of the final four holes and earn a weekend tee time in the Crown Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.
Playing the 14th hole on the Composite Course at level-par for the week after making one birdie and 12 pars, he pushed his tee shot to the right and found himself stuck beneath a tree. What followed was a collector’s item, as he took a crouched stance and tried to clip his ball back into play but completely missed it – a ‘fresh air’ shot.
He tried again, this time making contact and getting the ball back into the fairway, but went on to make bogey, falling outside the projected cut line as a result. But he bounced back with birdies on 15, 17 and 18 to record a three-under-par 68 and climbed to T28 at the halfway mark, and though he’s seven shots adrift, he retains faith that he can mount a challenge for a second Stonehaven Cup as he begins his bid to win a record-equalling eighth Race to Dubai title this week.
“Opposite wind, coming out of the south so it definitely played like a different golf course, different clubs off tees,” he said.
“A few different options. It was great, the course is firming up. It’s really making you think out there, especially with your approach shots.
“I certainly haven’t had my best stuff over the last couple of days, but it was nice to finish the way that I did.
“It wasn’t looking great after the bogey on 14… but overall, a great finish [and] delighted to be here for the weekend.
“Seven isn’t too far back. I feel like if I can go out tomorrow morning and shoot a good one, I can get myself right back into the tournament.”
Playing alongside home favourites Adam Scott and Min Woo Lee, big crowds once again followed the star three-ball grouping in Victoria, but it was the two Aussies who were eliciting the biggest roars, both making eagles on day two, and both placed inside the top five. McIlroy took longer to ignite.
He birdied the par-three fifth but had little else to cheer about, particularly after his ‘fresh air’ shot.
“I felt like I could get in there really low, like Seve used to, flick a four iron and just get back into play and on the way down caught a branch and obviously just completely went over the ball,” he said.
“I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a fresh air [shot]. Not one of my finer moments but nice to bounce back after that and play like I did the last few holes.”
He almost had to play a repeat of that shot on 17, but his ball came to rest a yard or two short of a tree, and he was able to work a long-iron around it and onto the putting surface of the par-5 where his eagle putt narrowly missed, but that was his second birdie since the calamity of 14, and another fine approach to the last set up the closing birdie.
“I knew it was going to take a bit of speed out of it, but it was one of those things that even if I was going to lay it up, I was going to have to contend with that branch or whatever that was that was sticking out of the ground,” he said.
“I felt like I was aiming far enough left that I was giving myself a bit of a margin of error. It came out a bit further right than I thought it was going to.
“But rode my luck there a little bit but it worked out, came off, and it was a nice two putt birdie to give myself a nice cushion going down the last.”
Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Daniel Rodrigues share the lead at -9, with Min Woo Lee a shot back in solo third and Scott, Cameron Smith and Carlos Ortiz in a three-way tie for fourth at -7.
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