“I think I’m in a great spot heading into the weekend,” said Rory McIlroy after a five-under 67 that left him tied for sixth at the halfway mark of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.
The world number two struggled to find fairways on day one but managed to turn in a three-under 69 that left him just outside the top 10. If he was going to be a serious contender over the remaining 54 holes, however, he was going to have to be playing from the short grass much more frequently and that’s exactly what he did in round two.
Amidst tricky winds in the afternoon at Wentworth’s West Course, McIlroy found eight of 14 fairways – only seven players found more – and carded seven birdies. Three of those came in his first five holes, starting with a chip-in on the par-3 second, a two-putt birdie from long range on the par-5 fourth, and a dart to the par-3 fifth. His only poor tee shot of the front nine came on eight, where he missed the fairway with an iron and had to take his medicine.
He had five makeable birdie putts on the first five holes on the back side, but could only convert two of them and when he pulled his wedge approach to the 16th and made bogey, you feared that the wrong outcomes on the risk/reward back-to-back par-5s remaining could see him shoot his way out of contention.
But two crushed 3 woods, two solid approach shots, and two good lag putts resulted in two closing birdies and he’s just four back going into the weekend.
“Yeah, pretty good,” was his response when asked his feelings about the round. “I think I’m in a great spot heading into the weekend. Playing a bit better today than I did yesterday. I hit a lot more fairways. Felt like I drove the ball better. Gave myself a few more chances. Didn’t feel like I was scrambling my way around most of the day today. Solid round and I’m in a good spot heading into the last two days.”
McIlroy’s recent technical work on his swing has garnered a lot of attention, but he feels that the tricky winds that sweep through the tree-lined corridiors at Wentworth encourages him to think more about what shape and ball-flight he’s trying to produce rather than how he’s swinging the club specifically.
“I think with the conditions and it being blustery, it forces you not to think of a swing and to think of trajectory and sort of what you’re trying to do with the ball,” he said. “But you know, I’ve been doing this now for a few weeks, and I feel like I’ve got a good in-play feeling for what I’m trying to do or a good thought.
“Yeah, you know, since I’ve been trying to make a couple of changes, I’ve played pretty good. A couple of top 5s to finish the PGA TOUR season, and then didn’t — I actually felt like I hit the ball pretty well at The Irish Open last week. I just didn’t putt particularly well.
“But I’ve seen some encouraging signs again this week, and at least I know I’m on the right path and heading in the right direction. I keep saying it’s going to take probably — it’s taken me five or six months to get into this habit. It will probably take me the same amount of time to get out of it but I’m committed to doing that.”
McIlroy lies second on the Race to Dubai rankings, trailing Patrick Reed, but the American was forced to withdraw midway through his second round after suffering a wrist injury following a horror start that saw him cover his nine holes in +9.
McIlroy and Reed have had their issues down through the years, but the reigning Masters champion admitted that he respects how Reed turned his back on LIV Golf at the start of the year and has played a heavy schedule on the DP World Tour.
“Yeah, look, I’m motivated regardless of who it is,” he replied when asked if pursuing Reed gave him extra motivation in his quest for a record-tying eight Harry Vardon Trophy as the leading player on the European circuit. “Obviously Patrick and I have had quite the battles over years, whether it be Ryder Cup, final round in a major. Dubai Desert Classic a few years ago. He’s a great competitor and he’s played great all year. I respect him for how he’s went about it, and coming through here, he’s put his head down and done the work, and it’s actually been really good to see.
“Unfortunately he’s pulled out this week, which gives me an opportunity to try to claw back some ground that I lost last week in Ireland. This weekend is a big weekend for me to pick up a few points and make the race even tighter going into these last few weeks.”
McIlroy is four shots behind Ryan Gerard, who finished eagle-birdie to move to -12 with a two-shot advantage over Adam Scott and Italy’s Filippo Celli.
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