Rory McIlroy was delighted to edge closer to the leaders in posting a 67 on day two of the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston.
After a no-frills first round 71, McIlroy muscled his way up into an end-of-the day four-under par tally to be trailing just seven shots behind the leader, American Webb Simpson.
Simpson, who has qualified for the Ryder Cup, capped his round holing a 70-foot eagle putt at his last in a round of 63 to lead by a shot on 11-under par.
Mcllroy highlighted his own round with an eagle ‘3’ in holing a 24-footer at the par-5 second hole he was playing as his 11th.
“It was a nice run around the turn and with the eagle on the second hole or my 11th, I thought I could probably shoot six or seven under,” he said.
“In the end expectations nearly got the better of me. I had birdie putts on three and five that could have easily dropped but then I bogeyed eight though I managed to bounce back and birdie my last, but overall I just felt the bogey on eight was because I was trying to press too hard after not taking advantage of the fourth and seventh holes.”
McIlroy was asked what he could take away from the round given he could have easily shot a 64, 65 and not a 67.
“I guess I am encouraged because it was an easy 67 and when I look back on my last few weeks of competition there were a couple of rounds at Akron where I got the most out of my round where a 67 could have been a 70 type of thing,” he said.
“So, while my 67 today could have been a 64 at least I am playing that sort of golf and giving myself an opportunity to shoot a 63 or a 64 again.”
“So, you have to take the positives from that but then in saying that I am actually surprised the scoring has not been lower than it is. Six-under is top-10 which is sort of surprising and if I could go out and shoot a 64 or a 65 tomorrow I am right in it, and we still have 36 holes to go.”
“So, I am closer to the lead than I was yesterday.”
McIlroy will commence his third round in the company of Kevin Tway at 4.25pm Irish time Sunday and out in the group immediately ahead of Tiger Woods and Bryson DeChambeau.
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