Rory McIlroy feels he is back in business at the 108th PGA Championship as Pádraig Harrington produced a vintage afternoon performance to make the cut at Aronimink.
McIlroy’s hopes of a seventh major title were dangling by a thread after the opening day but he responded with aplomb, rolling in three birdies in a bogey-free 67 to reach one-over-par and he is within five shots of leaders Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy.
After an erratic performance on Thursday, the 2012 and 2014 PGA champion was purring off the tee ranking 9th in strokes gained, 17th in putting and third overall as he birdied the 2nd, 4th and 12th holes while he could be closer to the leaders after seeing chance slip by on the two par-5s.
“I think any, if you can get it going — it’s hard, it’s been hard to make birdies out there because obviously, one, the wind the last couple days, but also where they have put these hole locations, I feel like they have really tried to protect the course the first couple of days. So it seems like they have used up a lot of the really hard ones.
“So depending upon a little bit calmer conditions and maybe a couple more favorable hole locations, I think guys that have, that are just here for the weekend feel — I think everyone’s got to feel like they have got a chance. Yes, there’s — it’s bunched, but you get on a run with wedges on that front nine and you shoot 4-, 5-under and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things.
“At five back I do feel like I’m right in the tournament, and that’s really what I wanted to do today was to just get myself back in it, and I feel like I’ve done that.”
McIlroy is one of 44 players within five shots of the lead – including Scottie Scheffler who is two back at two-under – and he admitted that he was surprised with how tough the course is playing but that might play to his benefit as he doesn’t see players sprinting too far ahead of him over the weekend.
“I think this afternoon I had a better understanding of how the course was playing, and just watching a little bit of the coverage early on today, I probably went out there yesterday being a little too aggressive thinking that guys were going to go lower than they were. Because I certainly didn’t, in the practice rounds, I certainly didn’t see it playing as difficult as it has played.
“So I think knowing that the field isn’t going to get away from you, you can be a little bit more patient, especially this afternoon.”
Meanwhile, it looked as if 2008 PGA champion Pádraig Harrington was going to be on the fringes of contention when he was three-under through seven holes of his second round. At one-over, the 54-year-old was set to make the cut as he rolled back the years.
It was still a vintage effort from Harrington although he three-putted two of the last four greens for bogey to sign for an impressive 69 for a three-over total.
Shane Lowry overcame a topped shot into the water on the par-3 17th to cling on to the cut mark at four-over after a 76.
Tom McKibbin missed his third straight major cut at plus seven.
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