McIlroy upbeat and in contention after Friday 64

CROMWELL, Conn. – When he said that “everything was just a little bit better” with his game in Round 2 of the Travelers Championship, Rory McIlroy was not quite on target.

There was the matter of that par-3 eighth hole at TPC River Highlands, for instance. One day after McIlroy had recorded his first ace on the PGA TOUR at No. 8, he made his only mishap in Round 2, finding a watery grave and making double-bogey.

“I hit my 8-iron really good,” said McIlroy of the tee shot, which was set up at 177 yards Friday. “But it got hit by a little bit of wind.”

Having made eight birdies in his first 16 bogey-free holes, McIlroy was 10-under and dancing near the top of the leaderboard. He was seemingly perched to go bogey-free for the third time in his last nine rounds (dating back to the RBC Canadian Open), so the double-bogey stung a little.

But he didn’t let it spoil his mood after shooting 6-under 64 to get halfway home in 8-under 132. Instead, McIlroy was quite upbeat, given that one day earlier he had five birdies and an eagle, only to cough up five bogeys. Compared to Thursday, “it was better, way better on the greens,” he said, and the stat sheet supported him.

McIlroy ranked 89th in Strokes Gained: Putting Thursday and was fourth when he signed his scorecard Friday.

Even the way he followed up the double bogey made him happy. Playing his last hole, the par-4 ninth, McIlroy stuck to his game plan – when the hole is cut on the left side of the green, he takes on the challenge of trying to drive it over trees all the way down the right side of the hard dogleg left right hole.

It might measure out at 392 yards on the scorecard, but when you take it on the line that McIlroy did, it’s probably 325 to reach the green. McIlroy didn’t quite carry all the trees, but he got a fortuitous bounce (and then a free drop when he came to rest up against a TV cable) and was able to make a no-stress par.

“No, not at all,” said McIlroy, when asked if his bold line was in response to being angry about the double bogey. “I felt like it was a pin where you could be aggressive with the tee shot and get it up there.”

As he spoke, McIlroy knew he would be well off of Denny McCarthy’s lead (-15) and would even be sitting behind a small parade of others who had pushed in double figures under par. But he had played a mostly tidy round of golf, put himself into position to make a weekend charge, and he was quite energized.

“I feel ok,” he said. “For being my fourth week in a row, I feel OK.”