Rory McIlroy endures wild second round at THE PLAYERS Championship
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Found rough, sand, water and bark in bizarre score line
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Rory McIlroy could have used a little more grass in his second round at THE PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass on Friday.
Too often he found himself playing out of the rough, sand and trees. He also hit his third water ball of the tournament at the par-4 12th hole and signed for a 1-over 73.
He’s 6-under par going into the weekend, eight shots behind leader Wyndham Clark (65).
McIlroy politely declined to comment after his round.
“Sorry, guys, I’ve got to go hit balls before it gets dark,” he said before hitting the driving range.
After making 10 birdies in an opening-round 65, McIlroy’s roller-coaster second round came as a surprise. For the first six holes Friday he traded bogeys and birdies, failing to scratch out a par.
He fought mostly a left miss – unless it was a right miss.
Rory McIlroy nearly holes 103-yard approach from rough at THE PLAYERS
Sometimes he got away with it. At the par-4 seventh hole, he hit his tee shot into the right trees but threaded his second over a pond and to the green, then two-putted for par, his first of the day.
Sometimes he didn’t get away with it. At the par-4 14th, McIlroy hit his tee shot into the left fairway bunker, from which he lined up what needed to be a heroic approach from 201 yards. It came off too low and thwacked a tree, the ball ricocheting dead right but into the fairway, 91 yards away. His third found the green, but too short, and he three-putted from 46 1/2 feet.
Although McIlroy made pars on the last four holes, even that was an adventure. He was in the left trees at the par-5 16th hole and did well to earn a birdie opportunity from 16 feet but missed.
He hit a brave shot 12 feet past the pin at the par-3 17th hole, but missed that putt, too.
And at the finishing hole, where a left missed is severely punished by a gaping water hazard, he split the fairway only to hit his approach over the green, from which he could only manage par.
McIlroy hit just 8/14 fairways and 11/18 greens in regulation. Although he’s made the second most birdies in the field, 15 – Clark has 16 – he’s simply made too many mistakes.
Cameron Morfit is a Staff Writer for the PGA TOUR. He has covered rodeo, arm-wrestling, and snowmobile hill climb in addition to a lot of golf. Follow Cameron Morfit on Twitter.