Rory McIlroy rallies late to make cut at Texas Children’s Houston Open
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Written by Kevin Robbins
HOUSTON — FedExCup leader Rory McIlroy rallied late Friday at the Texas Children’s Houston Open to erase any doubt he would play the weekend.
Ranked No. 2 in the world, McIlroy birdied three of his last four holes at Memorial Park Golf Course as dusk approached. He shot 4-under 66 to move into a share of 30th place at 4-under 136, seven shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler, and finished shortly after 7:37 p.m. local time when play was suspended due to darkness. Players had the option to finish their current hole at the time of suspension; McIlroy was on No. 18.
“I holed a couple of putts,” McIlroy said. “That was it. It was nice to see a couple putts go in and get finished.”
The top 65 players and ties after two rounds will advance to the final two rounds of the Texas Children’s Houston Open. At the suspension of play Friday, 66 players stood at 3-under or better. The cut line had a 94% chance of finishing at 3-under, per PGA TOUR probability models, with a 6% chance of finishing at 2-under.
Rory McIlroy sticks tee shot to set up birdie at Houston Open
Immediately after a weather delay that lasted 2 hours and 8 minutes, McIlroy three-putted the par-5 eighth hole and risked missing his first cut this season in five starts.
He turned in 1-under, then birdied the 15th, 16th and 17th as the sun began to set.
“It was a little dicey there at the end,” McIlroy said. “Nice to finish the round the way I did.”
Most of Friday’s afternoon wave will return Saturday morning to complete the second round.
J.J. Spaun, who finished second to McIlroy after a Monday playoff at THE PLAYERS Championship, shot 71-67 to finish at 2-under 138, at risk of missing the projected cut by a shot.
Other notable players in jeopardy of missing the weekend included Alex Smalley and Max McGreevy at 2-under, Zach Johnson at 1-under, Nicolai Højgaard and Aaron Rai at 1-over and Padraig Harrington at 5-over.
