PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Rory McIlroy has changed his equipment in the past week, corrected a swing flaw, struggled to find fairways and then had a hard time hitting greens. And he still finds himself in contention at THE PLAYERS Championship.

After shooting 67-68 at TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy was just two shots back of co-leaders Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia when the morning wave completed play Friday at THE PLAYERS Championship. McIlroy often speaks about the pride he takes in his increased consistency in his game, and an improved short game was one of his goals for this year, and it has been on display this week.

McIlroy shot 67 on Thursday despite hitting just four fairways, no birdie more indicative of his day than the one that came on his final hole, where his punch shot from the pine straw and trees right of 18 rolled within 8 feet of the flag. It was a good score on a day when he was limited to hitting a controlled fade to keep the ball in play because he wasn’t comfortable with his full swing.

He visited the range Thursday afternoon to fix his swing flaw – tilting too much to his right on his downswing caused him to get “under” the proper swing plane – and the work paid off in the second round, as McIlroy missed just three fairways (after hitting four only a day earlier). But then he struggled with his iron play in the second round, losing strokes to the field.

McIlroy has made 13 birdies through two rounds, the same amount as Lee and Bhatia, but also has four bogeys. He hit just 10 greens Friday, including four on his second nine, but was able to stay in contention by saving par six times when he missed greens.

A more consistent short game was a goal entering 2025, in part because he saw the important role that aspect of the game played in Scottie Scheffler’s success last season.

McIlroy began his PGA TOUR season with a victory at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It was his second win in three starts after he closed 2024 with a victory in the DP World Tour Championship. In his two starts after Pebble Beach, he finished in the top 20 in two Signature Events, The Genesis Invitational and Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard.

McIlroy switched balls before his win at Pebble Beach, opting for a model that flies slightly lower. That accompanied changes last week to his woods and long-irons, which McIlroy reversed for the final round, reverting to the setup he had used last year.

He started THE PLAYERS’ second round with a 5-under 31 on his opening nine, the back nine that offers more birdie opportunities than TPC Sawgrass’ other side, which features several long and punishing par-4s.

His day started with a chip-in birdie on No. 10. His next two birdies came on the short, par-4 12th, where he hit a 90-yard approach within 10 feet, and the long 14th, where he hit a 173-yard shot to 11 feet. He birdied 18 again, this time from the fairway, to reach 10 under par.

“Hit it much better off the tee. I think I hit more fairways in six holes today than I did in 18 yesterday,” McIlroy said. “Yeah, got it in play much better and then from there was able to give myself some opportunities and obviously make some birdies early. Couldn't quite continue that on to the back nine, but it was much better off the tee.”

He struggled with his iron play on his second nine, though, hitting only four greens despite missing just one fairway.

McIlroy was displeased with his wedge shot on the first hole after yanking his 120-yard approach 30 feet left of the hole. He missed short and right on the short, par-3 third hole and then blew a wedge over the green on the fourth hole. He made par all three times, though, a testament to the short game that has helped him play efficiently on a week when he isn’t playing his best.

He drove into a fairway bunker on the sixth hole and his approach struck a tree before landing in another sand trap. He was unable to get up-and-down, resulting in his first bogey in 25 holes. He saved par from another greenside bunker on the next hole, before making bogeying the par-5 ninth.

Despite such uncharacteristic mistakes, McIlroy is still in contention for another PLAYERS win.