Defending PGA champ Rory McIlroy bravely displayed he’s not about to hand back the Wanamaker Trophy back without a fight birding four of his closing seven holes on day two of the event at Oak Hill.
McIlroy was struggling in rain that the morning half of the draw to be five over par through 10 holes after taking a sixth hole double and then bogeying three holes in succession from his seventh.
However when the rain abated the double Major Champion stepped on the gas with birdies at his 12th and 13th holes and then his 16th and 17th in a round of 71 for a one under par tally.
It left the 24-year old trailing just six shots behind Masters champion, Adam Scott who added a 68 to his opening 65 to finish one clear of playing partner and US Open winner, Justin Rose (66).
Fellow US Open winner, Webb Simpson took full advantage of the softer but longer Oak Hill playing conditions to equal the course record with a six under par 64 and be in the clubhouse sharing seventh spot on four under par.
Here is three fans of the Irish competing in this week’s 95th PGA Championship. (Photo – www.golfbytourmiss.com)
McIlroy’s opening 36-hole tally is not his lowest in five PGA appearances but given the spotlight his game has been under this year since switching to Nike clubs, his first two rounds, and particularly his last last seven holes fight back, definitely suggest there’s still plenty of star quality in the curly-haired Holywood golfer.
“I was walking up the second hole, which was my 11th hole today, and all I wanted to do is be here for the weekend,” he said.
“Then all of a sudden, I’m somewhat back in the tournament.
“If I can get off to a fast start tomorrow and I’m right up there. So how I played the last few holes has given me a nice bit of momentum going into Saturday.
“So overall I’m pretty happy about the day.
“My round was getting away me somewhat when I bogeyed my 10th, but making four birdies on the last seven holes was nice to sort of redeem the round a little bit and keep myself in the tournament.”
Joining McIlroy over the weekend is fellow Ulsterman Darren Clarke who added a three over par 73 to his earlier 69 for a two over par tally.
Waiting for Clarke when he finished was his two sons, Tyrone and Conor and with Clarke digging into his pocket to pull out two golf balls signed by playing partner and 2014 USA Ryder Cup captain, Tom Watson.
“Tom’s a legend, isn’t he?” said Clarke.
“He is a gentleman as well. I had a great time with Tom and Paul (McGinley), it was really, really good
“And look Tom signed two golf balls, one for Tyrone and one for Conor, and I never asked for them.
“You know when you’re out there competing, you don’t really have time to ask so that was really generous of Tom to do that.”
Clarke’s second round was a mix of two birdies but also two bogeys and a 14th hole double bogey.
“I played very average yesterday and played wonderfully today,” he said.
“I just hit one poor shot and that was at my 14th when I pulled my tee shot, hit the trees, and it kicked down left. I laid it up, pitched it on the green but it spun back 30 yards back down off the green through the rough and into the water.”
In fact, it was same hole where McIlroy had done the same a day earlier.
“So, after that episode, I then had three really good birdie chances on the last four holes. So I am playing better, obviously disappointing to do that when playing so well.”
Clarke’s effort is the second halfway cut in succession he’s made in the last two Majors after finishing T23rd in last month’s British Open.
He was inside the top-60 as he headed inside the stately clubhouse and looking to emerge of the weekend striving to match or better his best PGA finishes of ninth (2000) and 13th (2004).
And Paul McGinley who made up the three ball has lost out in his first confrontation with Watson, next year’s Gleneagles Ryder Cup rival.
Both players missed the cut but with McGinley posting scores of 78 and 74 for a 12-over par tally compared to Watson who shot rounds of 73 and 77 for a 10-over par mark.
“I found it extremely tough out there and the golf course after the rain we had this morning is black and white from the way it played in practice to how it’s playing now,” said McGinley.
“It’s grown about 3000 yards (smiling).
“There was a bit of a spring in the fairways when we got here on Monday and Tuesday but now there’s nothing. It’s extremely long. Obviously the rough was very punishing.
“I’m just way off the pace in terms of playing a golf course like this. Still, having said that, I’ve enjoyed my week, I’ll do some work for Sky TV over the weekend, and that’s it.”
The PGA Championship was McGinley’s first Major since the 2009 British Open and he must have half-expected not to play four rounds as less than an hour after handing in his scorecard he had showered and changed into a suit for a stint in front of the SKY Sports cameras.
“My game was off the pace in these kind of conditions and I mean the golf course is too long for me, that’s the bottom line,” he added.
“I’m hitting 2-irons, 3-irons, 4-irons into all the par fours. There’s no roll in the ball and it’s not flying in the rain. It was tough, there’s no doubt.
“It’s not unplayable as there are guys who are up there, particularly the long-hitters, who are playing well.
“But then it’s been hard for me not having played in four years in an American Major and then coming in. It’s a very different game.
“It’d be a bit like the Americans not playing links for four years and then all of a sudden being thrust on Muirfield this year.”
McGinley will next meet-up with Watson next month in Scotland when they face each other in a nine-hole challenge over the 2014 Ryder Cup Centenary host course as part of the ‘One Year To Go to the start of the Ryder Cup’ functions.
“I enjoyed the couple of days with Tom and it was fun,” said McGinley.
“We battled and both of us felt the same.”
McGinley is now playing a family holiday ahead of next fortnight’s Ryder Cup one-year function at Gleneagles and in the lead-up to his next event, the Johnnie Walker Championship and starting a few days later on August 22nd at Gleneagles.
Ireland’s other two Oak Hill starters in Graeme McDowell and Shane Lowry were out in the afternoon half of the draw and enjoying dry and humid conditions after the steady morning downpour.
