Rory McIlroy didn’t enjoy an entirely smooth ride in the Memorial at Muirfield Village on Friday but there was far more good than bad in the world number eight’s up-and-down second round of 69. It left him with a midway total of five-under-par 139 that put him into contention in a tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus, one he would dearly love to add to his accomplished career curriculum vitae.
Australia’s Cameron Smith leads the way on eight under after adding a 69 to his opening 67, while Denny McCarthy, seeking a breakthrough win on the PGA Tour, and South Korea’s KH Lee, are a shot behind.
McIlroy’s round was one that delivered plenty, with a wonderfully constructed eagle on the fifth, his 14th hole of the round, to go with four birdies and three bogeys in an eventful day’s work that ultimately had him moving to the business part of proceedings in the first of a four-week stretch on the road, with the US Open in a fortnight’s time the focal point.
For now, the Memorial is the tournament on his mind. And the Northern Irishman, for the most part, played his way into contention. The highlight was that eagle on the fifth, where he aggressively hit a 3-wood approach from 271 yards that landed softly on the green and rested six feet from the hole. He rolled in the putt.
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Having started on the 10th, McIlroy suffered an early bogey on the 11th (where he drove into the right rough) but responded with a birdie on the Par-3 12th where he hit his tee shot to 18 feet and sank the putt. Another bogey on the 14th, where he put his approach shot into the water, was followed by back-to-back birdies on the 15th (from 12 feet) and 16th (from five feet) and another on the third (from six feet) before that eagle on the fifth and then a late bogey on the eighth, where he was in a greenside bunker.
“Overall, two solid rounds of golf. I’m right in contention going into the weekend … I’m happy with how everything is going,” said McIlroy, adding of the possibility of receiving a winner’s handshake from Nicklaus off the 18th green should he finally get to close the deal at Jack’s Place:
“I think it’s a special moment in anyone’s career, being able to walk up the hill off your tee and get that handshake. I’d love to win here. I won at Bay Hill at Arnold’s place, but I was never able to get that handshake because Arnold [Palmer] passed away a couple of years before. It makes it extra special when you’re able to win a tournament, whether it’s hosted by Jack or Arnold or any of the greats in the game.”
Shane Lowry, too, stayed very much in contention after a second round 72 – three birdies, three bogeys – to reach the midpoint on 141, one under par. Lowry’s three bogeys (on the 10th, 15th and sixth) all came from pushing shots into the right rough, but his putting stood up well with a 24-footer for birdie on the 12th, one from 10 feet on the 14th and another from 22 feet on the 17th.
A second round of 76 left Séamus Power two shots over the cut mark on 76 and he misses the weekend action.
Leona Maguire ended her run of three recent missed cuts with a solid performance through 36 holes of the US Women’s Open at Pine Needles in North Carolina, where the Co Cavan golfer added a second round 70 for two-under-par 140 to sit inside the top-20.
Maguire’s round was an eventful one, featuring six birdies, a double bogey (on the 14th) and three bogeys but managed to put herself into a position to challenge over the weekend.
Stephanie Meadow bogeyed two of her closing three holes to miss the cut by a shot after a second round 74.
Australia’s Minjee Lee and American Mina Harigae are two shots clear of the field on nine under.
In the Porsche European Open in Hamburg on the DP World Tour, England’s Jordan Smith shot a second round 68 for a midway total of six-under-par 138 that gave him a two-stroke lead over Frenchman Victor Perez, winner of last week’s Dutch Open. All three Irish players in the field – Niall Kearney, Cormac Sharvin and Jonny Caldwell – missed the cut.
