Rory McIlroy somehow managed to pull a rabbit out of the bag, ending a dismal back nine on the iconic Pebble Beach links with a closing eagle that brought back some hope to his quest to chase down Sepp Straka in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am.
Straka – a recent winner of the American Express Championship – shot a second round 65 at Pebble Beach to match his opening 65 at Spyglass Hill and claim the midway lead on 14-under-par 130 in the $20 million signature event on the PGA Tour − three shots clear of closest pursuers Russell Henley and Cam Davis.
McIlroy though found the going tough on the back nine as temperatures dipped and the winds strengthened and he needed an eagle on the closing Par 5 18th hole for a 70, finishing on 136, the same midway total as Shane Lowry.
Unlike the pyrotechnics of their respective first rounds, when both McIlroy and Lowry recorded holes-in-one, the second round proved to be a rather more mundane affair for the two Irishmen. In Lowry’s case, an opening birdie was followed by a frustrating run of 15 straight pars before he managed a second birdie in a bogey-free round on the 17th at Spyglass Hill.
Yet it was McIlroy’s round which was even harder to figure. He covered the front nine in 32 strokes – with birdies on the second, fourth, sixth and seventh – to move into a strong challenging position only to give all those shots back with four bogeys in a six hole stretch (on the 12th, 13th, 16th and 17th holes) before managing to conjure up an eagle on the 18th to join Lowry in tied-13th.
McIlroy and Lowry go into the weekend’s final two rounds playing catchup on Straka, six shots behind the Austrian who has credited a changed putting routine and grip with his improvement on the greens.
“I made a few setup changes in my putting and that’s really helped out a lot. Palm Springs [the American Express win] was the first time in a long time I felt that I had four really good putting rounds in a row. I think that’s definitely made a huge difference,” said Straka, elaborating: “I got my hands a little bit higher, strengthened my grip a little bit and went to a smaller, skinnier grip.”
Straka’s improved form enabled him to claim a three-stroke lead over his closest pursuers heading into the weekend. But, with no cut in the limited 80-man field (reduced to 79 after Ludvig Aberg’s withdrawal due to illness before the second round), and with both final rounds at Pebble Beach, the opportunity remained for someone to make a charge.
World number one Scottie Scheffler, playing for the first time this season following his freak hand injury on Christmas Day which required minor surgery and delayed his reappearance on tour, shot a 70 for 137, seven behind Straka.
Séamus Power – playing for the first time since missing the cut at the Sony Open last month where he suffered a back injury – shot a second round 71 at Spyglass Hill for a midway total of 138, in tied-47th place.
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