Rory McIlroy rounds into form, pulls into contention at British Open
Steve DiMeglioSOUTHPORT, England – The bounce is back in his step.
The smooth flow of his powerful swing is again a sight to behold.
The putting stroke is no longer unsightly.
And on a day by the Irish Sea that was dreadful from sunrise to sunset, Rory McIlroy’s bright smile lit up olden Royal Birkdale in the 146th British Open.
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With a 2-under-par 68 amidst howling crosswinds and under dark skies, McIlroy emerged from a deep slumber and left the scoring trailer within striking distance of the leaders. After starting the oldest championship in golf with four bogeys in five holes, the four-time major champion, who had missed the cut in three of his last four starts and is winless on the year, is back in the hunt again.
“To be in after two days and be under par for this championship after the way I started, I'm ecstatic with that,” said McIlroy, who won the Open in 2014.
Very little this year on the golf course has left McIlroy overjoyed. While he lost in a playoff in the South Africa Open, he suffered a stress fracture of a rib that threw his year and game off kilter. He missed seven weeks, then came back and played but aggravated the injury and was forced to miss nearly a month.
Upon his latest return, he’s looked lost at times, frustrated at other times. He said he was close over and over again – joking that he started to sound like a broken record – but was nowhere hear the form golf fans have come accustomed to. Doubts crept into his head and he became timid.
“I was very proud of myself that I hung in there and tried to stay as positive as I possibly could,” he said. “But, look, I just had to turn it around. I had to find a couple of little key thoughts, and I feel like I have. And I went with those today and it worked. I'll try to keep those in my head going forward the next couple of days. … A couple of little mental thoughts, a couple little keys that I tell myself before I step in to hit a shot or step in to hit a putt. A couple of little things. Very simple, but obviously quite effective over the past 27 holes.”
The birth of McIlroy’s return to form first took hold on the sixth tee during Thursday’s first round when he got an earful from his longtime caddie, J.P. Fitzgerald.
“He said, ‘You’re Rory McIlroy. What the (bleep) are you doing?” McIlroy said. “At that point I mumbled and said, ‘Whatever.’ But it definitely helped. It kept me positive. So he did a great job.”
It wasn’t the first time Fitzgerald gave the boss a piece of his mind. And McIlroy is pretty sure it won’t be the last time.
“He does do it quite often; it's just whether it penetrates my head is a different thing,” McIlroy said. “He tries to keep me as positive as he possibly can. And sometimes I get down on myself. We've been together for nine years now. He knows me pretty well. And he knows what to say out there and what not to say. And he definitely said the right thing yesterday when I needed it.”
He needed it heading to the 10th hole in the first round. McIlroy was 5 over and 10 shots out of the lead when he made the turn. But he came home with four birdies to shoot 71. He started his second round with three birdies in the first six holes. Huge par saves on 11 and 12 kept him rolling. He dropped his first shot with a bogey on the 13th and added bogey on the 15th. But he rebounded with a birdie on the 17th and left Royal Birkdale beaming.
“I hit some quality shots out there,” he said. “I saw a lot of better iron shots. I saw some really good putts going in. So, yeah, there was a lot of quality out there and I was happy to see that. Just have to try to keep that going for the next two days."
