Rory McIlroy carded a three-under 68 on Friday at Royal Melbourne to finish within the 36-hole cut line and secure a spot at the Australian Open this weekend.
After the second round, McIlroy was at 2 under par, trailing the leaders Daniel Rodriguez (64) and Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson (66) with a seven-stroke difference.
At nine under par, the pair held a one-shot advantage over Min Woo Lee, who shot a 65, with fellow Australians Adam Scott (66) and Cameron Smith (65) sharing fourth place. In particular, Smith avoided extending his record of seven consecutive missed cuts.
McIlroy started the day at 1-over after shooting a 72 on Thursday, leaving him tied for 57th and within one shot of a projected 2-over.
He started Friday with one birdie and eight pars on the front nine, but added four more pars and stumbled with a bogey on the par-5 14th.
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McIlroy reflects on his second round of the Crown Australian Open, where he shot a 3-under 68.
After missing the ball to the right of the fairway, his ball landed under a tea tree. His next swing got caught on a branch and resulted in a strikeout, but he picked up six RBIs.
Although he briefly fell outside the cut line, he made a birdie on the par-3 15th hole to get back to even par.
After that, he stabilized with a par on the 16th, and produced arguably his best shot of the tournament on the 17th. He hit it from the patchy rough through a small bush and narrowly missed an eagle putt before making birdie.
McIlroy bounced back from early struggles to birdie three of his final four holes to qualify for Melbourne.
He also birdied the 18th hole to move to 1 under, moving up about 20 places on the leaderboard and ensuring survival for the weekend.
“Seven isn’t that far away.”
“It was like a different golf course today because of the wind,” McIlroy said.
“Obviously I haven’t played my best the last few days, but I’m glad I was able to finish it the way I wanted. I’m happy to be here this weekend… 7 isn’t that far away.”
Reflecting on his missed shot under the tree, he added, “It wasn’t my best moment, but I’m glad I was able to recover in the last few holes.”
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