Rory McIlroy has set his sights on a “decent finish” at The Players after capping off his second round with a stunning final-hole birdie that put him within the expected cut at TPC Sawgrass.
McIlroy quickly advanced with an opening hole birdie on the 10th Friday morning, but admitted he was “incredibly rusty” with an opening round 74 after entering this week without a practice round due to a back injury.
The two-time Players champion had one birdie and one bogey over the remainder of his first nine holes, but dropped another shot on the fourth hole and missed the expected cut with five holes remaining.
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At TPC Sawgrass, McIlroy received jeers from the crowd when his ball landed in the water on his way to bogey.
McIlroy stayed 2-over until the final hole of the day, the par-5 ninth, going two strokes and two putts for birdie, closing the score with a 1-under 71 and moving back in order to avoid an early exit.
Playing partner Xander Schauffele set the clubhouse goal at 10 under with a 7-under 65, and McIlroy fell back to 11 strokes but was within the top 65 and tied for playing two more rounds at the PGA Tour’s flagship event.
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McIlroy finished the day under par with a birdie on the final hole, raising expectations for his participation in The Players.
“I feel a little bit better,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “If anything, I think I just had a hard time believing that everything was going to be okay yesterday. I struggled with some lies under my feet and stuff, but I felt pretty good today and I felt like I hit the ball well.”
“I couldn’t drop any putts, that was the problem. I tried my best and just grinded it out at the end and got a birdie and hopefully got through. All in all, a few more rounds here, but it wasn’t bad at all.”
How McIlroy fared over the weekend at Sawgrass
McIlroy had a dream start to the second round with a 6-foot birdie on the 10th, but was forced to lay up from a fairway bunker on the next par-5 and missed a 9-foot birdie chance.
He two-putted for par on the 12th hole, then made a nice up-and-down on the next hole to save par, but underhit the chip from the 14th green and suffered his first bogey of the day.
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McIlroy birdied his first hole of the day at TPC Sawgrass, giving him a strong start to his second round at The Players.
McIlroy was back under par for the day after a two-putt birdie on the par-5 16th, and the Northern Irish left-hander missed the green with a wedge but scrambled again to hole a 12-foot par putt on the 18th.
McIlroy failed to capitalize on the par-5 second and missed a 12-foot birdie chance on the third, but he holed in from a similar distance on the next hole and picked up bogey, catching water on his approach and sliding outside the expected cut mark.
McIlroy aims to become the first player since Jack Nicklaus to win three consecutive The Players titles
The 36-year-old still looked in danger of breaking out early on the par-5 ninth, but finished 30 feet from the flag with a sensational 284-yard 3-wood for a two-putt birdie.
“I’m feeling good about the game. I’ve just spent five or six days without touching the club or doing anything, so I’m getting my feel back,” McIlroy added. “Hopefully I can get on the leaderboard in the next few days.
“I’m 11 years old again. I don’t know if I can fight for the title, but I hope I can get a respectable finish in the next few days.”
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McIlroy revealed he did not feel any further back pain after the second round.
Has qualifying changed McIlroy’s pre-Masters schedule?
McIlroy will undergo further treatment on his back ahead of the weekend, but acknowledged that winning would impact his tournament schedule before defending his Masters title next month.
“I’ve started over 280 times on the PGA Tour and I probably haven’t fallen 30 times, so I’m proud of that,” McIlroy told reporters. “But in golf, as we all know, you have to blow it off and move on to the next thing.
“If I hadn’t qualified, I probably would have added an event leading up to the Masters, so hopefully I’ll be here for the weekend and I don’t have to do that!
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Watch the eventful final round of the Masters, where McIlroy completed a career Grand Slam in the playoffs.
“I’m happy to be here this weekend. I’m happy to hit two more. It would have been awful to go home this afternoon, so if I can just hang out and hopefully play two more days, that’s a win.”
After this week, he has three PGA Tour events before defending his title at Augusta National: the Valspar Championship (March 19-22), the Texas Children’s Houston Open (March 26-29) and the Valero Texas Open (April 2-5).
Who will win The Players? Watch live on Sky Sports all weekend. Live coverage will continue on Saturday from 1pm on Sky Sports Golf, with featured groups, featured holes and bonus feeds on Sky Sports+. Get and stream Sky Sports without a contract.
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