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Rory McIlroy insists he is still in the running to claim back-to-back major titles after climbing a crowded leaderboard to return to PGA Championship contention.
The Masters champion bounced back from a four-bogey finish to an opening-round 74 to card a bogey-free 67 at Aronimink Golf Club on Friday afternoon, lifting him to within five strokes of the halfway lead.
McIlroy registered three birdies in difficult scoring conditions to move to one over for the tournament and attempt to win the Wanamaker Trophy for the third time. Alex Smalley and Maverick McNally set the pace at four under.
McIlroy plays with Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm (right), who is three strokes off the lead.
The world No. 2 described his round to reporters as “not as s”, a day after giving a one-word explanation to sum up Thursday’s display, McIlroy was happy to give himself the chance to challenge for a seventh major title.
McIlroy told reporters after his second round, “It was hard to make birdie there because obviously the last couple of days it’s been windy, but also where they put these hole locations”. “I think they really tried to protect the course the first few days.
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McIlroy gave a humorous response to a reporter who asked him to compare his first two rounds at the PGA Championship
“It seems like they used really hard (pins). Depending on a little calmer conditions and maybe some more favorable hole locations, I think the guys that came out here on the weekend — I think everybody felt like they had a chance.
“It’s been a bunch, but you run through the wedge on that front nine and you shoot four out of five and suddenly you’re right in a lot of things. Five minutes in I feel like I’m right in the tournament, and today I really wanted to do that.”
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McIlroy fired himself into contention at the PGA Championship, as Alex Smalley and Maverick McNally held a half-time lead.
With a four-over lead and eight shots separating the cut mark, the shortest par in PGA Championship history, McIlroy questioned whether more could have been done to give him more scoring opportunities.
“I think a bunch of leaderboards like that, I think that’s a sign of not having a great set up,” McIlroy added. “I think when it’s as crowded as it is, it hasn’t really enabled anyone to differentiate themselves.
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The difficult conditions at Aronimink have made it a struggle for some players who are fighting to make the cut at the PGA Championship.
“It’s easy to make a ton of pars, it’s hard to make birdies. It’s not that bogeys are hard to make, but bogeys seem to be the worst score you’re going to shoot on any one hole. There’s not much danger in that.
“I thought the set-up was fine – the golf course was good, the pins were tight and so was the wind. I’ve always felt that really good set-ups start to spread the field out a bit and great set-ups don’t bring everyone together. I think that’s what happened the last two days.”
Gusty winds and challenging pins put obstacles around the course during a slow Friday, with McIlroy visibly frustrated after facing a long wait to play his tee shot and 10th.
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McIlroy was frustrated by slow play during the second round of the PGA Championship as his team waited to tee off on the 10th hole.
“It was slow,” McIlroy admitted. “I think that (Thigala’s lost balls) definitely slowed us down in the middle of that round. There are a few small parts of the course that you can pick up, but that’s OK.
“It seems like the first two days of major championship golf are always going to be like that. You get that afternoon tee time at Augusta on Friday and it’s one of the slowest rounds of the year. You don’t mind going there because it’s Augusta, but at the same time it’s very, very slow.”
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