In the Genesis Scottish Open held at North Berwick’s Renaissance Club, Rory McIlroy, standing second in the world and the reigning champion, delicately held his position in the competition following a second-round 66, which totals to nine-under-par 131. Despite being part of a tied-fifth unit of six golfers, the Northern Irishman is only three strokes behind halfway leader Ludvig Aberg of Sweden, yet more endeavour is needed to overtake him. A misdirected tee shot to the right on the 11th hole forced McIlroy to take a penalty drop away from a tree, resulting in one bogey in an otherwise strong round of five birdies.
His first appearance since last playing in US Open at Pinehurst saw McIlroy admitting struggle with his swing and managing its impact. Complimenting his ability to stay in the game despite his final round lead in the former tournament being taken over by Bryson DeChambeau, he stated that he tenaciously hung in there particularly in the concluding three holes of this one.
Despite inconsistent performance, McIlroy is known to have potential birdie chances on the 16th and 17th holes, although he did not succeed in converting them this time. He scored birdies on the 1st, 3rd and 5th and following, the 10th and 13th holes. His failure to birdie the par-five 16th and closing with five pars back-to-back emphasises the need for improvement to surpass Aberg.
Staying optimistic about his position in the competition, McIlroy reflected on the few birdie opportunities within the initial six holes as critical and indicated that if he could maintain his performance whilst minimising errors, he could still score lower.
McIlroy observed that Atlantis Del Rey’s 62, along with Rasmus Hojgaard and Matteo Manassero’s 63s illustrated that similar outputs would be necessary for those aspiring to keep in contention for the lead position as the weekend draws nearer. Meanwhile, Séamus Power, a native of Waterford, is yet to secure his spot in the upcoming 152nd Open at Royal Troon. He must climb the leaderboard to ensure he captures one of the last three field exemptions.
Despite this, Power managed to keep his chances alive with a succeeding 67 round which gave him a four-under-par 136, tying him for 47th place. This achievement was a significant 45 place improvement on his prior performance, and crucially allowed him to clear the halfway cut, which was set at 137. Unfortunately, players such as Tom McKibbin and Pádraig Harrington didn’t make it, though they will participate in the Troon field.
24-year-old professional, Aberg from Sweden has ascended to the world number four rank in just over a year. With his Open debut scheduled for next week, he enjoyed a prelude visit to the links last Monday in company with Viktor Hovland before moving on to the Renaissance. Aberg emphasised that while a little different, the links provided two fantastic days of wind and good weather. He was happy to familiarise himself with the place prior to the commotions anticipated next week. However, he asserted that their primary focus was on delivering their best performance this week, and face the coming week as it arrives. Aberg managed a second-round 64, gaining a total of 128 from 36 holes, placing him one stroke ahead of Frenchman Antoine Rozner.
The Evian Championship, one of the five Majors for women, got interrupted due to the threat of lightning. The tournament is expected to resume on Saturday. In this regard, Leona Maguire seemed likely to not pass the cut, having scored 144 from a second-round 72, tying her for the 78th position. On the other hand, Stephanie Meadow was tied at 121st with a score of 8 over, with 10 holes remaining in her second round by the time the tournament was paused.
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