Rory McIlroy He missed the lead by three shots after the stormy second round of the Players’ Championship came to a delayed conclusion on Saturday.
McIlroy’s fate looked clear after he followed Friday’s miserable opening lap of 76 with a score of 73, and the deduction was confirmed as the final finishers arrived at the clubhouse on Saturday morning as the equals fell to two.
“It was ridiculous,” McIlroy said. “I guess course, you have to be really ready to play well here.
“If you’re a little perverted, it definitely magnifies where you are. This is a bit of an enigma. Some years I come here and it comes easier than others.”
McIlroy last August at FedEx St. He missed the cut for the first time since failing to finish the weekend at the Jude Championship and admitted that mastering the course was difficult.
He said: “It’s just a tough golf course, you don’t drive on turf and your job is just right for you.
“I was just a little messy here and there. To be fair, instead of taking a few sticks less and hitting him with a 5-wood, 3-wood or 2-iron or whatever, maybe I’m trying to push the driver a little too hard on the turf.”
Canadian Adam Svensson will start the third round by two strokes over the reigning Masters champion Scottie Scheffler On the 18th after seeing a bird sign for the second round of 67.
Ben Griffin followed up the opening 67 with a 71-point second round to return to a four-way tie for third place alongside Min Woo Lee, Christiaan Bezuidenhout, and Collin Morikawa.
Aaron Rai moved up 51 places to 20th place and leveled up with both in the second round of 69. Tommy Fleetwood And Justin Rose as the best Brits on the leaderboard.