Newtown Square (United States) (AFP) – Rory McIlroy revived his hopes of winning the PGA Championship with improved driving and a bogey-free round on Friday, then blamed a logjammed leaderboard on a poor course set-up. World number two McIlroy, coming off a Masters victory last month, fired a three-under-par 67 to stand on one-over 141 for 36 holes at formidable Aronimink.
After spending hours on the driving range following his 74 on Thursday, when he closed with four bogeys in a row, McIlroy found what he needed to return to contention, even while sharing 30th. “At five back I do feel like I’m right in the tournament and that’s really what I wanted to do today was to just get myself back in it, and I feel like I’ve done that,” McIlroy said.
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The six-time major winner from Northern Ireland said the PGA of America has protected the course with tough pin placements on its sloping greens, but that should lead to easier weekend hole spots. “It has been hard to make birdies out there because one, the wind the last couple days, but also where they have put these hole locations,” McIlroy said. “I feel like they have really tried to protect the course the first couple of days, so it seems like they have used up a lot of the really hard ones.”
That could provide inspiration for everyone who made the cut, McIlroy said. “A little bit calmer conditions and maybe a couple more favorable hole locations, I think everyone has got to feel like they have got a chance,” he said. “Yes, it’s bunched, but you get on a run with wedges on that front nine and you shoot 4-, 5-under and all of a sudden you’re right in the thick of things.”
McIlroy ripped the course set-up for creating the lead logjam. “A bunched leaderboard like this, I think it’s a sign of not a great setup, because it hasn’t really enabled anyone to separate themselves,” McIlroy said. “It’s easy to make a ton of pars, hard to make birdies, and not that it’s hard to make bogey, but it feels like bogey’s the worst score you’re going to shoot on any one hole. There’s not a lot of hazards.”
“I’ve always felt like really good set-ups, it starts to spread the field a bit, and not great setups sort of bring everyone together — I feel like that’s what’s happened the last two days.” McIlroy said he has learned about the course and how to approach it, saying it will take being patient and waiting for chances.
“I had a better understanding of how the course was playing, and just watching a little bit of the coverage early on today, I probably went out there yesterday being a little too aggressive thinking that guys were going to go lower than they were,” he said. “Knowing the field isn’t going to get away from you, you can be a little bit more patient.”
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