McIlroy Back In The Hunt
Rory McIlroy has got the bounce back in his step.
A blistering 5-under-par round of 67 around Wentworth has the Northern Ireland man back in contention at 8-under entering the weekend at the BMW PGA Championship, sitting just four shots back of tournament Ryan Gerard (-12).
The round was kicked-started by a chip-in birdie on the par-3 second and was followed by birdies at 4, 5, 11, 14, 17, and 18. The only blemishes on his card were two bogeys at 8 and 16, which both could have easily been pars but for an extra few rotations of the ball.
McIlroy was in an upbeat mood afterwards: “Yeah, pretty good. I think I’m in a great spot heading into the weekend. Playing a bit better today than I did yesterday. I hit a lot more fairways. Felt like I drove the ball better. Gave myself a few more chances. Didn’t feel like I was scrambling my way around most of the day today. Solid round and I’m in a good spot heading into the last two days.”
The golfing gods appear to be lining things up for a great weekend for the Masters Champion, as the Race to Dubai leader Patrick Reed withdrew from the tournament with a wrist injury. This leaves the door open for McIlroy who lies second in the Race and is hoping to equal Colin Montgomerie’s record-breaking eight titles.
“Yeah, look, I’m motivated regardless of who it is. Obviously Patrick and I have had quite the battles over years, whether it be Ryder Cup, final round in a major. Dubai Desert Classic a few years ago. He’s a great competitor and he’s played great all year. I respect him for how he’s went about it, and coming through here, he’s put his head down and done the work, and it’s actually been really good to see.
“Unfortunately he’s pulled out this week, which gives me an opportunity to try to claw back some ground that I lost last week in Ireland. This weekend is a big weekend for me to pick up a few points and make the race even tighter going into these last few weeks.”
In the meantime, McIlroy has to catch leader Ryan Gerard, who fired a stunning round of 65 to finish top of the leaderboard at 12-under, with a superb eagle, birdie finish to lie two clear of Adam Scott and Flippio Celli.
“I don’t know if I was feeling eagle, birdie finish but stayed patient all day. You know when you get to the last couple holes at Wentworth here, they are gettable. There’s also trouble lurking, so you have to be careful. Just felt like we were putting the ball in the right spots all day. Good things happen when you sick to the plan and execute shots,” said Ryan afterwards.
This is Gerard’s second time at the BMW Championship, and he is starting to feel comfortable at Wentworth, “I think the course looks very similar to courses that I’ve grown up on, and I feel very comfortable with a lot of the tee shots and angles and things like that.”
“So done a really good job of just staying patient and executing good golf shots up until this point, and hopefully more this weekend.”
However, local resident McIlroy is quietly fired up and ready for the weekend: “Yeah, Ryan’s played great, obviously. I feel like our side of the draw I think got some is of the worst of the conditions. So to come through that side of the draw, what he’s done, and he’s played that sort of golf…. but four behind isn’t too much going into the weekend and I’m excited for the opportunity.”
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