Rollercoaster Rory.
That is the only method to explain Rory McIlroy's 2nd round at The Players Championship.
Consider this: McIlroy's very first par of the day came at the difficult par-4 7th hole, which included a brave escape from the pine straw.
His very first 6 holes included 3 bogies and 3 birdies, as McIlroy might not steady the ship, unlike his preliminary on Thursday.
McIlroy waltzed around TPC Sawgrass the day previously, setting a Players Championship record with 10 birdies. He eventually carded a 7-under 65, connecting Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark atop the leaderboard after 18 holes.
Twenty-four hours later on, McIlroy discovers himself 8 shots behind Clark, who signed for another 65 on Friday.
The Northern Irishman shot a frustrating 1-over 73, which included another water ball on the back 9.
After missing out on an 11-footer for birdie on the par-5 11th, an annoyed McIlroy sat at 8-under for the champion. He took out the motorist on the par-4 12th, which has thin down the left side and steps just 375 lawns.
Rather of discovering the putting surface area, like he did at last week's Arnold Palmer Invitational, a familiar miss out on raised its awful head. McIlroy missed out on the green left, pulling his tee shot into the water– comparable to how he did on the 18th and 7th holes on Thursday. The latter stimulated a small debate with Jordan Spieth and Viktor Hovland, which was the emphasize of the day amongst golf fans.
Rory McIlroy strikes a tee shot throughout the 2nd round of the 2024 Players Championship. Image by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
That errant tee chance at 12 on Friday caused another bogey, which dropped him back to even on the day and 7-under for the champion.
The rollercoaster trip was not completed.
He got better with a great birdie at 13, which played harder than typical thanks to a tucked pin position on the right-hand side of the green.
He rapidly leapt back up to 8-under. He came crashing back down with a double bogey at the par-4 14th, the 2nd most challenging hole so far this week.
McIlroy discovered the bunker to the left of the fairway on 14, which required him to lay up to an area 106 lawns out. He then made a mess of things from there, flubbing his 3rd shot to 46 feet except the back left pin. McIlroy then three-putted for a 6.
2 holes later on, at the par-5 16th, the Ulsterman missed out on ended the tee once again, therefore misusing a chance at a simple birdie.
And after that, McIlroy had a simple birdie take a look at the popular island green however misused that chance too. He struck a great shot into the 17th– among the very best of the day– however he might not transform, with the variety of feelings felt there functioning as a metaphor for his whole 2nd round.
