Rory Suffers Double Ohio Trouble

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Rory McIlroy ended his second day in Dublin, Ohio, signing for a round of 78 at The Memorial Tournament after three consecutive double bogeys by the turn unraveled the advantage of his round of 63 on Thursday.

The BMW PGA Champions feel to earth somewhat having held a three-shot lead over Paul Casey,Bubba Watson and Chris Kirk at the start if the second round.

After starting on the back nine, McIlroy bogeyed the 10th round before parring 11 and picking the shot back up on 12. However then came off as double-bogeys followed on 13, 14 and 15 before two pars and a further bogey saw him reach the turn in 43, now four shots off the lead - a 12-shot swing.

Yesterday over the same stretch Rory picked up two eagles, three birdies and a double bogey to record a 31.

The run for home McIlroy completed in 35 strokes with just one dropped shot at the par 5 fifth hole to end the day 6 strokes over par. A total of 15 shots off his pace on Thursday but at -3 overall still only five off current leaders

Camilo Villegas was the big winner in the early stages, moving into a share of the lead with six birdies and a bogey in his first 14 holes.

Robert Garrigus was also surging up the leaderboard and he sat one shot off the lead with a flawless five birdies through 15.

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McIlroy Takes Charge in Dublin

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Rory McIlroy picked up seven birdies and two eagles to storm to the top of the leaderboard on the first day of Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.

But the Northern Irishman, who won the BMW PGA Championship on Sunday, might have been five strokes clear of the field had he not spoiled his remarkable run over the back nine with a double bogey on the par four 14th hole.

He rallied to card an impressive nine under 63, while England's Paul Casey shot a six under 66 earlier on Thursday to take a share of second place with Americans Bubba Watson and Chris Kirk.

McIlroy continued his winning momentum from Wentworth Club to Muirfield Village.

Birdies on the second, fourth and seventh holes followed a run of two birdies and an eagle over the turn before he picked up a sixth shot on 13.

At eight under he was two strokes clear of the three men who had already carded 66, but briefly joined Casey and the American duo in a tie for the lead after finding the rear bunker on 14 and needing a total of six shots to hole out.

McIlroy remedied that situation immediately by draining a 15 foot putt to claim his second eagle of the day before adding one final birdie on the 16th.

Casey started with a bogey but reached the turn four under having drained an eagle on the par five seventh.

He mixed three more birdies with a bogey between 14 and 17 while Kirk's seven birdies and a bogey kept him in sight of the lead.

Reigning Masters Tournament champion Watson might well have finished on eight under but dropped shots on 16 and 17.

With Adam Scott recently rising to the World No. 1 ranking, all eyes are on the Aussie to see if he can cement his position well into the 2014 season.

However the prominent victory of a young Northern Irishman last week sent a warning that there may be a new contender on the block, aside from Scott, World No. 2 Henrik Stenson and the injured Tiger Woods.

This week Rory McIlroy jumped up into the World No. 6 position and the move also sparked speculation that he and Scott may be the next Woods / Mickelson style rivalry.

Certainly, Rory hasn’t held back heading into this week’s The Memorial tournament. After Round 1 McIlroy has a two shot lead over the field, a 9-under 63 a clear indication that his game is as strong as it has ever been.

Scott’s opening round was solid but certainly not as showy; a 3-under 69 placing him in the top 15.

The Queenslander is the first Australian to reach World No. 1 since Greg Norman relinquished the position in January 1998, the importance of the achievement not lost of the Aussie.

The Memorial tournament continues over the weekend with McIlroy and Scott partnering Aussie Jason Day for the opening two rounds.

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McIlroy Targets More Majors

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Rory McIlroy arrives at The memorial with a new found confidence knowing that a major lurks just around the corner having won the US Open at Congressional in 2011. Then matched it with the Wannamaker Trophy a year later at Kiawah Island, making the visit to Pinehurst in a couple weeks a chance to banish the demons of of last season.

 

Consequently Rory has targeted two major victories this season to make up for his winless year in 2013.

The Northern Irishman keen to make up for lost time following a slump in form last year that saw him fall from world No.1 to outside the top 10.

"My game is really coming back," he said. "I won a major in 2011 and 2012 but last year, so I'll try to make up for that with two this year."

McIlroy's victory at Wentworth, just days after announcing his break-up to tennis star Caroline Wozniacki, surprised even the man himself. But now, he admits, it is time to look forward.

"I knew I was playing well going into the BMW," he said. "I'd finished in the top 10 four times in a row just before this - including the Masters and at Sawgrass - so I knew I wasn't far off my best.

"Top 10s are great but not what I'm looking for.

"The last couple of years I came to Wentworth struggling with my game and getting frustrated. So going there in good form, I was excited.

"Winning does my confidence the world of good, knowing that I can get the job done under pressure and when I need to. That was the most pleasing thing about the win.

"The win in Australia at the end of last year stopped all the questions about reasons behind my form, such as equipment and all that stuff.

"This victory, against one of the best fields of the year, just shows my game is back on track again. Hopefully it won't be long before I'm contending in majors again and it validates all the hard work I've put in this past year."

McIlroy's will not have to wait long for his next shot at a major, with the US Open starting at Pinehurst on June 12.

"I've never been there, but I hear there is going to be no rough and that, for a US Open, is going to be very different," he said.

"I don't think it will be a course that suits one player or another. You'll need to be long - but most players these days can get it out there and it'll suit me to get my driver in my hands.

"It's all about the second shot. Obviously the greens are very tricky at Pinehurst with a lot of run-offs and slopes, and you'll have to be very imaginative around them. Some guys will try and bump it into hills and run it up, while others will try and fly it to the top. It's going to be very interesting.

Earlier in the year, McIlroy claimed that golf needs a player to push on and take Tiger Woods' mantle as the dominant player in the game. A comment he stands by.

"I would like to be that guy," he added. "I like to think my win at Wentworth is a springboard to do just that.

"There are still three majors to play this year and a lot of big tournaments to win. Even though we are halfway through the season, I feel like mine is just beginning."

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Rory Makes Muirfield Cut

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Rory McIlroy overcame a sloppy finish to his second round as he survived the 36-hole cut at the Memorial Tournament without a stroke to spare.

In the end, the 24-year-old Ulsterman needed to get up-and-down for a par four at the difficult 18th to secure his place in the third round.

The world No 2 had been unable to complete his round on Friday due to bad light.

Almost 90 minutes had been lost during the afternoon, when play was suspended due to the threat of lightning.

After 14 holes in round two he stood at four-under-par for the tournament and, when he returned on Saturday morning, he immediately improved his position with a birdie at the par-five 15th.

However, McIlroy then bogeyed 16 and 17 before scraping a par at 18 for a round of 69 - he had carded a six-over 78 on Thursday.

At the 16th he found a greenside bunker, before three-putting the penultimate par-three 17th.

And at 18, on which he required a par in order to avoid the chop, he visited a fairway bunker off the tee before getting down in two from around 40 yards - as he single putted from four feet.

With 36 holes remaining McIlroy is 12 strokes off the pace set by Bill Haas who has had rounds of 68 and 67.

South African Charl Schwartzel is one shot behind after he returned on Saturday morning to post back-to-back birdies at 17 and 18.

Luke Donald, who left the course after 15 holes on Friday, returned to make pars on each of the last three holes and the Englishman's brace of 73s left him one stroke better than McIlroy.

World No 1 and defending champion Tiger Woods is 10 strokes behind Haas in a tie-for-43rd.

The 37-year-old American did not help his cause by posting a double-bogey seven at the 15th and he eventually signed for a second round 74.

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Memorial 78 for McIlroy

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Rory McIlroy's miserable run of form showed no sign of abating as he shot an opening-round 78 to finish six over par on the first day of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio.

This week's tournament in Dublin offered McIlroy the chance to put the missed cut last week at the BMW PGA Championship behind him with the US Open only a fortnight away, but he failed to fire once again.

Starting on the back nine, McIlroy had an ideal first hole with a birdie at the par-four 10th, but it was all downhill from there.

A double-bogey at the 12th heralded a woeful day, with a further three bogeys racked up before the turn.

There was no respite on the front nine as he hit a further three bogeys, interspersed with a birdie at the fifth, before squandering birdies chances at the final two holes.

England's Lee Westwood also endured a miserable opening round of 76.

The Englishman had appeared to be on the brink of victory last week at Wentworth only to squander a two-shot lead in the final round.

While not as disastrous as the round of his Ryder Cup team-mate, Westwood looked in the doldrums as he hit three bogeys and a double-bogey on his way to a four-over total.

In contrast, South Africa's Charl Schwartzel made up for hitting a bogey and a double-bogey with 10 birdies seeing him to a seven-under-par 65.

That was one shot ahead of Scott Piercy, who hit eight birdies - five of them consecutively on the front nine - only to drop shots at the 12th and 18th.

A further shot behind were Josh Teater and Russell Henley, who both shot 67.

World number one Tiger Woods was among the later starters.

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Bridge Over Troubled Water for McIlroy

Rory McIlroy missed his third straight cut on Friday at the Memorial Tournament after a score of 79 in the second round left him at 6 over for the tournament and three shots shy of playing the weekend. 

Unlike Thursday, when the world No. 2 fought back after a quadruple bogey on his third hole of the day to shoot 71, the young Northern Irishman didn’t make a birdie all day.

"I got off to a decent start and had a couple opportunities there early for birdies and didn’t take them," McIlroy said. "I hit some good shots, it just seems like every time I go out there I make one or two big numbers and that sort of throws me, a couple doubles on the back nine. Just those big numbers at the beginning are killing me, and I just need to get those off the card and I’ll be okay."

The double bogeys came in a four-hole span on the back nine where he tangled with two of the creeks that meander through the lush Muirfield Village layout and all but sealed McIlroy’s fate. The first came at the par-5 11th where his second shot landed on the bank and he elected to hit it only to have the ball carom back into the way.

"I just wanted to chip it out in the middle of the fairway, and as soon as I hit it, it obviously just hit the bank in front of me and came back in the water," McIlroy said. "Probably a bit of bad judgment because I thought I could just chip it back out. But if I had have examined the line maybe a little bit closer, I might have just taken a drop straight away. But yeah, that wasn’t the cause of it."

McIlroy said he wasn’t sure whether he would spend the weekend hitting balls on Muirfield Village’s state-of-the-art practice facility or head to Memphis where he will play in the FedEx St. Jude Classic for just the second time in his career. A week ago he was on the range at Wentworth on Saturday morning after shooting a second-round 79 on the way to a missed cut at the BMW PGA Championship.

"I don’t feel like the scores are actually reflecting how I’m hitting the ball," McIlroy said. "I was able to string nine good holes together yesterday. I just need to keep working on it and try and string 18 good holes together and then try and string two days together and obviously three days and ultimately four.

"But I hit some good shots out there. I’m definitely hitting the ball better than I did last week, so I can see an improvement there. But I’ve still got a long way to go."

Luke Donald, who wrestled the No. 1 ranking from McIlroy once again last week, played with the Northern Irishman during the first two rounds at Muirfield Village. He felt like McIlroy handled himself welk.

"He’s obviously frustrated," Donald said. "This game does that to you. But you know, just having watched Rory the last few days, he’s not far away. He made a couple of careless errors and made some big numbers on a couple holes that was the difference this week. I’m sure once he posts that one good round, that one solid run of maybe a couple rounds or a tournament, this will be a blur and he’ll forget about it quickly."

Rory Recovers from Rocky Start

Rory McIlroy recovered from a terrible start at the Memorial Tournament to card a one-under 71 that keeps him in touch with the first-round pacesetters.

The Northern Irishman shot a quadruple-bogey seven on the 12th - his third hole, having started on the 10th - at Muirfield Village Golf Club.

But four birdies and an eagle on the fifth moved McIlroy to one under - two behind the clubhouse leaders.

World number one Luke Donald also shot a 71, while Tiger Woods carded a 70.

McIlroy, who defends his US Open title next month, will be determined to put in a good performance following two consecutive missed cuts at the The Players Championship and the BMW PGA Championship.

The world number two made par in his first two holes before sending his tee shot into the bunker behind the green on the par-three 12th.

McIlroy's next shot sailed into a pond for a penalty stroke before his fourth landed in a bunker. After reaching the green, he then two-putted from 15 feet.

It was a demoralising start to the round but the 23-year-old recovered well, making birdies on the 14th and 15th.

He dropped a shot on the 17th but a birdie and an eagle coming home meant the danger of a third consecutive missed cut receded.

"It wasn't the start that I wanted to get off to, being four over through three holes, especially after the last few weeks," said McIlroy.

"I was just like, 'Here we go again'. But I hung in there well, and I'm proud of myself for the way I fought back. To finish the round under par I thought was a really good effort."

Woods, who has won the tournament four times before, shot a double-bogey six on the 18th - his ninth - but that was the only blemish on his scorecard as four birdies saw him back in the clubhouse on two under.

"It certainly could have been a lot lower, but I'm pleased with the way I hit the golf ball," he said. "I didn't do anything great and I didn't do anything poorly."

Donald, winner of the BMW PGA Championship last time out, also ran up a double bogey on the 18th but three birdies in his round keeps him in contention.

"There are some tougher pins out there and overall I'll take one under and try and play better the next three days," said the Englishman.

With half the field still to head out onto the course, South African Rory Sabbatini, Australian Aaron Baddeley, Argentina's Andres Romero and Blake Adams of the United States are the clubhouse leaders on three under.

McIlroy Plans to Play Golf

Rory McIlroy has explained his decision to play three tournaments in as many weeks ahead of the defence of his US Open crown.

Having missed the cut by at both Sawgrass and Wentworth in his last two outings, McIlroy is opted to cram his schedule with competitive golf rather than spend extra time in practice.

The world number two tees up at this week's Memorial Tournament before heading to Memphis for the FedEx St Jude Classic, with the US Open the following week in San Francisco.

"I just feel like I need some rounds," said McIlroy, who has been grouped with world number one Luke Donald for the first two rounds at Muirfield Village.

"These two-day weeks aren't really that good for me, so I just want to get some competitive rounds in.

"I'm working on a few things, and I feel trying to put them into competition will be the best way for me to prepare going into the US Open.

"When you've been on a run where you've hardly finished outside the top five and then all of a sudden two missed cuts, it's more of a shock than anything else.

"It's something I haven't really had to deal with in a while. I just have to knuckle down and figure it out and get back to the way I was at the start of the year."