McIlroy Wells Fargo Charge Fades

McIlroy Quail Hollow - Getty Images

Rory McIlroy, the tournament's only two-time winner, had two bogeys in the first four holes and shot 73.

The two-time tournament champion who shot 11-under 61 last year in the third round on his way to a runaway victory, couldn't muster that same magic on Saturday.

He struggled throughout his round with his accuracy off the tee and putting. A double bogey on the ninth hole and bogey on the 11th seemed to zap him of any momentum and likely a chance at becoming the tournament's first three-time winner.

McIlroy said the course is "tricky," especially on the back nine but said his game still isn't where it needs to be.

"There's been spells where it's been good and I've had a couple of chances to win this year, but it's a work in progress," said McIlroy, who has not won on the PGA TOUR this season. 

"I'm trying to stay patient, as patient as possible, but there are definitely times out on the course where I get quite frustrated."

Rickie Fowler is looking to jumpstart his season at a course where he first won on the PGA Tour.

Fowler shot a 4-under 68 on Saturday to take the third-round lead at the Wells Fargo Championship.

Fowler, who broke through at Quail Hollow Club in 2012 for his first tour title, had a one-stroke lead over Roberto Castro, with Justin Rose and James Hahn two strokes back.

Rickie won THE PLAYERS Championship and Deutsche Bank Championship last year and took the European Tour event in Abu Dhabi early this year. Though he blew a late lead and lost the Phoenix Open in a playoff this season, he has the confidence to handle pressure situations in the final round. That's something he admitted he didn't have five years ago.

"It's completely different," Fowler said. "I would say before (it was) maybe not the complete belief or knowledge of knowing what to do and how to win to get the job done. But now it's fun to go out there and go take care of business."

Castro was atop the leaderboard most of the day, but bogeyed the 18th hole for a 71.

Winless on the tour, he said he's looking forward to playing with Fowler in the final group Sunday.

"If you want to win a tournament out here and really win a marquee event like this one, you're going to have to grab your hat and play with one of the top five players in the world probably the final round," Castro said. "So that's what I've got tomorrow so I'm excited about it."

Fowler parred the first seven holes Saturday before heating up with three straight birdies on Nos. 8-10. It appeared things were starting to crumble after bogeys on 10 and 12, but Fowler came back strong with three straight birdies starting on No. 14 to pull into a tie for the lead. He had a little luck along the way.

Fowler avoided potential trouble on the 18th hole when his ball held up in the high grass instead of rolling into the creek along left side of the fairway. Playing with the ball well above his feet, Fowler ripped an iron onto the green and saved par.

Phil Mickelson and defending champion Rory McIlroy struggled, dropping eight shots behind Fowler.

Mickelson, looking for his first win at the Quail Hollow Club in 13 starts, was in contention until a quadruple-bogey 8 on his old nemesis, the 18th hole. He finished with a 76.

He found the creek on his approach shot and, after taking a drop, needed three chips before finding the green and two-putting for an 8.

Mickelson's struggles on the final hole at Quail Hollow have been well documented. In the 51 career rounds, he is 21 over on No. 18 -- a hole he said earlier this week simply doesn't set up well for the left-hander.

Rose has quietly put himself in contention on Sunday after rounds of 70, 70 and 69.

He said the course, which will host the PGA Championship next year, is playing extremely hard especially given the gusty wind this week.

"This type of scoring would definitely hold up in a PGA Championship," Rose said. "They're not looking for us to shoot even par like a U.S. Open. Single digits under par is really good golf and it's a sign of a great golf course."

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McIlroy Mixed Day at Wells Fargo

McIlroy at Wells Fargo - Getty Images

Rory McIlroy moved into contention midway through his second round at the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina on Friday before dropping down the field at Quail Hollow by the last hole.

The world number three did well to avoid a double-bogey on the 18th hole – when he pitched to within a couple of feet of the pin having had to take a penalty drop after finding water with his second shot – to card a three-under 69 that moved him to two under, six shots behind clubhouse leader Andrew Loupe.

McIlroy’s wedge play was the key to his success, a brilliant chip-in eagle from 80 feet at the seventh kick-starting a run that saw him knock in three straight birdies to get to five under for his round after 10 holes

He was within four shots of Loupe at that stage, the American having earlier carded a one-under 71 to post a mark of eight under. But McIlroy failed to keep the foot down, making three bogeys on the final seven holes, with just one more birdie coming on the 14th.

Shane Lowry was two shots outside the cut after carding a a one-over second round of 73.

Pádraig Harrington also missed the weekend with five-over par 77 second round left him on seven over.

Phil Mickelson used his short game pedigree to claw his way within three strokes of Loupe.

The five-times Major champion hit only nine greens in regulation but used his vaunted touch around the greens to piece together a two-under 70.

He got up-and-down to save par on eight occasions, his lone bogey coming at his final hole, where he drove into a bunker.

“I scrapped it around,” said Mickelson. “My short game was sharp. I hit a lot of good iron shots, but I had to play for par a little too many times because I didn’t put it in play off the tee,” he said.

Loupe, who shared the first-round lead with fellow American Steve Wheatcroft, had a chance to build a substantial advantage, only to bogey two of his final three holes for a 71.

“It’s half-time,” said the long-hitting Loupe, who is without a win in 53 starts on the PGA Tour and understands a 36-hole lead counts for little.

American Roberto Castro was one shot behind Loupe on seven under after a fine six-under 66.

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Peter Lawrie Fires 69 in Morocco

Lawrie, Round 2 in Rabat - Getty Images 

Peter Lawrie fired a round of 69 in the second of the Trophée Hassan II in Morocco on Friday to take a three way share of fifth Rabat after carding five birdies on the Royal Golf Dar es Salam.

Lawrie reached the 13th before any loss and was three under par by the halfway mark following his afternoon start. The Dubliner then birdied the tenth to go five under and take a share of second place before the par four thirteenth took its toll. With another birdie at fifteen the run for home was level except for a slip up on the 16th.

"It was a good day and I played solid golf from start to finish," said Peter Lawrie afterwards, "Have good memories of this course from a few years ago and that was a help in some ways."

"But it's still a tough place to scramble a decent score and were only half way through."

"Yesterday probably didn't get the rub of the green as we had a few chances," continued Lawrie, "But today was different and a few things clicked. So very happy to see the work I have been doing bear fruit."

Kevin Phelan signed for a two over par second round on Friday losing some of the ground gained in round one at the Royal Golf Dar es Salam in Rabat.

There were bogeys on the third and eighth followed by a birdie on the par four seventh to recover a stroke. After the turn the West Waterford man traded a bogey and birdie on his last two holes to end the day with a round of 74.

Gary Hurley ended day four over par and a stroke inside the cut line to earn a weekend stay on =3 overall, after carding a double bogey, four bogeys and two birdies for a total of 76.

Paul Dunne drifted down the leaderboard with a four over par 76 on a day which saw the Greystones man open with a birdie - only to lose it on the second hole – with another dropped shot on the par four 16th. A mixed patch on the run for the clubhouse saw Dunne exchange bogeys and birdies with the 16th then damaging his day’s work when he double bogeyed.

Cormac Sharvin shot 78 on Friday to miss the cut after a double bogey on the par 5 eighteenth followed 6 dropped shots – with only two birdies to limit the damage.

Michael Hoey suffered in Rabat with three double bogeys. The first of which was on the 12th followed by the 16th and 18th. A round of 79 the final result with another two dropped strokes despite birdies on his first, fifth and fifteenth holes.

Rory McNamara teed off in the afternoon and was well outside the running from the outset but battled through day two despite eight bogeys and only one birdie on the par five fifth. However, a double bogey at 17 and then a triple on the last saw him signing for a second round of 84

He will miss the cut along with Sharvin and Hoey.

Francesco Laporta will take a one-shot lead into the weekend his round of 70 on the tough Red Course at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.

The Italian rookie came into day two with a share of the lead at four under and followed his opening 68 with another impressive effort to move a shot ahead of Australia's Jason Scrivener, Spaniard Borja Virto Astudillo and South Korea's Jeunghun Wang.

Laporta claimed the 15th card at Qualifying School in November but made just one of his first six cuts on the European Tour in 2016 and played in the Challenge de Madrid on the Challenge Tour last week.

The 25-year-old finished in a tie for fourth in the Spanish capital and admitted after his opening round that that had served as a major confidence boost, and he carried that confidence into Friday's play.

Virto Astudillo had set the clubhouse target at five under in the morning but Laporta soon moved past that with birdies on the tenth and 12th. A bogey on the 13th was followed by a double on the 14th but he then made three birdies in four holes to turn in 35 and take the lead.

Another gain on the second opened up a two-shot lead and he then missed birdie chances in a run of five pars before a missed short par putt on the eighth saw him drop to six under.

"It's going to be exciting at the weekend," he said. "It should be a great experience and I'm looking forward to it.

"It was just a really solid display and I enjoyed it."

Earlier, back-to-back birdies on the 14th and 15th saw Virto Astudillo hit the top of the leaderboard early but he gave those shots back with bogeys on the first and the third. He then bounced back with a long putt for birdie on the fifth and another gain on the seventh handed him a 70.

Scrivener ground out a round of 71 with three birdies and two bogeys as he goes in the hunt for a first European Tour title, with just two previous winners in the top ten.

Wang turned in 34 and then kick-started his round with a monster birdie putt on the 11th as he picked up three shots in four holes before a bogey-birdie finish in his 68.

American Daniel Im, and South African Zander Lombard were then at four under, a single shot clear of Englishman Gary King and France's Adrien Saddier.

Im also recorded a 69 with four birdies, while Lombard had got to seven under in his round before he dropped three shots in his last three holes and had to settle for a 70.

Saddier opened with an eagle on the tenth but could not maintain that pace in a 72, while King had four birdies in a round of 70.

Christiaan Bezuidenhout, Nacho Elvira, Scott Henry, José-Filipe Lima, Kristopher Mueck, Jack Senior and Joshua White were then all at two under, with just 24 players under par.

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Hoey leads Irish in Morocco

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Michael Hoey lies five shots off the lead after the first round of Trophee Hassan II in Morocco.

Kevin Phelan joins Hoey on two under.

The Belfast player, who won the tournament in 2012, carded four birdies and two bogeys to record a two under-par 70 and lie in a share of 22nd spot.

Gareth Maybin has work to do to make the cut as he is tied 78th on two over.

Peter Lawrie and Damien McGrane are struggling on four over after Thursday;s opening round.

France’s Adrian Saddier shone on only his second European Tour start of the season to take a one shot lead after the opening round of the Trophee Hassan II.

Saddier lost his full playing privileges after finishing 127th on The Race to Dubai last year and missed the cut on his only previous appearance in 2015 at the Joburg Open.

But after chipping in for eagle on Golf du Palais Royal’s first hole, the 22 year old added five birdies in a flawless seven under par 65.

That was one clear of England’s Daniel Gaunt, who had a hat-trick of birdies from the 15th before bogeying the last in a 66.

South African George Coetzee, one of a number of players in the field needing a big week to qualify for next month’s Masters Tournament, Scotland’s David Drysdale and England’s Chris Wood all lie two off the pace on five under.

“I’m very happy - I was very grateful to get an invite to play here,” said Saddier, who handed his invite back when his status snuck him into the field on Monday.

“This place is just unbelievable. I played very solid today - I had a chip in for eagle on the first then another chip in on six, so it was a great start and I kept it going.

“I just have a little category on The European Tour so I will be focused on The Challenge Tour this year. 

“I played last week in Madeira and although the tournament was cancelled I was playing well in the strong wind so I’m in good shape for this week.

“It’s almost my best round; I shot 64 in Qatar last year, which was eight under, so this is one of my best rounds. 

“If I could get a win it would change my schedule as at the moment I’m playing on the Challenge Tour - I just need to focus on each shot now and see what happens.”

Coetzee and Marcel Siem kept their hopes of qualifying for the Masters Tournament very much alive.

Both men have the daunting task of knowing only a victory in Morocco would be enough to book a trip to Augusta National for the first Major Championship of the year.South Africa's Coetzee carded a 67, one shot ahead of Siem.

Siem led from start to finish here in 2013 and looked to have done enough to climb into the Official World Golf Ranking's top 50 and secure his Masters debut.

However, after the results of the Houston Open were taken into consideration a few hours later, the 34 year old discovered he was ranked 51st and had missed out by just 0.03 points.

"It's a big week for me and four under is a good start," Siem said.

"I'm really excited about playing the Masters, I've never played it. I finished it off two years ago and still did not get in. It was a little horrible.

"I'm going to keep doing what I did today, try hard not to make any stupid mistakes. I have got the experience and I know the golf course. I will make enough birdies I reckon....just (need to) avoid the mistakes."

Siem and Coetzee were not the only members of the field with Georgia on their minds, with Alexander Levy, Andy Sullivan, Tommy Fleetwood and Ross Fisher all having chances to move into the top 50 before Monday's deadline.

World number 54 Levy needs to finish in a two-way tie for second or better, while Sullivan has to match his runners-up finish from last year or claim his third European Tour title of the season to move up from 61st.

Fleetwood and Fisher both need to win, but the latter got off to a terrible start with two double bogeys in his first three holes and carded a 77 which was matched by defending champion Alejandro Cañizares.

Fleetwood completed a two under 70, Levy went round in level par and Sullivan was two over for the day.

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Harrington Hits Houston 69

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Padraig Harrington kept his hopes of qualifying for next week’s US Masters alive with an opening 69 in the Shell Houston Open.

Harrington has to win on Sunday to avoid missing out on a trip to Augusta for the first time since 1999 and got off to an encouraging start at the Golf Club of Houston.

The 42-year-old Dubliner started on the 10th and holed from eight feet for an opening birdie before picking up another shot on the par-five 13th.

Harrington dropped a shot on the next after failing to get up and down from a greenside bunker but quickly made amends with birdies on the 17th and 18th to reach the turn in 33.

A three-putt bogey on the third halted the former Ryder Cup star’s momentum, but birdies on the fourth and sixth had him high on the leaderboard before a disappointing bogey on the ninth, his final hole.

At three under par, Harrington — whose last victory on a major tour came in the 2008 US PGA Championship — was three shots behind early clubhouse leaders Keegan Bradley and Matt Kuchar.

Bradley, who won the US PGA in 2011, carded six birdies in a flawless 66 that was matched by Kuchar in the group behind, the world number 11 missing from seven feet for birdie on his final hole to take the outright lead.

Bradley’s playing partners Webb Simpson and Phil Mickelson were also off to a good start, the pair returning rounds of 68 to join South African Ernie Els on four under par.

Open champion Mickelson had been a doubt for the event with a pulled muscle which forced him out of the Valero Texas Open last week, but the left-hander showed no ill effects as he carded four birdies and no bogeys.

Els looked set to finish five under but dropped his only shot of the day on the 18th after twice finding sand.

Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who can replace the injured Tiger Woods as world number one with a victory in Houston, was five off the lead after a one-under-par 71.

Rory McIlroy was off to a promising start with three birdies and no bogeys in his opening ten holes and it could have been even better as he missed good chances at the opening three holes.

Darren Clarke was three over after his front nine.

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Ruling Gives Rory Second in Korea

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Rory McIlroy was awarded a second place at the Kolon Korean when a rules controversy then pushed him to second with Kim Hyung-tae, after the third-round leader was assessed a two-stroke penalty just as he appeared on the verge of victory.

Kim was on the 17th tee when, leading by two strokes, when rules officials approached him and playing partner Hoon Soon-sang and informed them they had grounded their clubs on the 13th hole in an area deemed to be a hazard.

Their scores of 4 became 6's and before signing their cards they returned to the 13th hole where for two hours they discussed the situation with officials, who viewed television footage of the incident.

According to the OneAsia Tour, Kim argued that he never grounded his club; he was eventually persuaded to sign his card by the Korean Golf Association Rules committee, which was not unanimous in its findings: it voted 5-3 against Kim.

The resulting 73 left Kim at 3 under par, one stroke behind winner Kang, and in a tie with McIlroy and three others.

Kang, 26, won the CJ Invitational last week on the Korean domestic tour but said he had mixed feelings about his victory.

"I'm a really good friend of his (Kim) so at the moment it doesn't feel great,'' Kang said according to the OneAsia Tour. "Even though I won the tournament, I just feel really sorry for him. I was actually out there to celebrate for him, but….I don't know. I don't know what to say. It's horrible.''

According to the OneAsia Tour, Kim left the course immediately after the trophy presentation.

McIlroy, too, had left before the rules issue surfaced.

The tie for second is his best since the Valero Texas Open the week prior to the Masters. "I only missed two greens and had so many chances, but it was like the story of yesterday -- I just didn't hole enough putts.

McIlroy now heads to China for the BMW Masters, a European Tour event in Shanghai.

That is followed by another tournament in the same city, the WGC-HSBC Championship, which is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and European Tour. 

It will be McIlroy's first start of the 2013-14 PGA Tour season.

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