Horschel Leads and Rory Looms

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Rory McIlroy's second-round 65 left him two behind halfway leader Billy Horschel at the Tour Championship.

The World No 1 McIlroy overcame a bizarre incident when his tee shot at the 14th bounced into a spectator's pocket and went on to produce a birdie-birdie finish on a steamy day at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.

The Northern Irishman's five-under effort was the best of the day and moved him through the field into a share of second place alongside Australia's Jason Day (67) and American Chris Kirk (68) at six-under overall.

Horschel, who won last week's BMW Championship, remains out in front at eight under after a second straight round of 66.

Along with Horschel, Kirk, Bubba Watson and Hunter Mahan, McIlroy knows victory on Sunday would also secure the overall FedEx Cup title - and with it a bonus of $10 million.

And with Mahan languishing 14 shots off the lead and Watson eight adrift, the battle for the richest prize in golf looks to be down to three players.

McIlroy insists the title means more to him than the money, the 25-year-old keen to end a brilliant season on a high note after four victories, including two major titles in the Open and US PGA Championship.

The four-time major winner holed from 11 feet for his first birdie of the day on the second but bogeyed the fourth for the second day in succession after his drive plugged in the face of a fairway bunker.

McIlroy had been frustrated by taking one step forward and one step back on Thursday, but this time took two steps forward with birdies from close range on the sixth and seventh, although another birdie chance did go begging on the par-five ninth.

He never threatened to hole birdie putts on the 10th or 11th, but very nearly holed his approach to the 12th, his ball clattering into the pin.

Fortunately for McIlroy it finished just eight feet away and he holed the putt, before his round took a bizarre turn on the 14th, where his wayward drive clipped a tree and somehow dropped straight into a spectator's shorts pocket.

"I got really lucky," McIlroy told Sky Sports. "It ricocheted off a tree and went straight into his pocket somehow. That ball could have went anywhere and luckily I was able to take a drop and hit it on the green and make par.

"The guy probably deserved more than just the handshake that I gave him."

For the second day running McIlroy birdied the 17th and then put the icing on the cake by holing from 25 feet on the last, adding: "To finish like that with two birdies puts me in a great position going into the weekend."

Justin Rose carded five birdies and one bogey in a round of 66 to move to two under par overall, one ahead of Ryder Cup team-mate Sergio Garcia, who bogeyed the last for a 71.

Germany's Martin Kaymer complained of fatigue in his "marathon" effort of playing six tournaments in the last seven weeks, the US Open champion recording a 69 to lie two over par.

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Woosnam Bemused by McGinley Five

Ian Woosnam is bemused by European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley’s decision to opt for five vice-captains instead of the usual four and believes it could be a sign of weakness.

McGinley raised a few eyebrows last week when he drafted in 2012 captain José María Olazábal, Padraig Harrington and Miguel Ángel Jimenez to join Sam Torrance and Des Smyth as his deputies for the biennial team event at Gleneagles later this month.

2006 Ryder Cup captain Woosnam said: “I honestly thought he was going to go for four vice-captains. It took me a little bit by surprise when he went for five. I guess he’s trying to get a little bit of advice from everybody but sometimes you can get too much. At the end of the day he’s the one who has got to make the decisions.

“Is it a sign of weakness having that many? It does seem a lot. Maybe he’s trying to get as much experience as he possibly can. He might need a bigger team room, he might as well have 12 vice-captains, one for each player.”

McGinley’s playing record, he has won four times on the European Tour, pales in comparison to United States counterpart Tom Watson who is one of golf’s true greats having collected eight major victories including five British Opens.

However, Woosnam, who was captain when Europe pummelled the US in 2006, believes that the 47-year-old Irishman has got what it takes to deliver Ryder Cup glory.

“Paul may have only won four tournaments but I think he’s going to be well respected by his players. He’s very professional,” said the 56-year-old Welshman. “If you put it in football terms, you don’t always have to be the best player to be the best captain. Not at all.”

McGinley will have four of the world’s top five players in his 12-strong team in Scotland – Rory McIlroy, Sergio García, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose – but Woosnam said no-one should underestimate a US side led by Watson.

“The American team is very well balanced and with Tom running that team, he’s not going to take any nonsense,” he explained. “If Tom Watson talks, you listen – if you don’t there must be something wrong with you.

“He doesn’t like losing, he’s got a great mind, he’s a very intelligent guy and he’ll be working it all out. This is not going to be the walkover everyone thinks it’s going to be.

“Tom’s going to have more authority in that team room. He’s going to say: ‘I’m the captain and you’ve got to do what I say.’ All the players will have respect for him as captain. He’s going to demand respect.“

On his fellow countryman Jamie Donaldson, who will be making his debut in the event, Woosnam said: “It’s fantastic to have another Welshman in the team. Jamie’s got a great putting stroke, he’s got a lot of bottle and I think he’s going to be a tremendous addition.

“He could play with anyone in the team and I can’t see any faults in his game really. I played with him three or four years ago in an event in Barbados. I didn’t see him as a potential Ryder Cup player back then but he’s come on in leaps and bounds and is now a really solid player.”

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McIlroy Finds Some Fizz in Atlanta

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Rory McIlroy's bid for a FedEx Cup title got off to a slow start at theTour Championship on Thursday before signing for a round of 69.

McIlroy is one of five players who know victory at East Lake would also see them secure the overall FedEx Cup title won by Sweden's Henrik Stenson last year, the others being Chris Kirk, Billy Horschel, Bubba Watson and Hunter Mahan.

And the world number one was just two off the lead after playing his first nine holes in one under par as the 29-strong field found scoring conditions unexpectedly difficult.

McIlroy pushed his drive on the first and saw his attempted recovery shot clip a tree and travel only 40 yards, but the 25-year-old's third shot grazed the side of the hole as it rolled past and he holed from eight feet for par.

A superb approach to two feet set up McIlroy's first birdie of the day on the third, but he promptly gave that shot back after a poor drive on the fourth and hit an even worse drive on the next.

Fortunately for the fourt-time major winner, his ball bounced out of the trees and allowed him to find the green with his approach and make par, while he holed from six feet on the sixth to get back into red figures.

That did not last long after two visits to sand on the seventh cost him a bogey, but McIlroy again rebounded immediately with a birdie from eight feet on the eighth.

Another birdie chance went begging from 10 feet on the par-five ninth, but at one under McIlroy was just two behind American duo Ryan Palmer and Patrick Reed, with playing partner Watson, Kirk and Cameron Tringale all on two under.

McIlroy's long and straight driving has been his major weapon this season, helping him win the Open Championship, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and US PGA in consecutive appearances.

However, the Northern Irishman was struggling to find the fairways at East Lake and another errant drive found a fairway bunker on the 10th, from where he had to settle for par.

McIlroy then bogeyed the 11th after duffing his second shot from the fringe and dropped back to level par, three behind Reed, former FedEx winner Bill Haas and Masters champion Watson, who had holed from eight feet on the 10th.

Ryan Palmer held the clubhouse lead on one under after a 69, while Justin Rose struggled to a two-over-par 72.

Tournament officials had already announced that Friday's tee times had been brought forward by three hours due to bad weather being forecast.

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Zanotti Strike Raises Medical Questions

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At the KLM Open two leading players questioned why there was no ambulance on site after Fabrizio Zanotti was struck on the head by a ball on Thursday.

Zanotti was on the 16th fairway at Kennemer Golf Club when he was hit by an errant drive from France’s Alexandre Kaleka on the 14th.

According to the European Tour, Zanotti did not lose consciousness and received treatment on the course from a doctor and a paramedic before he was taken to hospital. The 31-year-old from Paraguay was accompanied by fellow players Felipe Aguilar and Ricardo Gonzalez, who withdrew from the tournament to stay with their friend.

Zanotti was later discharged from hospital and wrote on Twitter that he would now take a few weeks off, but the incident caused a delay of almost two hours and left Italian pairEdoardo Molinari and Matteo Manassero particularly unhappy.

In reference to the death of caddie Iain McGregor in Madeira earlier this season, Molinari wrote on Twitter: “Seems like fabrizanotti is ok. How is it possible there is no ambulance on site after what happened in Madeira.”

Manassero added on Twitter: “Let’s hope now that the second incident will guarantee ambulances on site for everybody’s safety.”

In a statement released to Press Association Sport, tournament director Miguel Vidaor said: “Fabrizio received impeccable medical care and attention from the team of doctors and paramedics who were already on site as part of the tournament and who are fully equipped to deal with any medical emergency.

“They subsequently deemed it necessary for Fabrizio to go to hospital as a precaution for further assessment and we are pleased to report that he has been discharged after receiving the all clear.”

KLM Open director Daan Slooter added: “We have worked with The European Tour to upgrade the medical provision at this year’s KLM Open. Unfortunately, there was not an ambulance on site, as requested by The European Tour, since we took the decision not to have one because the first aid provision on site was capable of dealing with an incident like this, and indeed any other medical emergency.

“The hospitals nearby and the ambulance system in Holland could respond quickly if further assistance was required, and indeed the ambulance responded within the parameters of Dutch law. In light of what happened with Fabrizio, we now have an ambulance on site for the remainder of the tournament.”

Zanotti had started his round from the 10th and was level par after six holes when the incident occurred. Molinari carded an opening 66 to lie one shot off the lead held by defending champion Joost Luiten and Scotland’s Jamie McLeary.

Luiten carded four birdies, an eagle and just one bogey in his 65, while McLeary joined the Dutchman on five under with a birdie on the 16th just before play was suspended for the day. Play in the first round will resume at 8am on Friday.

“It is always nice to shoot a 65,” said Luiten, who had downplayed his chances of a repeat victory on Wednesday. “I played well and didn’t make any mistakes. That’s the key on this course, keep the ball in play and take your chances. For me it was a good solid round and I hit some nice spots.

“Sometimes you can be conservative and take irons off the tee but if you feel good with the driver you have to hit it and make a tough hole into a birdie hole. It all depends how the winds are but I was hitting my drive well and I tried to take advantage of that.”

Italy’s Andrea Pavan and France’s Gary Stal were alongside Molinari on four under, with Ryder Cup player Thomas Bjorn and vice-captain Miguel Angel Jimenez off the pace on one over.

In the clubhouse Irish players, Shane Lowry and Pádraig Harrington, are best place on level par - one ahead of Damien McGrane. 

Darren Clarke is three over after a 73.

Simon Thornton was one over after 14 holes, one ahead of David Higgins, who had played 12.

Michael Hoey was one over through 14.

Gareth Maybin and Kevin Phelan were two over through 16 and nine respectively, and Peter Lawrie was three over through 12.

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Rory Defends Tiger and Lefty Comments

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Rory McIlroy has defended his comments about Tiger Woods andPhil Mickelson being in “the last few holes of their careers”.

McIlroy first addressed the issue during his pre-tournament press conference at theTour Championship in Atlanta, which will not feature either Woods or Mickelson for the first time since 1992.

The 25-year-old was asked if that represented a changing of the guard in golf and said: “Not really. I mean, Phil has played well in parts this year. He came really close to winning the PGA (finishing second behind McIlroy). I feel like he’s gotten a little better as the year has went on.

“But it’s a lot of golf for him to play in such a short space of time. So you could see he was getting a little tired the last couple of weeks. And, I mean, Tiger’s not here just because he’s been injured or he is injured. He hasn’t had the opportunity to play.

“But I think if he gets back and when he gets back to full fitness, you’ll see him back here again. So I’m not sure... they’re just getting older. Phil’s 43 or whatever (actually 44) and Tiger’s nearly 40 (Woods turns 39 in December).

“So they’re getting into the sort of last few holes of their career. And that’s what happens. You get injured. Phil has to deal with an arthritic condition as well. So it obviously just gets harder as you get older. I’ll be able to tell you in 20 years how it feels.”

Despite simply stating the facts, McIlroy’s comments inevitably generated comments on social media and the four-time major winner later wrote on his Twitter account: “Got a question today about Tiger and Phil... Gave an honest answer, was very complimentary about the two best golfers of this generation.

“Golfers on average have a 20-25 year career, both into the back 9 of their careers... Don’t think there’s anything wrong with saying that.”

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