Ohh nooooo not again Rory………
Rory McIlroy Battles Familiar Demons with Putter Troubles at Scottish Open
Rory McIlroy once again faced a frustratingly familiar challenge as his putter let him down during the second round of the Scottish Open. Returning to competition for the first time since narrowly missing out on a fifth major title at the US Open last month, the defending champion McIlroy carded a 66 following his impressive opening round of 65 at the Renaissance Club.
During his previous outing at Pinehurst, McIlroy had a two-shot lead with just five holes to play but faltered with bogeys on three of the final four holes. This included a heartbreaking miss from just 2ft 6in on the 16th, ultimately finishing a single stroke behind Bryson DeChambeau.
On Friday, the world number two missed another critical putt from a similar distance for birdie on the 16th and then from nine feet on the next hole, leaving him trailing his Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Åberg by three shots.
“Yeah, a misread [on 16],” McIlroy explained. “I read the putt straight. I watched it go past the hole, and it didn’t look like it did much. Hit it straight but went a little left to right on me. Felt like I missed a good opportunity on the par-three 14th and another one on 17.
“I’m probably standing here feeling like I should be sort of around Ludvig’s score if not a little bit better after the last couple of days, but I’m still in a good position. I feel like I left two or three out there yesterday and it was similar today, so hopefully I can put it all together over the weekend.
“I saw there was a 62 and a couple of 63s today, and that’s what it’s going to take to be right up there around the lead going into Sunday if we get more of these conditions. It’s another weekend where I’m right in the mix of a golf tournament, and that’s a nice position to be in after the last three weeks that I’ve had.”
McIlroy remains hopeful that he can overcome these putting woes and mount a serious challenge over the weekend, aiming to recapture the form that has seen him achieve success on this very stage before.
