The wind picked up off the Irish Sea Friday, making Royal Liverpool look more like a U.S. Open venue than the host course of this year’s Open Championship.
Rory McIlroy reveals reason for Open Championship struggles, yet confident going into the weekend
The wind picked up at Royal Liverpool Friday, which gave many players, including Rory McIlroy, plenty of problems at The Open Championship
Jack Milko has been playing golf since he was five years old. He has yet to record a hole-in-one, but he did secure an M.A. in Sports Journalism from St. Bonaventure University.
Plenty of players struggled, including Rory McIlroy, who fought through windy conditions all morning.
“The wind got me,” McIlroy admitted. “It’s hard sometimes: whether to play the wind or not to play the wind.”
Yet, McIlroy carded a 1-under 70, as his birdie on the last hole put him in red figures for the championship.
He sits nine strokes back of leader Brian Harman, who shot an incredible 6-under 65 Friday to separate himself from the rest of the field.
“I don’t think I have to do anything differently. I’m hitting the ball well from tee to green,” McIlroy noted.
“Nine back, I might be nine back, but I don’t think there will be a ton of players between me and the lead going into the weekend. It depends on what the conditions are tomorrow. Obviously depends on what [Harman] does, as well.”
When McIlroy walked off the course Friday, he sat in a tie for 12th. Only 24 players are under par as of this writing, as the English winds have befuddled every player not donning the last name Harman.
“Right now, it’s not entirely out of my hands, but at the same time, I think if I can get to 3-, 4-, 5-under par tomorrow going into Sunday, I’ll have a really good chance.”
McIlroy missed a ton of makable putts Friday, or he could be sitting at 3- or 4-under through 36 holes.
After roaring out of the gates with a birdie at the opening hole, McIlroy stuffed a wedge to five feet-8 inches at the third.
He missed that short birdie putt, as that would have gotten him to 2-under early in his round.
Then at the par-4 12th, McIlroy missed another short birdie putt immediately after he made an unforced bogey at the 11th. That miss was from just under nine feet.
At the par-5 15th, one of the easiest holes on the course, the Northern Irishman rifled his tee shot into a pot bunker, then missed a short par putt.
“I got off to a great start,” McIlroy said. “I was a couple under through nine and then gave those shots away on two of the easier holes on the course, 11 and 15. But it was nice to at least get one of them back on 18 there.”
“It played tough. It played really, really tough. 10-under par is unbelievably impressive out there. We’ll see what the weekend holds. But after two days, I’m actually pretty happy with my two days’ work.”
Interestingly, Harman’s score of 132 through 36 holes is the same score that both Tiger Woods and McIlroy had when they won their Claret Jugs at Royal Liverpool in 2006 and 2014, respectively.
This time around, however, McIlroy will be the one chasing the leader. But the weather is expected to worsen over the weekend in Northwestern England, and we all know what McIlroy did in brutal conditions last weekend in Scotland.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
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