Rory McIlroy was hovering around the projected cut line at The Open Championship on Friday when favorable wind conditions opened the door for a more aggressive strategy.
With the wind behind him for the second consecutive round, McIlroy took out his driver on the 414-yard par-4 ninth hole. It led to a second consecutive birdie that got the world’s No. 2-ranked player back to even par for the day.
McIlroy added a lone birdie on his back nine to card a 3-under-par 67 at Royal Birkdale on Friday that moved him to 1 under for the tournament.
“The main objective today was to be here for the weekend, which I am,” McIlroy said. “I felt like I left a couple out there.”
That was especially true after he looked at the scoreboard and saw the 62s posted by Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns. McIlroy will be chasing at least seven shots when he begins his third round on Saturday. Herbert was atop the leaderboard after the morning wave at 8-under.
McIlroy has been inconsistent on the greens through 36 holes but has remained as aggressive as possible with his driver. The ninth hole was a perfect example, as he never considered trying to drive the green during practice rounds.
“Honestly, the practice rounds I played were in a completely different wind direction. I didn’t even think about it,” McIlroy said. “Then when I got on the tee yesterday and saw the wind, it was like, well, the corner on the right there to cover is like 335 (yards), and downwind it’s like, as long as I just strike it well, that should be fine.
“I’ve driven the ball so well the last two days. I think anytime I can get a driver in my hand, I’m going to try to.”
To put himself in contention on Sunday, the Northern Irishman needs to post an excellent score early and then hope the pack comes back to him a bit. In addition to the rounds posted by Herbert and Burns, Royal Birkdale yielded a 64 to Eric Cole during Friday’s morning wave, which also saw five players post 4-under 66s.
Like McIlroy, Cameron Young shot a 3-under 67 that put him at 6 under for the tournament and two shots back of Herbert.
“There’s a couple of guys up there, this will be sort of their first experience of playing in the lead at a major championship on the weekend,” McIlroy said. “There’s obviously some that are very experienced at it like Cam and like Sam as well.
“I think if I can get off to a decent start tomorrow, be 4- or 5-under for the tournament, I’ll be right in it.”
