The name at the top of the leaderboard midway through Jack Nicklaus’ Memorial Tournament at Muirfield in Dublin, Ohio was Rory, but that was the southern hemisphere Rory; Sabbatini, to be precise. As for Rory McIlroy, he was headed out the door, having missed the cut in his third straight tournament. Tiger Woods claimed the title on the Sunday, equaling Nicklaus’s own record of 73 PGA tour wins.
McIlroy was three strokes off the mark at 36 holes, having shot 150 when 147 or better was needed. He began the tournament on the back nine on Thursday and went four strokes over par at the par-3 12th hole with a quadruple-bogey 7. He salvaged his round by taking five strokes off par the rest of the trip, including an eagle-3 at the fifth hole, for a score of 71.
Friday just turned plain ugly, however. McIlroy couldn’t buy a birdie. The front nine wasn’t too bad, as he made the turn two strokes over par. But matters turned surreal at 11, where he carded the first of two double bogeys. He managed to save par at 12 on this occasion, which was the highlight of his round. The numbers totaled 79 and he was soon left to contemplate how to spend his weekend.
“It just seems like every time I go out there I make one or two big numbers and that sort of throws me, a couple [double bogeys] on the back nine,” McIlroy said on Friday. “Just those big numbers at the beginning are killing me, and I just need to get those off the card and I’ll be okay.
“I don’t feel like the scores are actually reflecting how I’m hitting the ball. I was able to string nine good holes together yesterday. I just need to keep working on it and try to string 18 good holes together and then try and string two days together, and obviously three days and, ultimately, four.”
McIlroy will now play this week’s FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis as a tune-up for his U.S. Open defense the following week.
EUROPEAN TOUR
Paul McGinley and Peter Lawrie continue to prosper. The duo tied for sixth place in the Wales Open at the Celtic Manor Resort. They both shot 4-under-par 280 to finish two strokes in back of Thongchai Jaidee.
McGinley put 72, 73 and 70 on his scorecards before finishing with a Sunday low round of 65. Lawrie shot 72, 73, 69 and 67.
McGinley had parred each of the first seven holes on Sunday, and then took birdie on six of the remaining 11 holes without bogey. Lawrie, likewise, had a bogey-free Sunday, but took all his birdies (4) on the front nine.
A less is more attitude, while he pursues outside interests, may be behind McGinley’s resurgence.
“I'm really focused this year and spent a lot of time the last few years setting up businesses and that's gone very well,” McGinley said. “I've got seven golf courses under construction at the moment and that's taken up a lot of time, but to be honest it's worked in my favor, because it's given me a freshness when I play golf. I haven't played a whole lot, but I've played well in all my tournaments so far this year and, hopefully, I can keep that up.
“Might have a little bit of an Indian summer in my career. I’m 45 years old now, so there’s still a chance for me to do some good.”
Damien McGrane and Simon Thornton also made the cut. McGrane finished joint-28th at 286 (71-71-69-75), while Thornton was two strokes back at 288 (69-73-77-69), which was good for a share of 35th place.
Gareth Maybin, 149 (73-76), and Michael Hoey, 151 (75-76), both missed the cut, which fell at 147. Shane Lowry withdrew after an opening-round 81.
