Rory McIlroy hasn’t ruled himself out of the Tour Championship just yet, though he’s admitted there are a few parts of his game that aren’t quite where he’d like them to be.
He’s six shots back from Tommy Fleetwood but with two rounds left at East Lake, there’s still time to close the gap.
With Scottie Scheffler not looking sharp in round two, it feels like a real opportunity for the chasing pack to make up ground.
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But as we saw last week when Scheffler caught up to Fleetwood, momentum can shift quickly. Everyone will need to be on top form if they want to take advantage this time around.
For McIlroy though, he feels he’s still got work to do before everything clicks into place for him this week.
McIlroy admits that things just aren’t quite right for him
McIlroy was far from happy with how he played his opening round, despite finding a way to shoot three under par on Friday at East Lake.
The 35-year-old continued: “Even today wasn’t great but again I hit it in the trees a couple of times and made pars and I bogeyed the first hole but came straight back with birdies at three and four.”
The four-time major champion has shown in past tournaments that you don’t always need your best stuff every single day and that grinding out a score is equally important – especially during weeks when nobody is running away with it.
Scheffler continues slow start after bad opening round
Scheffler didn’t exactly get off to an ideal start either during round one, carding a one over par 71 on Thursday.
This comes after some comments about his relationship with Jon Rahm, which some fans have suggested may be causing an issue between them. However both Rahm and Perez have spoken publicly about their respect for each other since then.
Rory McIlroy explains what’s holding him back at the Tour Championship
Rory McIlroy at his peak would probably be right up there with Tommy Fleetwood, but even without his best game, he’s still in the hunt.
And while there are some positives to take away, McIlroy is clear that he’s not fully satisfied with where his game stands right now.
“I felt like I hit the ball pretty well. I just didn’t take advantage of that good ball-striking. I played the first six holes well, a couple under, and then just got on the par train and couldn’t get off it even though I was giving myself some chances. Felt like to at least hole one at the end and make another birdie,” McIlroy said.
“Overall, again, feel like I didn’t get the most out of my round, but at the same time, I’m definitely hitting the ball better than I did last week. Some positives. I’m a few shots further behind than I’d like going into the weekend, but pleased with the improvements that I’ve made from last week to this week.”
When asked about what exactly is causing him trouble on the greens, McIlroy had an interesting explanation.
“More speed. I think since the rain sort of earlier in the week on Wednesday there, I’ve struggled with the speed a little bit. I feel like I’m hitting uphillers too hard and downhillers too soft,” he explained.
“Yeah that’s been a thing because i feel like i read these greens well and I’m putting good strokes on them just to speed is just a little off.”
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