Rory McIlroy's driver sounded like thunder on Friday. His putter sounded like doubt. The world No. 2 was caught between brilliance and struggle at Royal Birkdale, stringing together one of golf's most contradictory performances as his Open Championship hopes teetered in the balance.
The display was almost comical in its split personality. McIlroy crushed drives with the kind of effortless power that makes crowds gasp. On the 414-yard 9th hole, he launched one 403 yards onto the green to 11 feet, a shot so audacious his own gameplan never saw it coming. "Honestly, my gameplan was to hit it to the top of the hill and hit a wedge on and go from there," he explained. "But sometimes opportunities present themselves and you have to take them."
What happened next told the whole story. McIlroy stood over that eagle putt and tentatively pushed it aside. Birdie would have to do. It was a microcosm of his entire round.
The Northern Irishman carded a solid 67, three under par, to sit at one under heading into Saturday. But solid felt like a disappointment after what he'd shown off the tee. His irons played middling golf. More critically, he left multiple birdie looks on the table from 10 to 20 feet, the kind of makeable chances that separate contenders from also-rans in major championships. Around him, Lucas Herbert and Sam Burns had posted matching 62s, a record-equalling performance that only sharpened McIlroy's sense of what might have been.
"I felt like I left a couple out there," he said. "Then you look at the board and you see a couple of 62s, and you feel like you could have done a bit better."
The putting troubles have gnawed at him since day one, when he ranked 155th out of 156 players in strokes gained on the greens. Before Friday's round, he'd consulted putting guru Brad Faxon seeking answers. The help was marginal at best.
"I'm still trying to figure out these greens a little bit," McIlroy said. "I've struggled the last couple of days. It was a little better today, but still didn't feel 100% comfortable." He described reading a putt only to watch it behave entirely differently, an experience he found "a little unnerving." Birkdale's firm conditions and tricky pin placements were clearly getting into his head.
Yet McIlroy wasn't ready to surrender. He noted that most of the leaderboard ahead of him was relatively inexperienced at the business of chasing majors on moving day. The exceptions were Cam Young and Burns, both comfortable operating under pressure. "If I can get off to a decent start tomorrow, be four or five under for the tournament, I'll be right in it," McIlroy said, not unreasonably.
The math was simple. His driver was good enough to win. His putter had to catch up.
Author James Rodriguez: "McIlroy's got the firepower to make a run, but those missed makeable putts on Friday might haunt him if Saturday doesn't go his way."
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