McIlroy 2 clear at Open, Woods woeful at start
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RORY McIlroy was two clear of the field six holes into his second round at Royal Liverpool yesterday. The overnight leader by one, the Irishman saw his advantage disappear almost instantly as he overhit his approach to the first for a bogey.
He was then joined on five under by Italians Matteo Manassero and Francesco Molinari, Brooks Koepka of the United States and Sergio Garcia of Spain, who eagled the par four second. But McIlroy, striking the ball beautifully again, had back-to-back birdies at five and six to move two strokes clear of the field.
The clubhouse leader was South African George Coetzee who came in with a fine 69 to set the benchmark at five under. And with the breeze stiffening over the Wirral links, he was a good bet to be still near the lead by the end of the round.
There was trouble early on for Tiger Woods. He started at three under, but a double at the first and a bogey at the second saw him slip off the leaderboard at level par where he stayed through eight holes.
Phil Mickelson broke par in a major for the first time since winning last year’s British Open. It was just what he needed to stay in the mix at this Open.
He missed a 4-foot putt after one of his best shots of the day. He then proceeded to bogey the next hole. He lost a tee shot on the par-5 10th hole, had to return to the tee and still made par by getting up-and-down with a 2-iron.
Mickelson wound up with a 2-under 70 to get back to even par for the championship. His only hope was for the wind to remain tough and for the leaders to not get too far ahead.
Asian Tour star Thongchai Jaidee survived blustery winds to shoot a second straight even par 72 yesterday.
The 44-year-old Thai got off to a stunning start with three birdies in his first five holes before his charge veered slightly off course as the famed links course finally bared its teeth.
Thongchai dropped five bogeys against two more birdies for a two-day total of 144 in the year’s third major.
“I started really well on the front but struggled on the back nine. It was difficult to adjust as it got windy. Even the par fives, it was tough to play those holes. Anyway, it’s a good round. Even par for both rounds, I’m happy to make the cut. That’s the important thing,” said Thongchai.
Ball striking
The world No. 34, who won in Sweden for his second title on European soil last month, was delighted with the quality of his ball striking after struggling with his iron play in the opening round.
He is confident of closing the gap at the top as he seeks to extend his rich vein of form which includes two other top-five finishes in Germany and France recently.
“My performance was better than yesterday. In the wind, you just have to keep the ball in play which is quite difficult. It was very tough,” said Thongchai, who enjoyed a chip-in birdie on his opening hole. Now that I’ve made the cut, we’ll see how the weather is tomorrow and move from there. If it is bad (which is forecasted), you need to be patient and keep the ball on the fairways and greens.”
Thongchai said he must continue to play smart golf if he is to inch his way up the leaderboard.
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