THOSE punters who put their faith in Rory McIlroy when he insisted on Wednesday he was a good bet to win this year’s Open championship must have been cursing him up and down early in his opening round. Five bogeys in his opening six holes suggested any money placed on the Northern Irishman to win his fifth major at odds of 20/1 was unlikely to be returned.
You could have got as much as 150/1 at that point on McIlroy leaving Royal Birkdale tomorrow night with the Claret Jug once more tucked under his arm, making him roughly the same price as Mr Blobby, Shergar or the Loch Ness monster.
Only the foolish or the brave would have wagered too heavily on McIlroy at that stage of the competition but those who did will be feeling rather smug about their prospects as the 28 year-old took advantage of the benign conditions early on day two to manoeuvre himself into contention.
The bookmakers will be somewhat less generous with his odds on a second Open success this morning.
His second round score of 68 was not blemish-free, with two bogeys on the back nine undoing some of the good work achieved earlier in his round when he began like a man in a hurry with three birdies in his opening six holes. His score of 31 at the turn was eight fewer blows than he had taken to reach the same point the previous day, building on the momentum that began at the tail-end of his opening round when he recorded four birdies on his back nine.
McIlroy has struggled for form and fitness of late, and needed his caddie JP Fitzgerald to deliver a stinging rebuke midway through his opening round to shake him from his early torpor. He benefited from playing in the more benign conditions yesterday, safely back in the clubhouse ahead of the torrential rain that pounded down on Southport and made life difficult for Jordan Spieth, Brooks Koepka and others playing later in the day.
He may still be some way shy of his peak powers – on a few occasions yesterday he had to scramble just to save par - but his reputation alone will surely have the leaders worried as the shadow of the 2014 champion hovers over them going into today’s play.
McIlroy equalled the lowest score in major history when he started with a 63 at St Andrews in 2010 but he felt yesterday’s colourful round was just as good.
“To be in after two days and be under par for this championship after the way I started, I’m ecstatic with that,” he said. “I was very proud of myself that I hung in there and tried to stay as positive as I possibly could.
“But this was definitely the round that got me back into the championship. That’s right up there with my best round in a major.
“It’s really tough out there. I was lucky enough to get off to that great start but conditions got a little worse on the back nine.
“I went out and believed in myself from the first tee shot, hit it within 60 yards of the green and went from there. I saw a lot of quality out there which was good.
“I just wanted to continue with that good feeling from the last few holes on Thursday and went out with that positivity and trust in myself and just need to keep that for the next two days. I can’t wait.”
One of his playing partners was Dustin Johnston who did not fare quite so promisingly. The world number one missed the Masters this year after sustaining a freak injury on the eve of the tournament, and then missed the cut in the defence of his US Open title a few months later.
At three-over he at least made it to the weekend at Birkdale but it will take a mammoth effort for the laconic American to take the trophy from here.
“I guess I’m not playing that well but I’m getting it up around the green,” he drawled. “If I could go out and shoot a good score, I can get myself back in the golf tournament.”
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