Rory McIlroy is by no means out of contention at The Tour Championship this weekend but the Northern Irishman has admitted he’s struggling with parts of his game.
McIlroy is six back of Tommy Fleetwood at the summit but he’ll know full well that two big days at East Lake can put him right in the mix to win.
With Scottie Scheffler nowhere near his best during round two, McIlroy and the rest of the field may well feel there’s a big chance to capitalise.
However, as we saw with Scheffler reeling Tommy Fleetwood in last week, things can change quickly and that means that everyone else needs to have their A-game.
Indeed, according to McIlroy, it’s not quite there just yet for him.
Rory McIlroy says why he’s not at his best at the Tour Championship
A Rory McIlroy in his best form would be right up there with Fleetwood but it goes to show how good he is that he’s still in contention despite admitting he’s not at his best.
Right now, McIlroy is arguably the best player in the world not named Scottie Scheffler and he’ll feel he has a big chance in round three to make a move.
Nevertheless, McIlroy isn’t 100% happy and admits there’s something not quite right.
“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.”
Asked to go into more detail about why he’s struggling on the greens, McIlroy offered up some interesting detail from his perspective.
“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 the downhillers too soft.
“Yeah, that’s been a thing because I feel like I read these greens well and I’m putting good strokes on them, just the speed is just a little off.”
All is not lost for Rory McIlroy despite some struggles
Rory McIlroy is just like every other top golfer and simply wants perfection in his game.
However, at the end of the day, he is just six back of the lead and has shot rounds of 66 and 67 while claiming he’s not at his best.
That is quite something and once again shows just how good McIlroy is as a golfer.
If he can go low again in round three and eat into Fleetwood’s lead, then the mind-games will start again for the Englishman on Sunday as he looks to win his first PGA Tour event.
If it is McIlroy chasing him down this time and not Scottie Scheffler, then we could have a titanic battle between two of the game’s great friends.
Receive exclusive golf news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
