Rory McIlroy is right back in the mix to win the Irish Open at the K Club after his second round 66 on Friday.
McIlroy was in scintillating form on the back nine on day two, and finished with four birdies in his last six holes as he surged up the Irish Open leaderboard.
The 36-year-old has experienced a difficult past few months on the PGA Tour, but he does seem to have more of a bounce in his step when he returns back to Britain.
That said, McIlroy wasn’t entirely happy at the Irish Open on day one, after he complained about being put on the clock twice throughout his round.
He seemed to be much more like his old self on Friday, though. In fact, McIlroy’s round could have been a lot better than the 66 that he eventually shot.
McIlroy was actually encouraged by his play on day one of the Irish Open but his second round was on a whole other level entirely.
Despite missing an eagle putt on his final hole of the day, the Northern Irishman walked off the 18th green with a smile on his face.
And the galleries were delighted as well.
Rory McIlroy makes comment about the fans at the Irish Open
McIlroy clearly feels at home when playing on the island of Ireland, quite literally!
The 2025 Masters champion will be desperate to find his best form with the Ryder Cup now just three weeks away.
He certainly seems to be heading in the right direction and playing at home in Ireland could well bring out the best in him.
After his second round 66, he was asked by reporters what he thought of the support from the fans at The K Club.
“Yeah amazing,“ McIlroy said.
“The whole day, even walking to the range for the warm-up today, the support is absolutely incredible and I’m looking forward to playing in that atmosphere tomorrow as well.“
McIlroy can be safe in the knowledge that the support he received during the first two days will crank up to even greater levels over the weekend.
How long Rory McIlroy thinks he has left at the top of the game
McIlroy has been playing on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour for around 20 years now.
He actually made his debut in 2005 when he was just 16, and he hasn’t looked back since.
But how much longer does he have at the top?
McIlroy suggested that he thinks he will be able to compete at an elite level for another 8-10 years.
He said: “I think it’s just taken me a little bit of time to recalibrate and think about, okay, what are my goals going forward for the rest of my career? I’m still only 36, I feel like I’ve got a good eight to 10 years at the very top level of the game left. So I think at this point, it’s just about resetting those goals and giving myself more objectives to try to aim for.”
There is no doubt that McIlroy is still good enough to win multiple tournaments every year for the next decade.
Whether he maintains the work ethic needed to do that remains to be seen, though.
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