Rory McIlroy is once again in contention at a PGA Tour event after he shot an impressive five-under 67 on day two of the Genesis Invitational.
Wet and windy conditions wreaked havoc on day one, and four-time major winner McIlroy battled his way to a level-par 72, a score he would have settled for before teeing off.
After calmer conditions greeted the players on Friday, McIlroy took advantage and made four front-nine birdies before picking up one more shot on the back.
McIlroy claimed driving would be important at Torrey, and the 35-year-old currently sits second for strokes gained off the tee.
Rory McIlroy makes Pebble Beach claim at Torrey Pines
McIlroy is coming off winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, and the Northern Irishman believes the soft poa greens in San Diego are now beginning to resemble those seen on the Monterey Peninsula.
“Yeah, I would say the greens are starting to get very similar [to Pebble Beach]. That soft poa, really have to control your spin coming into the greens, hitting one or two clubs more than you usually would and just try to take the spin off,” McIlroy said during his post-round press conference.
“So there’s a lot of that. But in terms — I mean, the rough’s a lot more penal here, so it’s a little different. I thought the rough at Pebble was quite benign.”
Rory McIlroy enjoys putting on poa greens
Clearly, McIlroy is well attuned to putting on the soft poa surfaces. During the AT&T Pro-Am, the Northern Irishman ranked seventh for strokes gained putting and picked up over four shots on the greens.
A similar story has played out in San Diego so far.
McIlroy was third for strokes gained putting during the second round at Torrey Pines (2.4) and is eighth over the first 36 holes. At times, given his immense tee-to-green prowess, McIlroy’s putting perhaps gets overlooked. When at his best, there are few more deft with the flat stick in hand.
Rory McIlroy among stacked Genesis Invitational leaderboard
McIlroy is part of a relatively strong leaderboard after the first 36 holes of the Genesis. Davis Thompson leads the way at eight under but is closely followed by world number one Scottie Scheffler, who posted an impressive 67.
Swede Ludvig Aberg is also in contention after shooting six under on Friday. Aberg impressed during the first two rounds of the Farmers Insurance Open before being struck down by a sickness issue.
If the wet weather steers clear, McIlroy’s distance could prove decisive this weekend, and the Northern Irishman also shed light on his game plan for Saturday and Sunday’s play.
“I had some good wedges today and hit them close, but there’s a lot of holes here where you’re having to hit 7-iron, 6-irons into those greens. Yeah, but it’s similar. They’re small targets, quite a lot of pitch on them. So yeah, I think for me, I’m getting up on every tee box and trying to hit it as hard as I can,” McIlroy added.
“If it goes in the fairway, great. If it doesn’t, as I was saying, sometimes when you’re hitting a wedge out of the rough and you don’t have to worry about the spin, that’s a good thing to some of these back pins. Pretty thoughtless off the tee and then a little more thinking going into the greens.”
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