Rory McIlroy is well in the mix at The Memorial heading into the weekend as he remained under par after round two.
The Northern Irishman carded a steady 71 in his second round to leave him at three-under for the tournament.
Of course, McIlroy is someway behind overnight leader Scottie Scheffler, who sits at nine under and looks very much on course to win yet another tournament.
But with a potentially tricky weekend to come in terms of conditions and the greens getting ever firmer at Muirfield, McIlroy has revealed that as it stands, he’s pretty content.
Indeed, McIlroy even claimed that this weekend’s conditions are more US Open-like than the actual US Open coming next week.
Rory McIlroy shares why The Memorial is playing like a US Open right now
Speaking (Irish Times) after round two at Muirfield today, McIlroy admitted things were tough and that overall, under par was more than acceptable.
“This is probably more US Open like than the US Open’s going to be next week . I think just that mindset of being patient and making as many pars as possible that’s sort of going to be the MO for next week as well,” McIlroy said.
“This course is penal enough anyway, if you miss in the wrong spots. You get this wind and if it was as fiery as it has been in previous years it would be treacherous.
“But it’s still…the ball’s holding on the greens and on the fairways and you still have opportunities to make birdie. Anything under par I think is a good score, but, yeah, very hard to go low,”
Scottie Scheffler is going to win again but McIlroy showing signs
We know anything can happen in golf but Scottie Scheffler is three clear of the rest, and six clear of McIlroy heading into the final two rounds.
On paper, that’s enough for Scheffler to stay ahead and put yet another win on his CV.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom for McIlroy.
He is playing well and doing a lot of things right. Yes, it could be better at times and there’s been a bit of inconsistency in his game over the first two days.
But overall, a week out from Pinehurst, there’s enough to suggest McIlroy is going to be in contention.
A solid third round tomorrow will see him in the mix heading into Sunday and from there, then who knows.
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