What happened the last time Rory McIlroy made the cut on the number at Quail Hollow as history could repeat itself at the PGA Championship

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It was a titanic battle for Rory McIlroy on day two of the PGA Championship but despite just making the cut on the number at one over, there’s reason to be cheerful for The Masters champion.

McIlroy had got himself under par before an inconsistent finish at Quail Hollow saw him make a few errors and move back to one over.

Indeed, things could have been worse for McIlroy had he not had a lucky bounce from the hospitality area on 18, with his ball plugging in the rough rather than go into the creek.

• READ MORE: Jon Rahm confirms the score he’s aiming to shoot on day three at the PGA Championship to give him a chance at winning the tournament

McIlroy will be among the first out in round three and he’ll know he needs to post a good score to even be in with any shout of winning.

However, if McIlroy wants to draw some inspiration, he needn’t look too far back at his own history.

Rory McIlroy could repeat history after making the cut at the PGA Championship

We aren’t used to seeing Rory McIlroy sneak over the line in 2025 and on the surface of things, he would appear out of the tournament.

However, he is only nine back and a round of four or five under puts him back in the mix.

Indeed, in a stat shared by Justin Ray on X, McIlroy need only look back at his win at Quail in 2010 to draw inspiration.

At the time, McIlroy was behind by nine to the experienced Billy Mayfair. However, he overcame that and went on to win in style.

Of course, the field is pretty well stacked ahead of McIlroy this time around but if anyone is capable, then it is him.

• READ MORE: Smylie Kaufman says whether he thinks Rory McIlroy still has a chance of winning the PGA Championship after he just makes the cut

What happened in Rory McIlroy’s 2010 win at Quail Hollow

Going back to 2010 and a 20-year-old Rory McIlroy feels like a giant step back in time but it was just 15 years ago that McIlroy achieved one of his biggest comebacks.

Trailing by nine going into the weekend, McIlroy produced two stunning rounds of 66 and then 62 to storm up the leaderboard and win.

In a quite remarkable turnaround, McIlroy beat out Phil Mickelson by four shots to finish -15 for the week at the Wells Fargo. Even more impressive, he ended up being 10 shots ahead of Billy Mayfair, a 19 shot swing over two days.

McIlroy will very much need some of that 2010 form if he’s to win again in 2025.

However, if anyone in the world can do it right now, it’s Rory McIlroy.