CROMWELL, Conn. — Rory McIlroy waves after making a hole-in-one on the eighth hole during the first round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 22, 2023. | Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
McIlroy carded the lowest round of his PGA Tour season Friday. He vaulted up the leaderboard and is in contention heading into the weekend.
Just a week after his disappointing U.S. Open finish, Rory McIlroy is back in the mix.
The Northern Irishman carded a 6-under 64 for his second round Friday, the lowest score he has posted on the PGA Tour this season.
It should have been better.
On the 8th hole, where McIlroy made a historic hole-in-one Thursday, the four-time major champion hit his tee shot into the pond that guards the front of the green.
Through two days, McIlroy has made a one and a double-bogey five on the same hole.
After his shot came up short at the 8th, McIlroy looked perplexed, as he could not believe that his ball found the pond. He thought he had hit perfectly.
Yet, McIlroy should not hang his head too much, as he made eight birdies Friday.
Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images
CROMWELL, Conn. — Rory McIlroy lines up a putt on the 14th green during the second round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands on June 23, 2023.
Having started his second round on the back nine, McIlroy made five birdies en route to an opening 5-under 30.
He relied heavily on his putter, as he knocked in an 18-footer at the 11th and a 13-footer at the 14th to jump-start his round.
His flat stick remained hot as he birdied the 2nd, 3rd, and 6th holes on his back nine.
By then, he was 8-under for his round, 10-under for the championship, and just one stroke off the lead.
But his double-bogey at the 8th stalled his momentum and dropped him back to 8-under for the tournament.
McIlroy heads into the weekend trailing Denny McCarthy by seven shots.
McCarthy was inches from shooting a 59 Thursday. He followed that up with a 5-under 65 Friday. He sits at 15-under par through 36 holes.
Seven strokes may seem like a wide margin, but anything can happen at TPC River Highlands, one of the PGA Tour’s shortest and most scoreable layouts.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
