McIlroy sets hot pace with a perfect 65
THERE are times when it is frustrating watching Rory McIlroy, knowing how good he is and seeing him fall short of perfection.
Yesterday at Wentworth was not one of those times.
In posting his first bogey-free round at the BMW PGA Championship, McIlroy opened a three-shot lead at halfway.
His serene sevenunder 65, a patchwork quilt of driving power, fairway precision and putting touch, was as near a work of art as sport gets.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that. It’s just shot after shot after shot,” said playing partner Alex Noren, the defending champion. “That’s the best round I’ve ever seen. I’m about to quit golf I think.”
No need to be hasty – Noren’s 68 was none too shabby either – but McIlroy can have this effect on his rivals.
The presence of his name at the top of the leaderboard casts a giant shadow.
McIlroy has shown in the past his capacity to destroy a field. Two of his Major wins came by a margin of eight strokes. There is a danger the Wentworth weekend could turn into a procession.
“It’s nice to live up to the billing a little bit,” said McIlroy. “I didn’t really put a foot wrong today.
“I feel like my game plan was good. I was conservative off the tee when I needed to be. I was aggressive in some other areas and I held putts that I needed to.
“If I can keep doing that over the next two days, hopefully I can keep ahead of the rest.
“You can’t expect to win – I could shoot two 65s over the weekend and still get beaten. I just have to control what I can control.”
There is no white flag being raised yet but when McIlroy is holing the sort of putts he did yesterday at the 15th from 25ft for a fourth successive birdie – after spearing in a seven iron to 2ft on the 14th – he can begin to look unbeatable.
He has ditched putting coach Phil Kenyon and become his own boss.
“There are so many different ways to putt a golf ball but it’s more about getting clear mentally. Once you’re in that space you can hole putts,” he said.
The rain that has softened the West Course has been to McIlroy’s benefit but, boy, has he made the most of it in rampaging to 12 under par in two rounds.
Another to have found Wentworth to his liking is 21-year-old Sam Horsfield, whose American drawl disguises his Mancunian roots.
Horsfield, who left England as a five-yearold and was raised in Florida, shot a 68 yesterday to sit within three shots in second place, alongside Frenchman Sebastien Gros. “This week is a lot like an American golf course. With its big pine trees you could put it in Georgia or South Carolina and I feel comfortable on it,” Horsfield said.
That’s best round I’ve ever seen