McILROY TALKS THE TALK..BUT ONLY TO HIMSELF

RORY McILROY’S putting problems had him talking to himself as he suffered a disappointing second round in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.

McIlroy, who won this title in 2016, struggled on the greens at Ballyliffin for the second day in succession as he carded three birdies and four bogeys, three of which came in his last five holes.

The resulting 73 left tournament host McIlroy (right) on one under par and seven shots off the clubhouse lead held by New Zealand’s Ryan Fox, the son of former All Black fly-half Grant Fox. “The game felt OK but I didn’t hole anything again on the greens,” said McIlroy, who has missed the cut in this event in four of the last five years.

“It tested my patience and I was mumbling to myself but I will keep plugging away. At least I get to play the next two days – that’s a success in terms of the last few years.”

Although the dry conditions mean the course is playing shorter than its full length of 7,462 yards, McIlroy admits it will be tough to play aggressively and mount a charge up the leaderboard. “If you start to take too much on off the tee and leave yourself shorter irons in, you bring more of the bunkers into play and the rough into play more and it’s just not worth it,” the former world No.1 said.

“So it’s just a matter of being patient and trying to get a bit of momentum.”