I’M GONNA CHUCK IT!
Noren says Rory round was so good he feels like quitting as Irishman takes lead
DEFENDING champ Alex Noren admitted he felt like packing it in after watching Rory McIlroy blaze into the BMW PGA lead.
The Swede shot a course record 62 to win at Wentworth last year but said he’d never witnessed a better round than the Northern Irishman’s seven-under 65 yesterday.
McIlroy took a threeshot halfway lead over England’s Sam Horsfield and Frenchman Sebastian Gros after setting the pace at 12 under.
And playing partner Noren, who didn’t drop a shot, said: “That’s the best round I’ve ever seen – I’m about to quit golf !
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that. It’s just shot after shot after shot.”
McIlroy has fixed his swing and his head since his latest failure to pull off a career Grand Slam at the Masters in April.
He said: “I played really well to go bogey-free around here. I only missed one green, not by a lot. It was one of the best rounds I’ve played this year ball striking-wise.
“There’s still a couple of loose shots in there but it was a great round. I had everything firing and it was nice to take advantage of the opportunities I gave myself. I didn’t really put a foot wrong.”
The four-time Major winner sank four straight birdies on the back nine, culminating in a 25-foot putt on the 15th.
But Ryder Cup vicecaptain Lee Westwood, who carded a 69, said: “Was Rory close to his best? No I didn’t think so.
“He was losing it to the right a couple of times – I am sure he knows what it is that is doing that. It is as good as I’ve seen him putt in quite some time.”
With fellow Major winners Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose snubbing the event, McIlroy is the star at Wentworth.
And he had racing icons JP McManus and AP McCoy among his crowd yesterday as he bids to repeat a success four years ago that then saw him go on to win The Open plus the US PGA.
He said: “It’s nice to live up to the billing I guess. I really enjoy playing in front of these crowds.
“I’d love to get a win here again and if that could kickstart a summer like I had in 2014 I’d be all for that. It’s a big weekend for me.”
I played really well – it’s one of my best rounds this year RORY McILROY