If practice makes perfect, McIlroy could pull it out
Soon after his round ended Friday, about 5:30 p.m., Rory McIlroy retreated to the practice green at Silverado Resort. He found an empty spot on the far side, away from three other players and a row of spectators lined along the white picket fence.
McIlroy dropped three golf balls at his feet and started rapping them toward a hole 6 feet away. They tumbled home, one after another. And another. And another. He made 40 in a row. Now, yes, McIlroy used some sort of metalplate practice aid to start the ball on the proper line. And, yes, the putts appeared fairly flat and straight. And, yes, it’s easier to putt well when the results don’t count on the scorecard. But 40 straight is still 40 straight. McIlroy could have used some of those putts on the course, where he struggled again on the greens during his second-round 71. That, more than anything, explains why he enters the weekend with a steep hill to climb in the Frys.com
Open.
McIlroy will begin Saturday’s third round at 5-underpar for the tournament, six strokes behind leader Brendan Steele. More daunting, McIlroy stands tied for 19th, meaning he must pass a boatload of players over the next 36 holes to win for the first time since May.
It won’t happen unless McIlroy rediscovers the putting touch that propelled him to four major championships. Talk all you want about his power off the tee, but PGA Tour events are largely decided on the greens.
Right now — and ever since he returned from an ankle injury in August — McIlroy can’t putt straight.
“Just very frustrating,” he said. “It’s sort of been like this since I’ve been back. I need to figure it out a little bit.”
That’s why McIlroy headed to the practice green, even though he looked tired. It’s fair to wonder about McIlroy’s motivation this week, given that he included the Frys on his schedule only because tour officials required him to play the event after skipping it in 2012.
He arrived on a long flight Tuesday from Europe, didn’t see the course until Wednesday and openly complained of jet lag. McIlroy is hitting the ball well, but his fatigue is showing on the greens.
He made only two putts longer than 5 feet on Friday (and missed twice from about 4 feet). More damning, he ranks 122nd in the field this week (out of 142 players) in strokes gained/putting. That’s a surefire recipe for
cradling the trophy Sunday. “I think it’s more mental than anything else,” McIlroy said. “Whenever you don’t see anything go in the hole, that makes it harder and harder every hole. Hopefully, I’ll find something on the putting green tonight and then I can get off to a good start tomorrow and get some momentum.”
Steele seized momentum Thursday, when he made seven birdies on his first nine holes. Yep, nothing like making the opening-round turn in 29 to start your season on the right foot.
He ultimately shot 63 in the first round, then followed with 70 on Friday. Now it gets tougher: This is the first time Steele has held the outright 36-hole lead in his five-plus years on the PGA Tour. (He shared the lead when he picked up his only victory, in San Antonio in 2011.)
Plus, as Steele learned last year at Silverado, the greens become firmer and faster on the weekend, with the contenders all playing in the afternoon. That made for higher scores last year on Saturday and Sunday, and he’s ready for an encore.
“I definitely expect that again,” Steele said. “I don’t think we’ll see any more 63s out there, which can play to my advantage. That makes it a little tougher for guys to come from way behind.”
One guy chasing Steele, and not from way behind, is Harold Varner III. He’s only the second African American player to earn his PGA Tour card since Tiger Woods, and Varner is wasting no time getting comfortable on the big stage.
He shot 65-70 to reach 9under, one of four players two shots behind Steele. They all have a better mathematical chance of catching the leader than McIlroy does — unless he sinks 40 straight putts.