Mcilroy steals show with failed effort to make cut

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland — Everyone in the massive grandstand rose to cheer and celebrate a bold performance by Rory Mcilroy, who longed for such support and affection on his walk toward his final hole at Royal Portrush in the British Open.

Except this was Friday, not Sunday.

And now Mcilroy can only watch on the weekend as one of his best friends, Shane Lowry of Ireland, goes after the claret jug. Lowry birdied four of his opening five holes on his way to a 4-under-par 67 and a share of the 36-hole lead with J.B. Holmes, who had a 68.

Lee Westwood and Tommy Fleetwood were one shot behind. Brooks Koepka and Jordan Spieth were three back.

That can wait.

This day was all about Mcilroy, who kept the sellout crowd on edge as he tried to make the cut after opening with a 79. The roars had the intensity of a final round as Mcilroy ran off five birdies in seven holes to

brighten a gloomy sky over the North Atlantic. Needing one last birdie, Mcilroy’s approach took a wrong turn along the humps left of the 18th green. He made par for a 65. “It’s a moment I envisaged for the last few years,” Mcilroy said. “It just happened two days early.”

He was disappointed. He was proud of his play. Mostly, though, he said he was “full of gratitude toward every single one of the people that followed me to the very end and was willing me on.”

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson won’t be around for the weekend, either, the first time in 77 majors they have played as professionals that both missed the cut in the same major. Darren Clarke, who honed his game on the Dunluce Links as a junior and now calls Portrush home, missed the cut in a most cruel fashion with a triple bogey on his final hole.

And now the first British Open in Northern Ireland since 1951 moves on without them, though still with the promise of a great show.

Lowry, swept up in the emotion of an Open on the Emerald Isle, and on a course he knows, gave fans plenty to cheer when he opened his second round with three straight birdies, added a birdie on the fifth and holed a 40-foot birdie putt on No. 10 to reach 10 under, making him the only player so far to reach double figures under par.

“It’s an incredible feeling getting applauded on every green, every tee box,” he said.

He three-putted the 14th, saved par on the next three holes and closed with a bogey to fall back into a tie with Holmes, who played earlier in the day and was the first to post at 8-under 134.

Fleetwood and Westwood, two Englishmen at different stages in their careers, each had a 67 and will play in the group ahead of Lowry and Holmes. Westwood is 46 and can make a case as the best active player without a major.

Justin Rose had a 67 and was two shots behind, along with Cameron Smith of Australia and Justin Harding of South Africa. Another shot back was a group that included Koepka, who has won three of the past six majors.

Woods, meanwhile, never seemed fully fit or engaged at the British Open. He was 3 under for his round through 11 holes with hopes of making it to the weekend, but he had no more birdies and finished with two bogeys for a 70 to miss by five shots.

That was still two shots better than Mickelson, who had a 74 to finish at 8 over.