McIlroy surge keeps him inside cut

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — After Rory McIlroy started with two double bogeys and a bogey on the first three holes of his second round Friday at the 101st PGA Championship, he might have been tempted to be making weekend plans away from Bethpage Black.

But McIlroy, who stood at 7-over par for the tournament after his early struggles, steadied himself until his putter could come around. And it did, leading to four birdies on his final six holes that enabled him to make the 36-hole cut.

McIlroy, a two-time PGA champion and one of the pre-tournament favorites, came in with a 1-over 71 and a 36-hole score of 143.

“Pride, just pride, just trying to play a good round of golf and try to get something that’s close to the best out of myself,” he said. “And, yeah, I don’t like missing cuts. It’s not something that I’m used to fortunately, and I wanted to be around for the weekend.

“At least if you’re around for the weekend, you can go out there and maybe shoot a good one [Saturday] and at least give yourself half a chance.”

The putting was the key. On his late four-birdie binge, McIlroy made 76 feet worth of putts, including makes of 23 and 22 feet on the fifth and sixth holes.

“It’s not as if I haven’t been in those positions before,” he said of being close to missing the cut. “It’s just a matter of not pressing too much and staying patient and letting the good golf sort of come through. Took a while today, but it eventually got here.”

Woods misses cut

A disastrous start to Tiger Woods’ back nine left him at 5 over for the tournament and on the wrong side of the cut line. Woods bogeyed four of the first five holes on the back side and finished the second round at Bethpage Black with a 73. He just missed a birdie putt on No. 17 that could have given him a shot at playing the weekend. The cut was 4 over.

Woods said he enjoyed being the Masters champion, and at 43 years old he needed the rest more than the practice with the quick turnaround to the PGA. He will try again for his 16th major victory at the U.S. Open in June at Pebble Beach.