McIlroy misses again in Ireland
Boca’s Pressel leads after first-round 66 at LPGA Classic.
Early exits are becoming a habit for Rory McIlroy, especially in his home country.
The 26-year-old Northern Ireland native failed to make the Irish Open cut for the third straight year Friday, shooting a par 71 that failed to make up for an 80 in the opening round. It is the second straight week the world’s top-ranked golfer failed to make the weekend, having exited early at the BMW Championship at Wentworth.
This one, he said, hurts more because it’s personal.
“Obviously I’m playing at home in front of a lot of friends and family. To not play the way I wanted is very disappointing. But I’m sort of getting used to it,” said a downcast McIlroy, whose Rory Foundation charity hosted the Irish Open for the first time.
England’s Tyrrell Hatton, ranked 142nd in the world, set a course record of 66 to join a fiveway tie for the lead at 3-under 139.
Local fans made the Irish Open a four-day, 80,000-ticket sellout in hopes of seeing McIlroy at his best. He gave them brief hope Friday when he sank a 30-foot putt on the short seventh for his first birdie of the tournament. He picked up another shot at the 12th and needed just two more birdies to make the cut.
But the part-time Palm Beach Gardens resident mis-hit his approach to the 15th and three-putted for a double bogey, erasing the day’s gains.
“I just shot myself in the foot,” he said.
PGA Tour: Jordan Spieth surged into contention on a day the Masters champion isn’t sure he will see again at his hometown Byron Nelson Classic in Irving, Texas.
Spieth and every other early finisher within three shots of the lead had a birdie 2 on what was supposed to be the par-4 14th. An overnight storm turned one of the signature holes at the saturated TPC Four Seasons into a pitch-and-putt par 3 at 105 yards and the course became a par 69.
Jon Curran (63), Jimmy Walker (66) and firstround leader Steven Bowditch (68) were tied atop the leaderboard at 9 under, one better than Cameron Percy and Ryan Palmer. Thirt y-three players were unable to finish their second rounds after the start was delayed three hours.
Spieth shot 64 and was at 6 under.
LPGA Tour: Boca Raton resident Morgan Pressel closed with a birdie and an eagle for a 5-under 66 and a onestroke lead after the first round of the ShopRite LPGA Classic in Galloway Township, N. J.
The 27-year-old Pressel, seeking her first LPGA win since 2008, held the advantage over Anna Nordqvist of Sweden, Alena Sharp of Canada, Min Lee of Taiwan and Ryann O’Toole at Stockton Seaview’s Bay Course, where conditions were near perfect.