The driver works fine, Rory! McIlroy delivers an incredible shot to open the 18th hole in the second round of the WGC- Dell Technologies Match Play – after concentrating on his new putter
Rory McIlroy led off the 18th hole for a two-out victory over Denny McCarthy in the second round of the World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play on Thursday in Austin, Texas.
With the Group 3 match tied over 17 holes at Austin Country Club, McIlroy hit a drive onto the green on the par 4, 375-yard closing hole, giving up a 4-foot eagle putt. McCarthy couldn’t keep up, as his 59-yard approach shot landed 7 feet from the hole, giving him a birdie that wasn’t enough.
“I certainly didn’t expect to blow it on the green,” McIlroy said. “It’s almost one of those, when there’s a lot of tailwind, it’s almost like he could have hit a 3-wood down the slope and skidded.
“I figured the driver would land on the upslope and stay 10, 20 yards away. But like I said, I didn’t imagine I could fly it on the green.
The result left McIlroy with a 2-0 record heading into the final day of the group stage on Friday.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy eagled the 18th hole to earn a 2-up victory over Denny McCarthy
McIlroy recorded five birdies, an eagle and no bogeys on Thursday. He rallied after McCarthy had a 3-up lead after an eagle on the par-5 sixth hole.
“It wasn’t easy,” said McIlroy, who sits third in the event. It is windy, windy and tricky. It was ok.
“I’m very proud of myself that I hung in there after being down three early and got it back and produced the shots I took on the last few holes to finally get the job done.”
Also improving to 2-0 in two rounds were top seed Scottie Scheffler in Group 1, No. 4 Patrick Cantlay and No. 25 Brian Harman.
In Group 4, No. 5 Max Homa in Group 5, No. 6 Xander Schauffele in Group 6, No. 56 Andrew Putnam in Group 7, No. 34 Si Woo Kim of South Korea in Group 8, No. 32 Jason Day of Australia.
group 9; No. 10 Tony Finau in Group 10, No. 61 JJ Spaun in Group 11, No. 47 Taylor Montgomery in Group 12, No. 13 Sam Burns in Group 13, No. 46 Lucas Herbert of Australia in Group 14, No. 15 Cameron Young in Group 15 and No. 43 JT Poston in Group 16.
The group winners advance to the round of 16 single elimination. World No. 1 Scheffler notched a 5 and 4 win over Swede Alex Noren, with the American taking three straight holes on the front nine and four straight on the front nine. back nine.
Cantlay recorded a 4 and 2 win over South Korea’s KH Lee, sealing the result with an eagle on the par-5 16th hole.
No. 9 Collin Morikawa halved his match with No. 44 Adam Svensson of Canada by birdieing the 18th hole. Morikawa is 1-0-1 in Group 9, leaving him in second place behind day.
The result left McIlroy with a 2-0 record heading into the final day of the group stage on Friday.
A sea of golf fans as McIlroy put on a classic performance in Austin, Texas on Thursday