It seemed fitting that Rory McIlroy used the 14th hole of his Tour Championship’s second round to – accidentally – hit a tee shot into a spectator’s pocket. The Northern Irishman, after all, has placed himself firmly on course to fill his own.
In one of those “couldn’t do it if you tried” moments, McIlroy’s drive at the 442-yard par four dropped from a tree into the shorts pocket of a fan. Once this curious moment was resolved, without any penalty of course, McIlroy played from the rough to within 20ft of the hole, shook the man’s hand and carried on with business. He made par.
McIlroy was three under par for the day at that bizarre juncture. He later signed for two strokes better, 65, which moved him to minus six in total. Ticking that box of a FedEx Cup triumph, for the first time in McIlroy’s relatively short professional career, is very much a realistic goal.
McIlroy’s surge had started at the second hole, where a glorious iron left just 11ft for birdie. The 25-year-old converted, just as he also did for birdies at the sixth, seventh, 12th and from long range on the last two holes. McIlroy holed out from 19ft on the 17th and 27ft on the 18th, where a perfectly legitimate clench fist greeted the ball dropping into the cup.
The only scoring blemish was an unfortunate one, with McIlroy dropping a shot at the fourth after his second shot plugged into the face of a bunker. What happened next was typical; McIlroy boomed a 360-yard drive, albeit downhill, at the fifth. McIlroy’s fitness regime, which has become such an integral part of his day-to-day life, perhaps does not receive the recognition it is due for the improvement in overall golfing performance.
By close of play, McIlroy was the most notable figure on a tightly packed East Lake leaderboard. He looked tired on day one, which is understandable given the exertions of a busy and successful golfing summer, but seems of a clear mind to add the $10m (€7.75m) FedEx bonus to the riches already gleamed in recent months.
Unlike last year, when Henrik Stenson’s procession was the key aspect of the final event of the FedEx playoff series, this event promises to be a scrap right through until Sunday evening.
Justin Rose is suddenly a part of that narrative, after bouncing back from an opening round of 72 with a 66. The Englishman bemoaned woes on the green on Thursday but displayed no such flaws 24 hours later.
“The big difference was that I stopped missing the short putts that got away from me yesterday and also managed to hole a couple in the 20-30 feet range,” Rose said. “I needed to shoot something low to get back into the tournament, and although a 66 was pretty good it was probably still in the upper end of what I needed. So I need to back it up with another low round to have a real shot at this thing.”
“It was a lot cleaner in terms of ball striking and putting, so there was plenty of cause for encouragement. It’s just like getting out of two different sides of the bed. I didn’t change that much. If anything I chickened out of going for some of those tight pin positions rather than play more aggressively. I love this course and I always feel like I can go out there and shoot a score in the mid—60s. There are some courses where you look at them and wonder how you are ever going to shoot par, but for me this is one that fills me with confidence.”
Were Billy Horschel to win the FedEx Cup - on eight under with a two-shot lead over McIlroy, Chris Kirk and Jason Day after a second 66, he may well do so - he would point to a family decision well made. The 27-year-old broke with tradition by readily admitting the money on offer in Atlanta could change his life; especially with his wife Brittany due to give birth within a fortnight.
“We have decided that if she goes into labour while I’m playing, I will just keep playing, because $10m is a lot of money and I’m not going to pass that by,” Horschel said. “And I’ll just fly home after the round and fly back [to the tournament] a couple of hours later, spend some time with them.”
Webb Simpson recovered from a first round 74 but only marginally, with a two over par 72. Albeit the United States Ryder Cup captain, Tom Watson, can glance towards Jim Furyk, Matt Kuchar, Bubba Watson, Rickie Fowler and Jordan Spieth in strong positions here and take heart, the struggles of two of his wildcard picks, Simpson and Hunter Mahan, will cause an element of concern. With 36 holes to play, Mahan is alongside Simpson at six over par.
