LAST UPDATE | 13 Sep
RORY McILROY SAID he had achieved his target for the opening two rounds of the Irish Open by avoiding a repeat of his 2015 showing at Royal County Down when he failed to make the cut.
A one-under round of 70 on Friday left the world number three well positioned to challenge over the weekend, just two shots behind Matteo Manassero’s leading mark of six-under par.
Rory McIlroy finishes his round with a brilliantly read monster putt that, again, is inches away from dropping. He signs for a round of 70 and is one shot off the lead. pic.twitter.com/bB9m8b9Yy5
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 13, 2024
Shane Lowry dropped a shot on his last hole but still recorded a two-under-par 69 in his second round. The Offaly native is on one-under overall.
He began with a birdie on the 12th, bogeyed the 16th, before generating serious momentum with three birdies in succession on the 18th, first and second holes. His par attempt at the last missed out and he had to be content with a round of 69.
Shane Lowry was relatively pleased with his second round at the Irish Open but admits that he has to get closer to the flag with his approach shots if he's to have a chance of winning this weekend.
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 13, 2024
📺 Watch LIVE on RTÉ2 & the RTÉplayer#RTEgolf #IrishOpen pic.twitter.com/DumIuADHjf
For McIlroy, the highlight of his round was an eagle on the par-five first, his 10th hole of the day, but the home favourite covered his other 17 holes in one over.
“It was just a matter of making sure I was here for the weekend and give myself a chance. Sort of job done for the first two days and turn my attention to the weekend,” said McIlroy.
“It’s much better than nine years ago here when I was watching the third round on TV. Happy to be here for the weekend and happy to give myself a chance.”
Seán Keeling, the 17-year-old amateur from Roganstown had another fine day. While he was unable to repeat his one-under score from Thursday, in which he didn’t drop a shot, his three birdies ensured the four bogeys did not inflict as much damage.
Keeling is one shot clear of Seamus Power after the Waterford native shot two-under 69 to claw back Thursday’s 74. That was enough for him to join Tom McKibbin, on the same overall score, inside the cut line.
Conor Purcell’s round of 75 today left him at +5, the same as Padraig Harrington and amatuer Max Kennedy. It means they will all miss the weekend, as will Mark Power after his round of 77 saw him drop to +10.
Simon Thornton and Gary Hurley also ended their interest today.
Italy’s Manassero had made a flying start to his second round with an eagle on the first followed by birdies on the second and third, with another eagle coming from tap-in range on the par-five 12th following a stunning approach.
“Links golf makes you hit really difficult shots, everything has to be right. It takes a lot of energy out of you, but when you’re playing well the adrenaline kicks in and I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” said Manassero, the world number 127.
England’s Todd Clements and Laurie Canter are Manassero’s closest pursuers on five under
Spain’s Alejandro del Rey had also eagled the first and looked set to post a testing target when he reached eight under par, but ran up a quadruple-bogey eight on the 15th to finish alongside McIlroy and Scotland’s Ewen Ferguson on four under.
With reporting from – © AFP 2024
