Rory McIlroy tossed a club into the water in disgust and even the usually serene Scottie Scheffler lost his patience in the second round of the BMW Championship in Denver.
Far from sharp, the Holywood star was disgusted to miss his fourth fairway of the day at the par-five 17th en route to a 71 that left him ten shots behind Australian Adam Scott in a tie for 15th on three-under.
The Co Down man, who also had little luck on the greens, watched his drive sail right into the rough before throwing his driver into the water in front of the tee.
It barely made the hazard and he was able to retrieve it before going on to finish with two pars.
McIlroy started the playoffs in third place, but after falling to fifth in the standings following his lacklustre tie for 68th in the 70-man FedEx St Jude Championship last week, he was projected to fall to eighth.
That means that under the staggered start system used for the season-ending Tour Championship, he could start six shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler in Atlanta.
Rory McIlroy just threw his driver into the water. 👀 pic.twitter.com/a1XtC1d8gA
— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) August 23, 2024
Masters and Olympic champion Scheffler can only be denied the number one spot at East Lake if he finishes outside the top five this week and Xander Schauffle wins.
But while Scheffler struggled to a level par 72, losing his patience several times during the round to share 29th place on one-under at Castle Pines, Schauffele was only a shot better after a 73.
Adam Scott (44), meanwhile, made 125 feet of putts in a course record nine-under 63 to lead by three shots on 13-under from Keegan Bradley, who dropped his first shot of the week at the 18th en route to a 68.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg matched Scott’s 63 to sit alone in third on nine-under with his compatriot Alex Noren a shot further back after a 68.
Scott, the 2013 Masters champion, needs to finish no worse than solo seventh to jump from 41st into the top 30 who will contest next week’s Tour Championship.
But while he was projected to jump to fourth, just behind Hideki Matsuyama who withdrew before the start with a lower back injury, he knows he has the putting game to contend if he’s striking the ball well.
“I can play fairly conservatively and pick my moments, and if I keep putting well, that helps a lot,” Scott said. “Putting a little better than average goes a long way out here.”
As for McIlroy, he lost strokes on the greens for the second day running, making just one putt outside eight feet.
But Shane Lowry, guaranteed his place at East Lake next week, bounced back from his first-round 75 by making six birdies in a five-under 67 to share 23rd with Schauffele, who shot 73, on two-under.
At the AIG Women’s Open, Leona Maguire has work to do to catch Nelly Korda after a level par 72 left her nine shots behind the world number one at St Andrews.
On a day when the wind was not a huge factor, she followed early birdies at the 10th and 14th with bogeys at the 16th and second before duffing her second to her final hole, the ninth.
She still got up and down for par to share 30th on one-over, but she has work to do to catch Korda, who has dropped just one shot over the first 36 holes.
The American carded another four-under 68 on the Old Course to lead by three strokes on eight-under from defending champion Lilia Vu, who shot 70, and overnight leader Charley Hull, who birdied three of her last five holes for a hard-fought 72.
Stephanie Meadow came home in two-under on the front nine to shoot 72, but her five-over total proved one shot too many, and she joined Castlewarden’s Lauren Walsh, eight-over after a 77, in missing the four-over par cut.
On the DP World Tour, Tom McKibbin shot a four-under 67 to move up to 34th on one-under before play was suspended due to high winds in the Danish Golf Championship at Lübker Golf Resort.
He was just four shots behind defending champion Rasmus Højgaard, who held a five-way share of the lead when play was called for the day as Gary Hurley shot 76 to miss the cut on six-over.
But there was better news for Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy, who was just two shots off the lead after some blistering early play in the Indoor Golf Group Challenge in Sweden.
McElroy (31) turned in six-under 29 before making another birdie at the 10th. But struggling with his driver, he played the last eight holes in two over.
“I was cruising,” said McElroy, whose four-under 67 left him in an eight-way tie for second behind Sweden’s Mikael Lindberg on six-under.
“I was playing great golf, seven under through 10. I have been struggling with my driver a wee bit, but you can hit a lot of irons on the front nine.
“My iron play’s been great, just the back nine my driver was pretty poor. Overall, for the amount of bad tee shots I hit on the back nine, four under was okay. But seven under after 10, you’re obviously thinking a couple more and you never know.”
Jonathan Caldwell shot a one-over 72 to slip to tied 22nd on three-under with Conor O’Rourke 39th on one-under after a 70 as the rest of the Irish missed the level-par cut.
Conor Purcell shot 73 to miss his third cut in a row since winning the NI Open, finishing on two-over alongside Mark Power, who shot 74, as Alex Maguire ended on six-over after a 70.
AIG Women’s Open, 12.0
Danish Golf Championship, 12.0
BMW Championship, 7.0
(all live on Sky Sports)
