Rory McIlroy shot a solid round of four-under par 66 on day two of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley on Friday, but he still trails the leader, Robert MacIntyre, by a whopping 10 shots.
McIlroy improved from his opening round 70 on day two of the BMW Championship, but it was clear to see that he was still a long way from his best.
Meanwhile, MacIntyre backed up his first round 62 with a 64 on Friday at Caves Valley.
McIlroy described his first round at the BMW Championship as ‘awful’, as he lamented his ‘terrible’ driving.
It seemed as if the 36-year-old’s mind was somewhere else at times throughout the first two rounds in Baltimore.
And if truth be known, the rust was clearly evident after McIlroy skipped the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week.
But can he go low for two consecutive days to hunt down MacIntyre?
Rory McIlroy says if he can win the BMW Championship and catch Robert MacIntyre
MacIntyre has been on another planet to everyone else at Caves Valley this week.
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
If he continues the form he has shown during the first two rounds, there will only be one winner at the BMW Championship.
McIlroy spoke to reporters after his second round 66 and responded when asked whether he believes he can catch MacIntyre.
He said: “Not really. I think I’m just playing my own tournament at this point, shoot a good — play a good weekend. Again, just try to — no one is going to obviously replace Scottie at No. 1, but try to sort of solidify that No. 2 spot and then turn my attention to the TOUR Championship next week.
“I just want to try to play a good weekend and feel a little bit better about my game going into the TOUR Championship.“
The thing is for McIlroy, MacIntyre is not the only player he has to overtake. A certain Scottie Scheffler is sitting pretty in second spot in nine-under par.
Perhaps Scheffler is still the man to beat at Caves Valley, despite MacIntyre’s five-shot lead!
Rory McIlroy’s assessment of his game after day two at the BMW Championship
Mcilroy is obviously not entirely happy with his game right now.
He was asked to give an assessment of where he’s at right now, immediately after his second round in Baltimore.
McIlroy said: “I scored better, but still not great. Yeah, look, it’s okay, I played a good back nine and I scored well. Made a few saves. But I still want to try to hit a few more fairways. Still struggling to get the ball in play. But when I do get the ball in play, I give myself plenty of chances and make some birdies.
“That’s a positive. I just need to try to get the ball in play a little bit more, and I did that for a little bit more on the back nine, and that was why, obviously, I scored better.“
Despite his underwhelming form so far this week, McIlroy does seem to be warming to the task at the BMW Championship.
As far he’s concerned though, the only thing that will matter to him is peaking for next week at East Lake and on into September for the Ryder Cup.
