McIlroy finds drive and focus in BMW test
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland plays his fourth shot on the fifth green during the second round of the BMW Championship on the North Course at Olympia Fields Country Club on August 28, 2020 in Olympia Fields, Illinois. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Driving the ball well is the heartbeat of Rory McIlroy’s game and that was key to his race to the top of the leaderboard in the BMW Championship at a testing Olympia Fields.
The Co Down man carded a one-under 69 to share the leade with Patrick Cantlay on one-under-par, just one shot clear of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (73) and the world No 1 and FedEx Cup leader Dustin Johnson, who birdied his last two holes for a 69.
By his own admission, McIlroy has struggled to find his focus and enthusiasm since golf returned to our screens in June, failing to record a single top-10 in seven starts.
But he’s now in position to move to the top of the FedEx Cup standings heading into next week’s season-ending Tour Championship and the demands of Olympia Fields, coupled with a behaving driver and a change of putter have clearly proved to be a magical combination.
“I've driven the ball much better over the last couple of days, so that's been a huge key to my game,” said McIlroy, who leads the field in strokes gained from the tee, and strokes gained from tee to green, and ranks 13th for approach play and 38th for putting. “If I can drive the ball well, everything seems a bit easier from there. And I felt a bit better with the putter.
“I put my old putter back in the bag. I felt a little more comfortable over the sort of inside-10-feet range, so that felt better. But overall everything was pretty good. I think I finished like seventh or eighth in approach last week in Boston and obviously finished way down -- so my iron play and my wedge play has been pretty good the last few weeks, it's just about putting the ball in the fairway so I can take advantage of how well I'm hitting my irons and my wedges.”
The North Course at Olympia fields has forced McIlroy and the rest to think deeply about every shot and that’s proved to be important for the Holywood star, who estimates that the course is playing six shots harder than last week’s test at TPC Boston where Dustin Johnson won on 30-under.
“I think the test is what's helped me focus and concentrate because if you lose focus out there for one second -- I mean, I sort of did it today on the 14th hole. I went left of the pin that I shouldn't have, and I was pretty lucky to just get away with a 5. I played a really good third shot. But just one lapse in concentration can really cost you around here.
“I think one of the big keys this week is just not making big numbers. I've been making big numbers for the last few weeks, so to just -- if you hit it out of position, get it back in position, make sure that your worst score is a bogey and move on. Honestly bogeys aren't that bad out here… I think this golf course has helped me just focus and produce better golf shots and think better and concentrate. Honestly I think it's what I needed.”
As for the change of putter - he went back to his trusty Taylor Made Spider X - McIlroy said it was a reaction to missing a two-footer on Thursday.
“I yipped one on 13 yesterday, so that was basically it. It wasn't a yip, but it was a tentative, very -- just not a good stroke, and sometimes with the blade I get a little indecisive or a little unsure of my aim and then during the stroke -- especially you get one of these little slippy left-to-righters; at the last minute, don't miss it right, and then you put the right hand into it. I actually putted okay after that and holed some good ones coming in, but I just didn't feel comfortable, so going back to something that I've putted well with, and I've had it here with -- I've travelled with it the last few weeks. Obviously, the blade went back in the bag last week but I still had the Spider with me, but I just thought after yesterday and how dicey the greens are, something, where you're just a little more sure over it, is better.”
Second-Round Leaderboard
Patrick Cantlay 71-68—139 (-1)
Rory McIlroy 70-69—139 (-1)
Hideki Matsuyama 67-73—140 (E)
Dustin Johnson 71-69—140 (E)
Things to Know
Patrick Cantlay entered week No. 37 in FedExCup seeking to reach the TOUR Championship for fourth consecutive season
Rory McIlroy won THE PLAYERS Championship in 2019 the last time he held a 36-hole lead/co-lead on TOUR
Fewest players under par through 36 holes in a non-major on the PGA TOUR since 2000
1-under is the highest 36-hole score in relation to par since the 2014 WGC-Mexico Championship (at Doral) when four players – Dustin Johnson, Patrick Reed, Matt Kuchar Hunter Mahan – were tied at 1-under 143
Winning score at BMW Championship has been 20-under or better since 2015
Current projections have Tiger Woods (T55) needing a T3 finish to advance to the TOUR Championship
Current projections of players to move into top 30: Patrick Cantlay, Joaquin Niemann, Adam Scott, Mackenzie Hughes
Current projections of players to move outside top 30: Cameron Champ, Cameron Smith, Adam Long, Kevin Streelman
Second-Round Lead Notes
7 of 20 Second-round leaders/co-leaders since 2000 at the BMW Championship to go on to win (most recent: Marc Leishman/2017)
13 Second-round leaders/co-leaders to win on PGA TOUR in 2019-20 (most recent: Dustin Johnson/THE NORTHERN TRUST)
Co-leaders entering this week
Rory McIlroy
Age 31 (5/4/1989)
FedExCup 12
Projected FedExCup 2
OWGR 4 12
PGA TOUR starts 181
PGA TOUR wins 18
PGA TOUR top-10s 87
Starts in 2019-20 13
Wins in 2019-20 1
Top-10s in 2019-20 6 3
BMW Championship starts 9 3
BMW Championship top-10s 4 (Won/2012)
Patrick Cantlay
Age 28 (3/17/1992)
FedExCup 37
OWGR 12
PGA TOUR starts 96
PGA TOUR wins 2
PGA TOUR top-10s 25
Starts in 2019-20 13 11
Wins in 2019-20 0
Top-10s in 2019-20 3
BMW Championship starts 3
BMW Championship top-10s 2 (2nd/2019)
Patrick Cantlay (T1/-1)
Hit 6 of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens for the second day in a row; holed 42 feet, 6-inch birdie putt on final hole for 2-under 68
Began this week No. 37 in FedExCup standings and now projected No. 4; advanced to the TOUR Championship last three seasons
Marks fourth 36-hole lead/co-lead on PGA TOUR, failing to convert previous three into victory (2011 Travelers Championship/T24, 2018 The Genesis Invitational/T4, 2019 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open/2nd)
Ranks No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Around the Green (3.796)
One of three players with an eagle and the only player with an eagle on a par-4 hole this week, holing 48-yard pitch shot at No. 11 in the second round
Second-round scores in four starts at BMW Championship: 65/2017, 65/2018, 67/2019, 68/2019
Three previous starts at BMW Championship includes two top-10s (T9/2017, T55/2018, 2nd/2019)
At T2 with Tony Finau, sat one stroke back of leader Hideki Matsuyama through 36 holes of 2019 BMW Championship en route to a runner-up finish
Rory McIlroy (T1/-1)
Leads field with most birdies (9)
Ranks No. 1 in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee (3.283) and Strokes Gained: Tee to Green (6.577)
Holds 36-hole lead/co-lead for 10th time in PGA TOUR career, converting five of previous nine (most recent, 2019 THE PLAYERS Championship)
Two-time FedExCup champion (2016, 2019) seeks to become first player to win the FedExCup in consecutive seasons
Tied with Dustin Johnson for most wins in FedExCup Playoffs (five)
All 17 of his PGA TOUR stroke-play wins have come with a score of 12-under or better
One of four players (Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa) with opportunity to reach World No. 1
Making 10th start at the BMW Championship where victory in 2012 is one of four top-10s (1st/2012, T8/2014, T4/2015, 5th/2018)
In six starts prior to the suspension of the season: six top-five results (including a win at WGC-HSBC Champions); in seven starts since resumption of the season: no top-10s (best finish: T11/Travelers Championship)
Additional Notes
First-round leader Hideki Matsuyama (T3/E) made just one birdie while making a total of 45 feet, 4 inches of putts compared to six birdies and 147 total feet of putts in round one
World No. 1 and FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson (T3/E) birdies final two holes to post 1-under 69 and maintain projected No. 1 FedExCup position
Louis Oosthuizen (T5/+1) began the week No. 70 and is now projected No. 42; Oosthuizen and Corey Conners(T30/+5) were the only two players with bogey-free rounds, each posting 17 pars and one birdie
2014 FedExCup champion and No. 30 entering this week Billy Horschel (T5/+1) is projected to move to No. 23
Defending champion Justin Thomas (T45/+7) posted a 5-over 40 on the back nine en route to 4-over 74
Tiger Woods’ (T55/+8) 75 matches his third-highest score in 72 rounds at the BMW Championship (77/R3/1995, 76/R1/1998, 75/R2/1994)
