McIlroy shoots 66 after switching to fade; Clarke leading Regions Tradition
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - MAY 07: Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland chips to the tenth green during the second round of the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow Club on May 07, 2021 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
RORY MCILROY gave himself weekend work for the first time in a month by firing a five-under 66 to surge into contention for the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte.
It appears that Pete Cowen’s contribution to the cause has been to persuade McIlroy to use a three wood if he wants to hit his bread and butter draw and commit to the fade with the driver from now on as the new equipment makes it harder to shape that club
The Holywood star hit just five fairways but his misses were not as big as they were on Thursday and he still made six birdies to share fifth place at halfway, two shots behind Matt Wallace (67), Gary Woodland (69) and Patrick Rodgers (68) on four-under-par.
With his driver misses minimal and his iron play clicking, he racked up his best strokes gained tee to green figures since 2019—plus 5.6 shots—to give himself a chance of ending his 18-month drought with his third win at Quail Hollow.
“I only hit five fairways,” McIlroy joked. “There you go. Take that, traditionalists! The one thing that I was really happy about coming in here this week was my iron play. I felt like I really found something last week.
“I didn't get a chance to show it yesterday because I wasn't finding the fairway very much, but today, just having some more opportunities to hit good iron shots and give myself birdie chances, I was able to show it, which was nice.”
As for the change to the fade with the driver, he said: “It’s just the most consistent shot that I hit with the driver. I think these modern drivers nowadays, it's harder to turn them over than it used to be, so I've had to adjust. I can't hit that big swinging draw that I used to hit.
“I mean, that was my bread and butter. I'd aim it down the middle of the fairway, I know if I made my normal swing it would start on the right edge and draw back to the middle. It just doesn't quite happen anymore. So it's just being able to and that's how I've played most of my life, so it's committing to seeing a different way to hit tee shots and it's just, it's taking a while to get used to it.
“It's probably been for the last, last couple years probably I've definitely noticed that the ball flight with the driver's more neutral and I just can't turn it over quite as much. So I just have to commit to going down the left side and trusting that it's going to come back.”
The Co Down man birdied the 14th, 15th and 17th and got up and down from 75 yards for par at the 18th to turn in 33 before coming home in two-under, mixing birdies at the first, third and eighth with what he described as two “sloppy” three-putts, for bogey at the fourth and for par at the 527-yard seventh.
“I need to get the ball and play more and if I do get that the rest of my game is pretty much there,” added McIlroy, who last made a cut at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March.
Seamus Power bogeyed two of his last three holes, finding water off the tee at the last as he carded a one-over 72.
But as the course got tougher in the afternoon he made the cut with a shot to spare on one-over par.
It was a more nerve-wracking afternoon for Shane Lowry, who eventually scraped in on the two-over mark after a 73.
Lowry fought back from two early bogeys with three birdies but then bogeyed the par-three 13th and ran up a double-bogey seven by driving out of bounds at the 15th.
In Alabama, Darren Clarke followed his opening 66 with a 70 to share the halfway lead on seven-under in opening senior Major of the year, the Regions Tradition at Greystone. Scores
He was tied with Alex Cejka, Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, one stroke clear of Dicky Pride, Ernie Els and Stephen Ames.
