Rory McIlroy knows he’ll need to hole a few more putts over the weekend if he’s going to make a run at the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open.
McIlroy bogeyed the last two holes Friday for a 1-over 73 that will leave him at least a half-dozen shots behind at Ballyliffin. He is at 1-under 143 in his final tune-up before the Open Championship.
“Two poor swings and two bogeys,” he said afterward.
Full-field scores from the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open
McIlroy’s final hole was particularly adventurous.
Torn between using 2-iron and 3-wood off the ninth tee, he tried to hit a 2-iron hard and flared it right, into the thick fescue. He chopped out right of the green, into more hay, and then pitched to 6 feet but missed the putt – a familiar refrain during another frustrating day on the greens.
“I feel like I hit the ball OK again today,” he said. “It’s definitely going in the right direction. Didn’t really hole anything again today. I’m just going to have to hit it a bit closer and hole a few over the weekend if I want to have a chance. …
“If you see a few drop, you can be a bit more confident in your reads. I’ll keep plugging away and giving myself opportunities and hopefully they start to fall on the weekend.”