McIlroy nine back as Schauffele closes on Scheffler at East Lake
Xander Schauffele
Rory McIlroy swapped Thursday’s white-knuckle ride for the slow train to nowhere as he failed to mount a charge in the second round of the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The world number three made just four pars in an incredible three-under 67 at East Lake in round one.
But after starting the day eight shots behind FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler, a bogey-free 67 left him nine shots behind the world No 1 and down one place to seventh on 10-under par.
The Holywood star couldn’t get the ball close and didn’t make his first birdie of the day until he brushed in a 15-footer at the par-five sixth.
He missed chances inside 10 feet at the 10th and 12th both but while he finally hit a wedge to four feet at the 16th and then hit a greenside bunker shot stone dead at the 18th.
Scheffler cruised to 19-under par with four birdies in his first 12 holes but he could only par the last six for a four-under 68 and saw his lead reduced to just two shots when Xander Schaffele finished birdie-birdie-eagle to card a seven-under 63.
“Xander obviously has a great track record around here, but paying attention to what other guys do on the golf course has never served me too well,” Scheffler said. “To be honest with you, when you're playing with somebody who is playing good, it's nice seeing good shots, nice seeing putts go in.”
At Warwick Hills Country Club in Michigan, Pádraig Harrington opened with a bogey-free, four-under 68 at the Ally Challenge in Michigan to trail leader Fred Funk by three shots in his bid for back-to-back wins on the PGA Tour Champions.
Closer to home, world number 16 Leona Maguire yesterday confirmed she will tee it up in next month's €400,000 KPMG Women's Irish Open at Dromoland Castle.
The Cavan star (27) will be seeking her first Ladies European Tour win on home soil from September 22-25.
"I am very excited to play in this year's KPMG Women's Irish Open at Dromoland Castle," she said of the Co Clare venue, which has invested close to €2 million in the course in recent years.
"I have heard amazing things about what they are doing at Dromoland with their investment into the course and I cannot wait to play again in front of the Irish fans."
Olivia Mehaffey is a confirmed starter, but it was a frustrating day for the former Arizona State star in the Didriksons Skaftö Open on the Ladies European Tour yesterday.
She carded a seven-over 76 to lie 114th behind Sweden's Lisa Pettersson and Finland's Elina Nummenpaa, who carded six-under 63s to lead by a shot in western Sweden.
In Switzerland, at least four of Ireland's six Irish hopefuls will miss the projected three-under par cut in the DP World Tour's weather-delayed Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre.
Jonathan Caldwell was the best of the bunch, tied for 72nd on two-under after a level par 70 with James Sugrue (74) three-over, Paul Dunne (74) four-over, Niall Kearney (73) nine-over as Cormac Sharvin withdrew after Thursday's 79.
David Carey was one-over with eight holes remaining and needs to play them in four-under to continue chasing South Africa's Thriston Lawrence (14 holes) and Spain's Alejandro Cañizares (13 holes), who led on 13-under par when play was suspended.
At the Indoor Golf Group Challenge in Sweden, Paul McBride fired a six-under 65 to share seventh place on nine-under, just four shots behind England's Daniel Brown at Allerum Golf Club in Helsingborg.
Holywood's Tom McKibbin carded a superb 64 to share 32nd on six-under as Gavin Moynihan made the four-under cut on the mark after a 68.
Royal Dublin amateur Hugh Foley shot 67 but missed out by a shot on three-under as John Murphy's 66 left him one-over.
Meanwhile, Castlewarden's Lauren Walsh made seven birdies in a three-under 68 at Le Golf National to help Ireland move up two places to tied 18th heading into the final round of the Women's World Amateur Team Championship in Paris.
The Wake Forest star came home in five-under 30 as Anna Foster and Beth Coulter shot 74s, leaving Ireland on nine-over par and 22 strokes behind Germany, who lead by four strokes on 13-under from Chinese Taipei and the United States.
