Round up: McIlroy drives on in Texas; Scheffler too; Leona's fightback
Rory McIlroy in action in the US PGA last year. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/PGA of America)
RORY MCILROY remains on a collision course with world number one Scottie Scheffler after he used his drive like a weapon to cruise into the last 16 of the WGC-Dell Technologies Championship in Texas.
For the second day running, the Holywood star didn’t make a bogey as he eased to a 4&2 win over Keegan Bradley to set up a last 16 clash with 2021 Irish Open champion Lucas Herbert.
Defending champion Scheffler looked impressive as he beat Tom Kim 3&2 to secure a meeting with JT Poston but number three seed McIlroy, the only European to qualify for the knockout stages, looks to be building up a head of steam for the Masters.
“I think everyone knows I came in here this week with a slightly different driver setup and I'm getting more and more confidence with it as the days go by,” McIlroy said.
“I drove it great yesterday, drove it great again today and the way this course sets up well, if you can drive it in the fairway and drive long, especially on these last few holes here, you can give yourself a big advantage on those.”
Ominously for Herbert, McIlroy still believes there’s room for improvement, especially on the greens.
“I was a little happier with my putting today especially on the front nine,” he said. “I held some good putts for pars and perhaps I missed a couple of short ones coming in there that I probably could have put Keegan away a little bit earlier. But overall, everything feels pretty good.”
Seamus Power lost 2-up to Sam Burns, who topped the group after Adam Scott lost 3&2 to Canadian Adam Hadwin.
Power birdied three holes in a row from the fifth to go one-up but Burns made a clutch 14 footer for a half at the eighth and hardly put a foot wrong from there.
While Power was one-up with seven to play, Burns finished with three birdies in a row, making a 27 footer at the 17th and a six footer at the last.
“Other than one hole, I felt like I didn't really give him anything,” said Burns, who faces Patrick Cantlay today. “It honestly came down to holing a couple putts there at the end.”
Power now turns his attention to Augusta and so too does Shane Lowry, who can take confidence from his 2&1 win over Jordan Spieth.
He played the first seven holes in just two-under-par but found himself five-up at the turn and while Spieth rallied to get back to two down, the American ran out of holes.
As Lowry and Spieth exited, Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes thrashed Taylor Montgomery 6&4 before beating him on the first playoff hole to set up a last 16 clash with face Max Homa.
In South Africa, Holywood’s Tom McKibbin (20) fired in a two-under 70 to share 46th on six-under at halfway in the DP World Tour’s Jonsson Workwear Open.
He’s seven shots behind Germany’s Nick Bachem, who shot 66 to lead by one stroke from Finland’s Sami Välimäki and Frenchman Romain Langasque on 13-under-par at The Club at Steyn City in Johannesburg.
On the Challenge Tour, Portmarnock’s Conor Purcell and Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney shot one-under 71s to share 30th heading into the weekend at the Duncan Taylor Black Bull Challenge in India.
They’re six shots behind Spain’s Manuel Elvira on five-under with Castle amateur Robert Moran four-under and Ballymena’s Dermot McElroy a shot further back after 70s.
Ruaidhri McGee shot 72 to miss the three u set par cut by six shots with Kinsale’s John Murphy seven over after an 80.
It was a 10th successive missed cut for Murphy, who hasn’t played four rounds in a regular tour event event since last November’s Rolex Challenge Tour Grand Final supported by The R&A.
At the LPGA Drive On Championship in Arizona, Leona Maguire shot a four-under 68 to move up to tied 32nd at halfway.
She went out in four-under 32 but had to fight hard to come home in level par and trail leaders Jenny Shin, Moriya Jutanugam and Maddie Szeryk by six shots on six-under.
She double-bogeyed the 11th and bogeyed the 12th but rallied with birdies at the 13th, 17th and 18th.
Stephanie Meadow followed an opening 68 with a 72 to 53rd on four under, leaving her eight shots off the pace.
Meanwhile, Pádraig Harrington’s five-under 67 left him tied for fifth in The Galleri Classic at Mission Hills, two strokes behind David Toms, .
