Rory McIlroy recovers; Scott leads

August 23, 2014

In the form of his life, a 74 in the first round did seem completely out of character for Rory McIlroy. The determined world No.1 made a spectacular recovery on Friday to work his way back at The Barclays, the first of four events in the FedExCup playoffs. The Northern Irishman repaired much of the damage, with an outstanding 65 that saw him jump 75 spots to T27 at the end of an eventful second round. McIlroy is now five shots behind the leaders, Adam Scott and Cameron Tringale who are top of the table with 8-under 134. Scott also made a 65 that included seven birdies and a bogey to join Tringale in the lead.

McIlroy was facing the prospect of a missed cut after managing just one birdie in the first six holes. With the 36 hole cut set to the first 70 and ties, the sword was expected to fall at one over and Rory was beneath the projected line. The round turned on its head from there, as McIlroy made five birdies in the next eleven holes to fuel his surge upwards. In the end the 25 year old produced a blemish free performance that should bring him back into the mix, provided he repeats some of that magic in the third round.

Scott was lying 32 after a 69 in the first round. The Aussie made four straight birdies from the 5th as he moved to six under. Scott added another on the par-4 12th hole before finishing with a birdie on the 18th to gain a share of the lead. Tringale moved to 7-under with two left to play on the front nine, but trouble awaited the American soon after he made the turn. A bogey at the 10th and a double at the 12th saw him slide down, but four birdies in the final six holes helped him walk into the weekend with a share of the lead.

Hideki Matsuyama only managed a 70, which still was enough to leave him inside the top 20. A 72 slipped Seung Yul-Noh 26 spots and Ryo Ishikawa slid 29 places to join each other in T39.

Report by Anand Datla

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