Rory McIlroy: World number three six off Pebble Beach lead after erratic 70
2025-02-01
Category: sports

AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am second round leaderboard-14 S Straka (Aut); -11 C Davis (Aus), R Henley (US); -10 A Eckroat (US), J Rose (Eng), T Finau (US), T Kim (Kor), A Novak (US).Selected others: -9 V Hovland (Nor); -8 R McIlroy (Nir), S Lowry (Ire), J Thomas (US), C Morikawa; -7 S Scheffler (US).Full leaderboard
Rory McIlroy lost ground on day two of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in California as an erratic two-under-par 70 at the event's signature course left him six behind leader Sepp Straka.McIlroy's Europe Ryder Cup team-mate from 2023 - who won his third PGA Tour title in January - fired a second successive 65 which moved him to 14 under par and three ahead of first-round leader Russell Henley and Australia's Cam Davis.US player Henley followed up his 64 at Spyglass Hill with a 69 at Pebble Beach, with Davis' 68 at Spyglass including a bogey at his final hole.McIlroy, whose opening 66 at Spyglass Hill included a hole-in-one as he was only two behind Henley, looked poised to reel in Austrian Straka on day two when four birdies in his opening seven holes left him only two off the pace.But the world number three's round stalled when a run of four pars was followed by successive bogeys at the 12th and 13th, and further shots went at the 16th and 17th before he undid some of the damage by holing a 25-foot eagle putt at the last.England's Justin Rose ended the day in a group sharing fourth place on 10 under after he carded a 69 at Spyglass Hill, while Shane Lowry stood alongside McIlroy on eight under after his 70 at the same course.World number one Scottie Scheffler was a further shot back after carding a 70 at Pebble Beach.
Clumsy belly wedge
Until his exploits on the closing hole, McIlroy's back-nine frustration was summed up by his failure to exploit a huge drive on the par-five 14th as his pulled seven-iron approach was followed by a clumsy belly wedge, with the 15-foot birdie putt failing to drop.McIlroy had to hole a six-foot putt to rescue par at the 15th but there was no escape at the next as his approach into a greenside bunker resulted in another dropped shot, and a further stroke went at the short 17th when his tee shot finished 20 yards short of the green.However, McIlroy did finish his round on a high as his eagle moved him to within six of Straka after his huge drive and accurate approach.The four-time major winner's fast start had included birdies at the second, fourth and sixth before he carded a two at the iconic par-three seventh hole where Lowry holed-in-one on Thursday.But McIlroy's run of four momentum-halting pars - which included a wedge from only 87 yards on the 11th that spun back 30 feet from the pin - was followed by successive bogeys when he short-sided himself on the short 12th and found a bunker off the tee at the next.McIlroy continued to make errors during the remainder of his back nine before his big finish.