Rory McIlroy at Frys.com Open 2015: Friday Leaderboard Score and Reaction

Rory McIlroy is off to a decent two-round start in the 2015-16 PGA Tour season at the Frys.com Open in Napa, California, firing a one-under on Friday for a 36-hole score of five under. 

Unfortunately, due to Brendan Steele's stellar play, McIlroy's walked off the course six shots behind the lead heading into Saturday's moving day. 

Here's the full leaderboard through two rounds:

This is what McIlroy's scorecard from Friday looked like:

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out
Hole	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In
Par	4	3	4	4	5	4	3	4	5	36
Score	4	3	4	4	4	4	3	4	4	34
Total	-4	-4	-4	-4	-5	-5	-5	-5	-6	-6
Par	4	3	4	4	4	3	5	4	5	36
Score	4	3	4	5	4	3	5	4	5	37
Total	-6	-6	-6	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5	-5

Speaking to Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press (h/t PGA.com), McIlroy said before the tournament he views the Frys.com open as a nice extension to his late run to end the 2014-15 season. 

"I guess for a lot of guys, even the guys that played a full PGA Tour schedule last season and then played the Presidents Cup and they're coming here, it's a lot of golf," McIlroy said. "But as I said, I haven't played as much as those guys, so I'm happy to be playing and happy to play quite a bit until the end of the year."

While not atop the leaderboard, McIlroy is playing the way he did at the BMW Championship,when he finished fourth and early at the TOUR Championship before a final-round 74 took him out of contention. 

There's certainly nothing wrong with McIlroy's drive, as he is not holding anything back on the 459-yard 10th (via PGA Tour):

As impressive as that moment was for McIlroy, Justin Rose actually outplayed him in virtually every phase in the first round, including the leaderboard after two rounds, per Golf Channel:

The back nine was actually where McIlroy failed to capitalize on opportunities he set up for himself, long drives notwithstanding. He made the turn with a decent two-under 34, but for the second consecutive day, he had small problems on the final nine holes with one bogey and no birdies. 

McIlroy did look to be in control of things on the green early, thanks to birdie putts like this one on No. 5 that took his score to five under (via PGA Tour):

Of course, that distance seemed to be fine for McIlroy. It's when he gets in closer that problems have crept into his game, per Golf Channel's Justin Ray:

During last year's PGA Tour season, per PGATour.com, McIlroy lost .070 strokes putting. He ultimately came out ahead, thanks to a 1.855 mark from tee to green, but the easiest way to sabotage a good round is leaving shots on the green. 

McIlroy has been above-average reaching greens in regulation, with a 75 percent mark, compared to a 67.4 percent mark for the field, and has been able to stay in the top 20. However, it's discouraging to see him unable to take full advantage of these chances. 

After the round, per Golf Channel's Angela Hamann, McIlroy acknowledged that he needs to do better on the green:

The full extent of McIlroy's problems can be seen in his overall results, with just two victories in 12 events last year. It was his lowest win total on the PGA Tour since 2011. 

Granted, last year's late-summer results do come with a caveat that McIlroy ruptured a ligament in his ankle that kept him out of the British Open. He may still be trying to work his way back from those issues, though it hasn't affected his power. 

All of this seems to paint a doom-and-gloom scenario for McIlroy, but that's not how he's performed overall. He's just no longer head-and-shoulders the best player on the planet, even though Jordan Spieth and Jason Day aren't playing this weekend, and has to reach another level to win.