A Little Bit of Luck and a Lot of Talent Has Rory McIlroy in the Hunt in Turkey

BELEK, Turkey — It's better to be lucky than good, so the saying goes.

But if you're lucky and good—in Rory McIlroy's case, very, very good—then it can propel you to great heights.

McIlroy is stalking the pacesetter, Jaco Van Zyl, at the halfway point of the Turkish Airlines Open, sitting four shots off the lead at 10 under par.

The world No. 3 posted a round of 67 for the second day in a row, but he owed a bit to luck and a bit to being very, very good.

The good was on display for most of the round, with superb ball-striking—aside from a couple of wayward drives—thrilling the galleries who walked the Montgomerie Maxx Royal with the Ulsterman.

But there was also a huge slice of luck on his side as well.

On his fourth hole of the day, McIlroy could have been staring at a huge number as a hooked drive headed straight for the water on the left. Until the intervention of a tree.

Someone once told me trees are 90 per cent air. If that's the case, the 10 per cent was firmly on the side of McIlroy as his ball smashed into it at a rate of knots before bouncing back towards the fairway rather than the lake that looked certain to gobble up the errant shot.

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Rory McIlroy's tee shot hits a tree and stops it from going in the water. https://t.co/EXssFgdquV

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 30, 2015"

A possible double bogey was replaced by a birdie as McIlroy cashed in on his good fortune.

The hole proved elusive to McIlroy's birdie putts for the rest of his front nine, although he did make a 25-footer to save par on the eighth, but the charge started on 11 with a birdie on the par five. He followed that up with birdies on 12 and 13, the former on the back of a quite stunning long iron that came to rest three feet from the hole for a tap-in birdie.

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Look out! Back-to-back birdies for @McIlroyRory. https://t.co/HBElI9suam

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 30, 2015"

McIlroy protected his score on the way in and was able to make par on 18 despite a wayward drive costing him a penalty shot.

He is aware of the need to be a bit more polished at the weekend but is pleased to be within striking distance.

"It was good, but I felt it could have been a bit better, not taking advantage of some of the chances coming in was a bit frustrating," McIlroy said. "I was giving myself some chances, but I did not hit wedges close enough to give myself a look at birdies.

"I looked at the leaderboard on the fourth hole and I was 10 shots back, so to go from 10 shots back to four shots back is not that bad.

"It could have been better, but I am within touching distance."

Van Zyl held a seven-shot lead at one stage as he threatened to turn the tournament into a procession. But his game went cold on his back nine, and two bogeys brought him back to the pack.

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End of Round 2: -14 Van Zyl -12 Wood, Bland -11 Dubuisson, Zanotti -10 McIlroy, Levy Recap https://t.co/8y5Qhjs1Rm pic.twitter.com/RmatbkM0SV

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) October 30, 2015"

The South African will head home safe in the knowledge that he will be in the final group for the third round, but with the imposing shadow of McIlroy is in his slipstream.

*All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise indicated