Rory McIlroy at Deutsche Bank Championship 2016: Saturday Score and Reaction
Rory McIlroy kept himself on the fringe of contention at the 2016 Deutsche Bank Championship on Saturday with a four-under 67 in the second round at TPC Boston.
McIlroy, who entered the week 38th in the FedEx Cup playoffs, was five strokes off the lead pace when he walked off the course with the afternoon wave of play just getting started. The event's 2012 champion shot an even-par 71 in Friday's opening round.
Let's check out a hole-by-hole review of the superstar's second trip around the Norton, Massachusetts, course:
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| Par | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 36 |
| Score | 4 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 33 |
| Total | E | -1 | -2 | -1 | -1 | E | -1 | -2 | -3 | - |
| Par | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 35 |
| Score | 4 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 34 |
| Total | -3 | -3 | -4 | -3 | -3 | -3 | -3 | -3 | -4 | - |
And here's a look at the updated leaderboard as Round 2 rolls on:
McIlroy is in the process of trying to sort out putting problems that have lingered throughout the season. He's shown at least some signs of progress this week after hiring coach Phil Kenyon, which was one of his goals coming into the event, per Keith Jackson of Sky Sports.
"I'm in constant touch with Phil," McIlroy said. "I feel like he's obviously the way to go for me right now and we'll see how it goes and work hard at it and hopefully I start to see little improvements each and every week."
The 27-year-old Northern Irishman came out firing on all cylinders Saturday. He displayed perfect touch on his approach into the par-five second to set himself up for an easy birdie. On the third hole, he showcased some of those positive putting strides with a make from just outside 18 feet for birdie.
Rory McIlroy Tracker noted the fast start moved him within four shots of the lead for a short time:
His charge stalled out during the middle portion of the front nine as he carded bogeys on the fourth and sixth, but the four-time major champion recovered nicely. That's been the theme of the tournament so far after he fought back to even in the first round after falling to four-over through three holes.
McIlroy carded three straight birdies to reach three-under par for the first time in the event. All three of the putts he made were from more than 11 feet—a missing element of his game in recent months.
The back nine was far less eventful. He exchanged a birdie on No. 12 for a bogey on No. 13, which was due to poor play from tee to green and not putting.
He closed by taking advantage of the par-five 18th. After getting on the green in two, he narrowly missed a putt from beyond 40 feet for eagle before tapping in for birdie, his seventh of the day.
Justin Ray of Golf Channel highlighted his success on the greens during the second round:
Looking ahead, McIlroy will need to go low on moving day Sunday in order to give himself a realistic chance of getting into the mix for Monday's final round. The silver lining is that he showed enough positive signs in Round 2 to think that's at least possible.
The outlook is even more promising in the bigger picture, though. The putting woes that have often turned his 2016 season into a headache are seemingly starting to subside. It sets the stage for a strong finish to the current season and a more McIlroy-like 2017 campaign.
Post-Round Reaction
Gary Van Sickle of Golf.com passed along the star's comments about his improved putting, dating back to yesterday's make for triple bogey from 15 feet.
"It was probably the best putt I've holed in a couple of weeks," McIlroy said. "I was four over through three yesterday and to walk off the course today at four under for the tournament, it was nice. I've made a good comeback."
He also discussed how better performance on the greens changes everything, per Golf.com.
"My caddie said to me today, 'Now we feel like we can shoot a low score,'" McIlroy said. "Where I've been shooting even par or one or two under, now if I can start holing putts and get on a run, I can see 63, 64, 65, which I wasn't seeing. That part is nice. Today was very encouraging, it really was."
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