Australian Open – Second Round Leaderboard
-9 D Rodrigues (Boll), R Neergaard-Petersen (Denmark); -8 MW Lee (Australia); -7 C Smith (Australia), A Scott (Australia), C Ortiz (Mexico); -6 C Surrat (USA), R Caberro Bello (Spar), W Ding (China), K Aphibarnrat (Thailand), D Hillier (Australia), R Fox (Australia), SW Woo (South Korea)
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Selected Others: -5 E Smylie (Australia), W Ormsby (Australia); -4 C Davis (Australia); -3 D Young (Sko); -2 R. McIlroy (NI); -1 C Adam (Scotland)
Rory McIlroy needs a birdie on the 18th hole of the second round to advance to this weekend’s Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.
The 2013 Masters champion, who won the event in 2013, shot a 3-under 68 in the second round to finish within the cut line and move to 2-under after two rounds.
After an up-and-down first round, the Northern Irish golfer recovered in the second and birdied three of his final four holes to move seven strokes behind co-leaders Daniel Rodriguez and Rasmus Nergaard-Petersen, who are at nine under.
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McIlroy, playing in his first Australian Open since 2014, got off to a good start on the front nine with a birdie and eight pars.
He shot four more pars on the way back to the clubhouse before bogeying the par-5 14th, which included a rare air shot.
Birdies on the 15th, 17th and 18th holes helped him advance and steadily climb up the leaderboard.
McIlroy felt conditions were a vast improvement from the tricky crosswinds he encountered on the opening day.
He told Sky Sports: “The wind is in the opposite direction, coming from the south, so it’s definitely like a different golf course with different clubs on the tee.”
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“There are some different options. It’s great, the course is firming up. It really makes you think about what’s out there, especially on your approach shots.
“Of course it’s not my best result over the past few days, but it’s nice to finish the way I did.
“It didn’t look good after the bogey on the 14th hole, but overall it was a great result and happy to spend the weekend here.”
The 36-year-old also believes a strong start to the third round could prepare him for a second Stonehaven Cup challenge.
“Seventh is not too far away and I feel like if I can go out and hit a good shot tomorrow morning I can get back into the tournament.”
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Elsewhere, Scotland’s Cameron Adam, playing in his second tournament as a pro, also made the cut with a second-round 64 to move to 1 under after two rounds.
Two-time Australian amateur champion Jeffguan, who is permanently blind in his left eye, failed to advance and finished tied for 112th.
