MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Not before a moment of drama at Royal Melbourne, Rory McIlroy made it through the weekend at the Australian Open after shooting a 3-under 68 on Friday to finish inside the 36-hole cut line.
McIlroy, who had a tournament score of 2 under, was seven shots behind leaders Daniel Rodriques (64) and Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson (66), who had a total of 9 under 133.
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The leading pair had a one-shot lead over third-place Min Woo Lee, who shot 65 on Friday. Adam Scott (66) was tied for fourth with Cameron Smith (65), who avoided adding to his total of seven consecutive missed cuts.
McIlroy started the day 1-over after a 72 Thursday, tied for 57th and behind the leaders by seven shots. At the time, it was just one shot in the expected 2-over cut.
He birdied one hole and made eight pars on his first nine Friday, then made four more pars before making bogey on the par-5 14th. He missed the fairway to the right of the tee and ended up under a tea tree. McIlroy then snorted during his next shot as his club got stuck in a branch but he recovered to make a 6.
That put him out of the 36-hole cut, but he birdied the next hole, the par-3 15th, to get back into even and safe form, at least at this point.
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He holed the 16th to stay tied, then made perhaps his shot of the tournament – from the uneven rough on the 17th, through a small bush this time, where he tapped in for birdie after a long eagle putt went just wide.
That brought McIlroy to 1 under for the tournament and about 20 places in the leaderboard, leaving him safe for the weekend, especially after birdieing the 18th.
“With the wind, the play played out like a different golf course today,” McIlroy said. “I definitely didn’t play my best the last few days, but it was good to finish the way I did. I’m excited to be here for the weekend…seven isn’t too far away.”
On his shot under the trees, he said: “It’s not one of my best moments but it’s nice to be able to come back to the last holes. »
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Co-leader Neergard-Peterson missed the cut last week at the Australian PGA Championship.
“Certainly, I feel like I’ve proven over the last year that I have the level to compete here and be in the thick of it on Sunday,” Neergard-Petersen said.
McIlroy, whose pre-tournament press conference comments included that Royal Melbourne was not the best sandbelt course in the city, had a wild first round containing six bogeys and five birdies.
Race to Dubai winner McIlroy is making his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015 – he won in 2013.
The winner of the Australian Open, which is the second event on the new European Tour tournament schedule for the end of this year and 2026, benefits from a master’s degree exemption next year. And the top three who are not already exempt will qualify for the British Open in 2026 at Royal Birkdale.
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