Rory McIlroy boosted his chances of a third consecutive RBC Canadian Open title with a flawless second round of 67 in Ontario amid the ongoing fallout of the PGA Tour’s controversial merger with LIV Golf.
McIlroy recorded five birdies at Oakdale Golf and Country Club to improve to six under par, three shots off the halfway lead held by China’s Carl Yuan.
The world number three first won the tournament by seven shots in 2019 but it was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. McIlroy carded a closing 62 to win at St George’s 12 months ago.
Asked about trying to win the title for a third time on a third different course, McIlroy said: ‘I sort of like it.
‘I like reacting to what I’m seeing out there and targets. And I’m not a great player at playing a course by memory.
Rory McIlroy boosted his chances of a third consecutive RBC Canadian Open title on Friday
Fans pack the stands to watch Rory McIlroy tee off at the hockey themed 14th tee
‘There’s certain venues on tour that I go back to and I play well, but it’s not really because I remember how putts are breaking or where to miss it. It’s just I feel comfortable at that venue.’ Rounds of 68 and 67 gave Yuan a one-shot lead over home favourite Corey Conners, C.T. Pan and the English pair of Tyrrell Hatton and Aaron Rai.
Hatton, who fired six birdies in seven holes from the seventh in his 64, said: ‘A lot of putts went in, which was nice.
‘The greens were a bit funky this afternoon; I managed to hit my start line, they’d bobble off line and thankfully they bobbled back on line and went in. Just happy to see the ball go in the hole and have a decent day.’
Rai was three over par after six holes of his opening round, but has played the next 30 in 11 under in pursuit of his first PGA Tour title.
‘It’s a funny game and you can sometimes be playing great but sometimes be doubtful in the mind and not feel amazing over certain shots,’ Rai said.
‘You can sometimes be playing quite poorly but then kind of flick a switch in the mind and feel very positive about what you’re doing and what’s to come.
‘So I think that was the biggest thing that even on hole number seven (on Thursday), although I was three over I felt pretty calm and pretty settled in the situation we were in. I think that was key for then finishing off the round very strongly.’
China ‘s Carl Yuan holds the tournament lead after two rounds at -9
The week has been a difficult one for McIlroy.
An unnamed LIV Golf executive took a brutal swipe him when discussing the future of the breakaway competition amid its merger with the PGA Tour.
Following the news that the PIF and the PGA would combine their commercial enterprises, speculation has abounded regarding the future of LIV – or what the intentions behind the rebel circuit were in the first place.
There’s a possibility that the LIV format will remain in place – according to golf writer Alan Shipnuck – with a few events being played on weeks that there isn’t a traditional PGA event while others will be co-sanctioned within the unified schedule.
It provides the opportunity for those PGA members who were not a part of LIV to join the team format and take part… well, not everyone as one LIV exec explains.
‘Now we can finally get Hideki [Matsuyama] and Jon Rahm. I would say every big name on the PGA Tour will get an offer. Except Rory. Nobody wants that little b**** on their team,’ the executive told Shipnuck.
An unnamed LIV Golf exec called Rory McIlroy a ‘little b****’ when referencing golfers joining
It’s been a week long victory lap for LIV Golf and its leader, the Saudi PIF’s Yasir Al-Rumayyan
In the aftermath of the merger, McIlroy remained a steadfast hater of the Saudi-backed league, saying on Wednesday, ‘I hope it goes away, and I would fully expect that it does.’
McIlroy continued saying, ‘All I’ve tried to do is protect what the PGA Tour is and what the PGA Tour stands for.
‘Going forward there may be a team element, and you’re going to see, maybe me, maybe whoever else play in some sort of team golf. But I don’t think it will look anything like LIV has looked, and I think that’s a good thing.’
The Irishman also said that his efforts to protect the PGA – only for it to capitulate to the Saudis – made him feel like a ‘sacrificial lamb’.
As for the future of the 54-hole, shotgun-start, team-format event, it may not go away as easily as McIlroy thinks.
Per Shipnuck, since the merger announcement the phone of LIV’s global head of partnerships, Monica Fee, has been ‘ringing off the hook’.
Companies such as Marriott, Anheuser-Busch, and ESPN have been making calls after LIV got the PGA Tour’s proverbial stamp of approval through the merger.
Even Fox is interested – despite Rupert Murdoch’s company turning down the offer to broadcast the rebel tour’s events live when it was proposed before the start of this season.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk