LAST UPDATE | 2 Jun 2023
RORY MCILROY HAS bounced back from a frustrating opening round and surged into the top five at the Memorial Tournament on the PGA Tour.
The Hollywood man shot a four-under par 68 to move three shots off the lead held by Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
Matsuyama carded a superb seven-under 65 in Ohio. He’s seven-under overall.
McIlroy had a nightmare 18th hole yesterday, triple-bogeying when he was just one shot off the lead and forced to settle for an even-par 72.
Starting on the back nine, the four-time major winner birdied on the 10th, 14th, 15th, first, seventh and eighth, while he bogeyed on holes 12 and 15.
Seamus Power and Shane Lowry were in the later groups.
Both made bright starts yesterday but they have slipped back today, with Power carding a 73 which included three bogeys to keep him on one-under overall. He also picked up two birdies on the second and seventh holes to put him in a share of 22nd place.
Lowry endured a particularly difficult day as he dropped from a tie for third with an opening 69 to a tie for 44th on one-over. He finished his second round with a four-over 76.
The Offaly native made a disappointing start with back-to-back bogeys on the first two holes. He bogeyed the fourth and double-bogeyed the fifth before grabbing a pair of recovery birdies on the sixth and seventh holes. He birdied the 11th but suffered another setback with a second double-bogey on the 12th. Lowry picked up one more birdie on the 15th on the way to a more encouraging finish.
Elsewhere on the DP World Tour, Tom McKibbin is going well at the Porsche European Open in Germany.
He’s just one shot behind the leader German Maximilian Kieffer after carding a 69 to leave him on five-under at the Green Eagle Golf Courses in Hamburg.
John Murphy has missed the cut after finishing on seven-over.
Meanwhile on the LPGA Tour, Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow are both in action at the Americas Open in New Jersey.
Maguire has finished her second round, and is just four shots off the leader Minjee Lee of Australia who sits at the top of the leaderboard on seven-under. The Cavan native carded a second round of 70, picking up six birdies and four bogeys to leave her on three-under overall.
Meadow is further back on one-over, and finished her second round with a five-over 77.
