RORY MCILROY IS three shots off the lead after his second round 66 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Tennessee.
The opening tournament in the PGA Tour’s 2023 playoffs at TPC Southwind sees Lucas Glover on 10-under as he carries a one-shot lead into the final round after his 64 today at the par-70 course.
Jordan Spieth is solo second on nine-under with Sungjae Im, Taylor Moore, Tommy Fleetwood, Emiliano Grillo and Tom Kim in the group in a tie for third on eight-under.
McIlroy is a shot further back with Scottie Scheffler joining him in the group in that position. After a first round 67, McIlroy went one shot better today. He started brightly with birdies on the 1st and 4th, before a bogey on the 5th and a birdie on the 8th to reach the turn two-under for his day.
There were no further dropped shots on McIlroy’s card, birdies on the 15th and 16th propelling him up the leaderboard.
Seamus Power is in a tie for 66th after a disappointing second round. He shot three-over 73 to stand at four-over for the tournament.
McIlroy and Scheffler played alongside reigning Masters champion Jon Rahm, the season playoff points leader, who holed out from a bunker to par 18 and shoot 67 to finish level par for the tournament.
2009 US Open champion Glover made four birdies and an eagle in a bogey-free round to lead the way. He won last week’s US PGA Tour Wyndham Championship to seize a spot in the 70-player post-season event, with 50 advancing to next week’s BMW Championship and only 30 qualifying for the Tour Championship in two weeks at Atlanta.
“It’s just kind of a carryover from the last few weeks,” Glover said. “Just trying not to overcomplicate things, make good, positive swings and stay aggressive.”
Spieth, the world number 12 who has yet to win this year, had six birdies and four bogeys in shooting 68. The back-nine starter grabbed second with a 19-foot birdie putt at the seventh hole and a four-footer at the eighth.
- Additional reporting by AFP
