Rory McIlroy makes Open cut, needs big weekend for 2nd Claret JugMark SchlabachJul 17, 2026, 12:22 PM ETClose
- Senior college football writer
- Author of seven books on college football
- Graduate of the University of Georgia
SOUTHPORT, England — Rory McIlroy will play on the weekend in the 154th Open Championship after rebounding with a 3-under 67 in Friday’s second round at Royal Birkdale Golf Club.
But the 2014 Open Championship winner knows he’s going to have to do something special in the third round to win a second Claret Jug.
McIlroy is 1 under after 36 holes, seven strokes behind leader Lucas Herbert. Herbert and Sam Burns each tied the major championship scoring record with 8-under 62s on Friday.
Rory McIlroy has done enough to make it to the weekend at the Open Championship. The world No. 2 bounced back with a 3-under 67 in the second round and moved to 1-under par overall. Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images”I think the main objective today was to be here for the weekend, which I am,” McIlroy mentioned. “I felt like I left a couple out there. Then you look at the board and you see a couple of 62s, and you feel like you could have done a bit better.”After struggling to adjust to the slower green speeds at Royal Birkdale on Thursday, McIlroy worked with his putting coach, Brad Faxon, before the second round.
The reigning Masters champion lost 2.72 strokes on the green in the first round and ranked 148th out of 156 golfers in putting.
On Friday, he was gaining about .14 strokes on the greens when his round was over.
“We were more just talking through the process and being committed and trusting,” McIlroy mentioned. “I hit a couple of putts yesterday, and I felt like I hit good putts and they did something completely different to what I saw in the read, and I think that’s a little unnerving. So, it’s just a matter of trying to trust and commit to what you’re seeing.”
McIlroy mentioned he still isn’t completely comfortable over his putts, but hopes to get better over the weekend.
“Because of that yesterday, I got a little bit unsure over some putts, but I feel like I did a better job of it today,” he mentioned.
McIlroy has certainly been comfortable with a driver in his hands. He was gaining 3.23 strokes off the tee on Friday.
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For the second round in a row, he drove the green on the 405-yard ninth hole. His 377-yard drive rolled onto the green. He two-putted from 11 ½ feet for a birdie. He had a 389-yard drive that led to a birdie in the first round.
McIlroy didn’t hit the driver on the ninth hole during his practice round because the wind was blowing in a different direction.
“I didn’t even think about it,” McIlroy mentioned. “Then when I got on the tee yesterday and saw the wind, it was like, ‘Well, the corner on the right there to cover is like 335, and downwind, as long as I just strike it well, that should be fine.’
“Then today I got there again [and] honestly my game plan was to hit it to the top of the hill and hit a wedge on and go from there, but sometimes opportunities present themselves and you have to take them.”
If McIlroy can sink a few more putts on Saturday, he feels like he can put himself in position to contend for his seventh major.
“Yeah, get off to a decent start tomorrow,” McIlroy mentioned. “There’s a couple of guys up there, this will be sort of their first experience of playing in the lead at a major championship on the weekend. There’s obviously some that are very experienced at it like Cam [Young] and like Sam as well.
“I think if I can get off to a decent start tomorrow, be 4- or 5-under for the tournament, I’ll be right in it.”
