Rory McIlroy improved a lot on Friday but remains seven strokes behind leader Scottie Scheffler
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler leads by two strokes halfway through the WM Phoenix Open in Arizona, while Rory McIlroy remains seven strokes behind.
American Scheffler followed a first-round 68 with an immaculate seven-under 64 on Friday to head into the weekend with a score of 10 under par.
He is two strokes ahead of Spaniard Jon Rahm and Canadian Adam Hadwin.
Hadwin is also eight under, although he still has seven holes left in the second round.
Scheffler and Rahm are both within range of passing McIlroy for the world No. 1 spot at the end of the tournament.
After shooting a 73 in the first round, the Northern Irishman improved a lot on Friday, collecting five birdies over 13 holes before play was suspended due to darkness at 6:07 p.m. local time, with around half of the field still to complete the second round, which will conclude on Saturday morning before the third round.
Scheffler’s bogey-free round included three birdies on the back nine, which he played first, and four on the front nine.
“I think around that spot, when you hit the fairways and hit it well, the golf course can kind of open up for you,” Scheffler said.
“But the opposite can happen quickly because there are problems lurking on virtually every hole with the desert nearby. There are also a lot of holes with water.
“When you hit well, you have to take advantage of it like I did today. Hopefully I will continue to get the ball into position as the week progresses.”
Rahm started the day by making his only bogey of the round on his second hole, the par-four 11th, but quickly recovered to shoot a 66.
“I make a lot of good swings there and I’m going to remember that,” Rahm said. “Where they end up is largely out of my control.”
Source: NEWS 24
