The way Rory McIlroy is hitting the ball, he doesn’t feel as though he should be eight shots behind 36-hole leader Phil Mickelson in the British Open. Blame that on the weather. McIlroy’s side of the draw got the worst of it over the opening two rounds at Royal Troon.
Two years ago at Royal liverpool, he was on the good side of the draw. McIlroy had a four-shot lead after two rounds and sailed to victory. So after coming in from the rain and wind — particularly one 90-minute stretch on the back nine — he was not surprised at how the leaderboard looked.
Nor was he about to complain. Not too loudly, anyway.
“It’s The Open Championship,” McIlroy said. “Some draws go your way and some draws don’t. The last Open I played, I got the good end of the draw and good things happened that week. Then this year, it’s not so much. But I’m not going to let being on the wrong side ruin my mood or ruin my week. I feel like I’ve played very well and that gives me optimism going into the weekend.”
The nature of links golf, and this championship, is getting the good side of the tee times. Mickelson was soaked when he walked off the course, though he managed to get in eight holes Friday morning before the rain arrived. He had three birdies by then, didn’t make his first bogey until the 30th hole of this championship and shot a 2-under 69.