Missed opportunity at Scottish Open for Rory McIlroy as putter misfires again

Rory McIlroy faced a frustratingly familiar scenario as his putting woes resurfaced during the second round of the Scottish Open. Competing for the first time since narrowly missing his fifth major title at the US Open, McIlroy followed up his opening round of 65 with a 66 at the Renaissance Club.

At the US Open, McIlroy had a two-shot lead with five holes to play at Pinehurst but bogeyed three of the last four holes. This included a miss from two feet and six inches for par on the 16th hole, ultimately finishing a shot behind Bryson DeChambeau. On Friday, McIlroy missed a similar birdie putt on the 16th and another from nine feet on the 17th, trailing his Ryder Cup team-mate Ludvig Aberg by three shots.

“Yeah, a misread (on 16),” McIlroy admitted. “I read the putt straight. I watched it go past the hole and it didn’t look like it did much. I hit it straight, but it went a little left to right on me. I felt like I missed a good opportunity on the par three 14th and another one on 17. I’m probably standing here feeling like I should be sort of around Ludvig’s score, if not a little bit better, after the last couple of days, but I’m still in a good position.”

Reflecting on his performance, McIlroy added, “I feel like I left two or three out there yesterday and it was similar today, so hopefully I can put it all together over the weekend. I saw there was a 62 and a couple of 63s today, and that’s what it’s going to take to be right up there around the lead going into Sunday if we get more of these conditions.”

Despite his recent setbacks, McIlroy remains optimistic. “It’s another weekend where I’m right in the mix of a golf tournament, and that’s a nice position to be in after the last three weeks that I’ve had,” he said.