Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy was again left frustrated by his short game after a one-over-par 73 left him seven shots off the leaders at the halfway stage of the Irish Open.
Just like his first round, McIlroy’s long game was good, but he was left to rue numerous missed putts which would have seen him edge closer to joint leaders Ryan Fox, Matthieu Pavon and Eric van Rooyen.
The trio all lead on eight under, with McIlroy currently in a tie for 30th on one under after bogeying the final two holes of his round.
Talking after his round, the tournament host, who previously missed the cut in four of his past five starts at the Irish Open, couldn’t hide his frustration heading into the weekend’s play.
I feel like I hit the ball okay again today. It’s definitely going in the right direction but I didn’t hole anything again.
The 29-year-old is without a victory on the European Tour since 2016 and will have to put in two superb rounds over the weekend to give him a shot of ending his long wait for a win.
