Tour Championship: Rory McIlroy is pocket rocket with wayward tee shot

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/sep/12/tour-championship-rory-mcilroy-pocket-shot-fedex

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It was fitting that Rory McIlroy used the 14th hole of the Tour Championship’s second round in Atlanta to accidentally hit a tee shot into a spectator’s pocket. He is firmly on course to fill his own.

In one of those “couldn’t do it if you tried” moments, McIlroy’s drive at the 442yd par four dropped from a tree into the pocket of a fan. Once this curious incident was resolved, without any penalty of course, McIlroy played from the rough to within 20ft of the hole, shook the man’s hand and carried on with business. He made par.

McIlroy was three under for the day at that bizarre juncture. He later signed for two strokes better, 65, which moved him to six under par in total. Ticking that box of a FedEx Cup triumph for the first time in McIlroy’s relatively short professional career is very much a realistic goal.

In his closing two holes, McIlroy single putted from 17 and 27ft for back to back birdies and an inward half of only 32. He has that look in his eye which opponents will be wary of. Adding the $10m FedEx bounty to a quite brilliant run of success would endorse McIlroy’s status as the finest player in golf; as if any such confirmation is really necessary.

“I’m going into this weekend with nothing to lose,” McIlroy said. “I’m the one that’s got the two majors this year. I’m the one that’s had the great season. No matter what happens over the weekend, it’s going to be OK. I just want to finish my season off the way I feel like I should and the way I feel like it deserves. So I’m not putting too much pressure on myself, because it’s already been a great year.”

A crucial McIlroy caveat followed. “I still want to win this thing,” he said

He confirmed the scenario on the 14th was a first. “I did hit the ball up someone’s trouser leg at the Scottish Open this year, though. I need to stop hitting it off line. Things happen there.”

By the close of play, McIlroy was the most notable figure on a tightly packed East Lake leaderboard. Billy Horschel, after two rounds of 66, leads McIlroy, Jason Day and Chris Kirk by two shots. A Horschel triumph would be quite a tale. He was given dispensation to play from his wife, Brittany, who is due to give birth. The logic behind that decision was simple; $10m is rather a lot of money. Unlike last year, when Henrik Stenson’s procession was the key aspect of the final event of the FedEx series, this event promises to be a scrap right through until Sunday evening.

Justin Rose is suddenly a part of that narrative after bouncing back from an opening round of 72 with a 66. He bemoaned woes on the green on Thursday but displayed no such shortcomings 24 hours later.

“The big difference was that I stopped missing the short putts that got away from me in the first round and also managed to hole a couple in the 20-30 feet range,” Rose said. “I needed to shoot something low to get back into the tournament, and although a 66 was pretty good it was probably still in the upper end of what I needed. So I need to back it up with another low round to have a real shot at this thing.

“It was a lot cleaner in terms of ball striking and putting, so there was plenty of cause for encouragement. It’s just like getting out of two different sides of the bed. I didn’t change that much. If anything I chickened out of going for some of those tight pin positions rather than play more aggressively.

“I love this course and I always feel like I can go out and shoot a score in the mid-60s. There are some courses where you look at them and wonder how you are ever going to shoot par but for me this is one that fills me with confidence.”