He’s in because he’s a non member. I guess he could win and won’t be playing the playoffs
Michael Kim has been one of the best players on tour this year, up there again this week
Yeah, he was a tidy enough player. He won the John Deere a few years ago but then completely lost his way for a long time. He's flying now, a win isn't far away I think.
Shane Lowry up to 17 in world rankings.
Up from 17 to 14 I think? Highest rank in his career thus far.
Yes, you're correct…my mistake, up to 14 from 17. He's heading the right way this year. Hope he can maintain his good form with the majors coming up.
Rory had a good start, I think he birdied the first 2 holes, but then found himself back at level par quick enough.
But he's birdied 9, 10 and 11 and looking for birdie on 12 to go to -4. Though it's a very long putt.
And he has got it, so 4 birdies in a row and moves to -4.
Watching the TV is bringing back memories!!!
That was a terrible birdie effort by Rory on 17. His tee shot on the signature island par 3 was great, but all the good it does when you miss from 10 feet and read a break that isn't there. Stays at -4.
It's a decent round and he's up near the top of the leaderboard, but it could have been better.
That was a brilliant 2nd shot on the 18th hole from amongst the trees and on pine needles. He daisy cut it along the ground from maybe 150 yards to within 8 feet on the green.
But he has to make the most of the birdie chance though. Otherwise it'll be similar to the last hole.
Rory got the birdie on 18, moves to -5. Just 1 shot behind a group on -6. Really good stuff, he was level par after 8, having shot a couple of early birdies and then a couple of bogeys.
That last hole was top drawer. Tiger would have have been proud of it. Rory can do amazing things when he's on song.
That birdie on 18 was class ok. He's 1 off the lead on -5. Scored well today considering how bad he was off the tee.
Watching NBC Golf now after the first round is over. Rory is out on the driving range, working on his driving. He hit just 4 fairways in regulation, he was ranked 140th out of 144 players. Paul McGinley is on the panel, saying he was lucky with the lies he got and not being obstructed. His driving success was 28%, but still made 72% of the greens in regulation. On putting, Rory was ranked in the top 10 today. He needs to sort out the driving or he will eventually get caught out.
Brilliant pic. Will have to hear that story sometime!
Canter -4. That will make it interesting for the Liv conversation
He got booted off LIV as he wasn't up to scratch or a big name they could keep around. He never had a top 10 in any of LIV his events.
It's just one good round in one event. Unless he goes on to win a PGA event or strings a run of good finishes together I don't think there's much to discuss. So in which sense is it interesting?
Since he left LIV, he grinded on DP Tour and worked his way back up the rankings with 2x wins last year. If anything it just shows that an individual can turn around their fortunes. Cam Smith as mentioned by others is the biggest what if or wtf for me. He was on the crest of a wave with the right age profile etc. If you asked me before he went to LIV, will he or Xander have a better career - I think I'm leaning into the Cam Smith camp. Since LIV he's not been the same animal at all. McKibben hopefully won't have harmed his career or development. He's been cleaning up in terms of $ so far.
I think everyone is bored of the PGA-LIV stuff at this stage and TGL is fairly meh. Next season will hopefully see things start to merge to whatever is the future of pro golf.
he won’t be getting a string of events because of his Liv connection
Rory off to a flyer in his second round. -9 through 7. Hopefully he can keep it going, I'm sorry I can't watch it.
Very tidy golf from Rory
Rory's putting is incredible this week.
Great round by Thomas today
Rory's round was good, but it easily could have been at least a couple of shots better. He will be disappointed with 2 bogies in his last 4 holes.
Justin Thomas is burning up the course today. He was +8 after 16 holes yesterday, and then got 2 birdies to finish on +6. Today, he's -11 for his round after 17 holes. A par on the last will be good enough for a new course record.
Well, that's the end of the course record for JT. He's put his second shot into the water. Kind of a similar shot to what Rory had yesterday, though JT was coming from the rough. I'm guessing he didn't keep the club face open. That's a shame. If he gets up and down he can tie the course record.
The cut has moved from -1 to -2 just now, so Lowry will have to birdie the 18th to guarantee he will be around for the weekend. Maybe the cut will slip back to -1. They just showed Lowry's birdie attempt on the last, he missed by a few inches.
Rory seems to just make par or bogey par 5s more than most players and today was no different.
He seems to mess up both his tee shots and approach shots on them very often, then struggles to put his third shot close to the pin and ends up with a six.
What number did the cut end up?
Level par is out, -1 made it, just. 64 players were -2 or better.
Good. Shane made it.
Power having a bad run of it.
Anyone see the drop by Thomas on 18? It looked like he was trying to spin the ball with his fingers so it’d have to be placed
Yes, thought it was a strange dropping action to say the least
