McIlroy puts himself in position

Golf:The trick is to get into position, and to ensure that you don't shoot yourself in the foot. On both counts, Rory McIlroy succeeded. And, as fading light brought a close to the second day's play in the 92nd US PGA Championship here at Whistling Straits last evening with the second wave of 78 players set to complete their second rounds on resumption today, the 21-year-old Ulsterman was entitled to have a wee glint in his eye.

In shooting a second round 68 to go with his opening effort of 71 for 139, McIlroy reached the midway stage three shots adrift of clubhouse leader American Matt Kuchar. Yet again, just as he did in the British Open last month, McIlroy has put himself into the mix in a major. This time, even if it is only just a month since St Andrews, it is as if he has matured beyond that time span.

“Yeah, I feel as if I’m in a really good position going into the weekend. Yeah, I like the position I’m in, it’s a nice place to be . . . I can just go out and I can just play some positive golf,” said McIlroy.

For sure, McIlroy – who featured five birdies and a bogey in his round – was in a good place, particularly after an almost Harrington-esque par save on the ninth hole, his last. On the ninth, McIlroy had 160 yards to the pin straight downwind and hit a wedge approach.

However, the ball caught a gust of wind and drifted right into the water hazard. “I didn’t even know if it was my ball or not,” remarked McIlroy, after the ball had hit the slope of the bunker and hopped into the pond. “I couldn’t really see it, but identified it and hit a pretty nice shot out.” It was the shot of a magician, and McIlroy – fittingly – holed the 12-footer for a par which ensured he walked to the recorder’s tent with a pep in his step.

On a day when morning fog again disrupted the season’s final major, Kuchar – a two-time career winner on the US Tour and with eight top-10 finishes on tour this season but entering dizzy heights in relation to attempting to claim a major title – played wonderful golf in adding a 69 to his opening 67 for 136, which gave him a one stroke halfway advantage over compatriot Nick Watney.

Kuchar has not only scored the best, he has played the best golf in the opening two rounds: he hit 23 of 28 fairways and had a total of only 52 putts. His second round also included a stretch of three successive birdies from the 11th, on holes which were playing downwind.

Kuchar – like most of those who were unable to finish their rounds on Thursday faced a 4.45 am alarm call before hitting the links for a long old day at the office – could at least contemplate a Saturday lie-in as the opposite half of the field were put into a similar position in being unable to finish their second rounds when the siren sounded late in the evening with the dark clouds of a thunderstorm threatening.

2008 US PGA champion Padraig Harrington, who had been in danger of missing the cut after an opening 75, claimed back all of those shots within six holes of his second round.

Playing into the teeth of the wind over the opening four holes, Harrington birdied the second and third holes – from 15 feet and 20 feet respectively – before dropping a shot at the fourth, the hardest hole on the course. It was to be but a blip. He reached the edge of the Par 5 fifth in two and two-putted for birdie and then drove the downwind 355 yards sixth and two-putted for another birdie which left him on level par with 12 holes of his second round to be completed.

Darren Clarke ensured he survived the cut with a second round 70 for 144, level par. Clarke, who celebrates his 42nd birthday today, contended strongly in the 2004 PGA here and felt that coming back to a favoured course helped. “It’s a proper test. You have to drive the ball well, hit a lot of knock down shots and keep the ball flight under control. That’s probably why I like it.”

The news wasn’t so good for US Open champion Graeme McDowell nor for Shane Lowry, both of whom were destined to miss the cut. McDowell battled back with a second round 71 for 147 while Lowry suffered a horrible back nine in his second round en route to a 79 for 150.

Latest second round scores
(USA unless stated, Irishin bold, par 72)

* Second round was suspended by darkness. 78 players have yet to finish their round. Play is scheduled to resume at 1pm Irish time this afternoon

136Matt Kuchar 67 69

137Nick Watney 69 68

139Dustin Johnson 71 68, Rory McIlroy(NIrl) 71 68, Seung-yul Noh (Kor) 68 71, Zach Johnson 69 70, Jason Dufner 73 66, Bryce Molder 72 67, Simon Khan (Eng) 69 70

140Chad Campbell 70 70

141Carl Pettersson (Swe) 71 70

142Phil Mickelson 73 69, Robert Karlsson (Swe) 71 71, Peter Hanson (Swe) 71 71, D.A. Points 70 72, Ernie Els (Rsa) 68 74, Shaun Micheel 73 69, Simon Dyson (Eng) 71 71

143Tim Clark (Rsa) 72 71, Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (Spa) 70 73, Wen-chong Liang (Chn) 72 71

144Steve Stricker 72 72, Tom Lehman 74 70, Darren Clarke(NIrl) 74 70

145Adam Scott (Aus) 72 73, Jeff Overton 74 71, Heath Slocum 73 72, Kevin Na 74 71, Hunter Mahan 74 71, Brandt Snedeker 75 70, Fredrik Andersson Hed (Swe) 74 71, Ross McGowan (Eng) 73 72

146Kenny Perry 73 73, Tim Thelen 71 75, Chris Wood (Eng) 78 68, Kevin Stadler 74 72, Yuta Ikeda (Jpn) 71 75, Boo Weekley 76 70, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 71 75

147Rory Sabbatini (Rsa) 76 71, Graeme McDowell(NIrl) 76 71, Anders Hansen (Den) 76 71, Lucas Glover 74 73, John Senden (Aus) 77 70, Troy Pare 73 74, Bill Haas 73 74, Scott Verplank 74 73

148Mitch Lowe 71 77, Justin Rose (Eng) 74 74, Mike Weir (Can) 74 74, Miguel Angel Jimenez (Spa) 75 73, Jimmy Walker 71 77, Ben Curtis 73 75, Stephen Ames (Can) 71 77

149Charlie Wi (Kor) 74 75, Angel Cabrera (Arg) 72 77, Kevin Sutherland 74 75, Jason Bohn 77 72

150Bill Lunde 76 74, Trevor Immelman (Rsa) 74 76, Sean O'Hair 75 75, Shane Lowry(Irl) 71 79, Soren Hansen (Den) 77 73

151Oliver Wilson (Eng) 76 75

152Koumei Oda (Jpn) 78 74, Ross Fisher (Eng) 78 74, Danny Balin 75 77, Mike Small 78 74, Stu Ingraham 77 75

153Paul Goydos 80 73

154Kris Blanks 73 81, Cameron Beckman 79 75, Robert Mcclellan 75 79

155David Hutsell 75 80, Henrik Stenson (Swe) 80 75

156Bruce Smith 81 75

158Chip Sullivan 83 75

162Colin Montgomerie (Sco) 79 83