Tiger turns up heat as Rory flirts with cut

Rory McIlroy was closer to missing a third successive cut than challenging joint leader Tiger Woods in the second round of the weather-delayed Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village last night.

Just four strokes behind overnight leader Scott Stalling after a battling 71, the world No 2 found the going tough on a softer, breezier course yesterday following a weather delay of more than one hour and 50 minutes.

As Woods stormed to the turn in three under par to grab a share of the lead on five under par with clubhouse leaders Stallings (73) and Spencer Levin (72), McIlroy fell back to the three-over-par cut line with bogeys at the fourth and eighth and a dramatic double bogey seven at the 11th.

While he had just 25 putts on Thursday, coming back from an early quadruple bogey at the par-three fourth, he missed a couple of 11-footers for birdie on the first two greens and then three-putted the fourth for bogey from 45 feet to go back to level par.

He couldn’t birdie either of the par fives on the front nine and he bogeyed the par-three eighth when he failed to get to the putting surface at the first attempt from a greenside bunker.

He was then forced to get up and down from greenside sand to save par at the ninth but looked certain to drop at least another shot after making a mess of the par-five 11th.

In the semi-rough off the tee, he finished on the bank of the stream with his lay-up and decided not to take a drop. But his decision backfired as his attempted escape rebounded back into the hazard.

Forced to take a penalty drop this time, he came up short in agreenside bunker with his fifth but splashed out and bravely holed a five-footer for a sickening seven.

* Ross Fisher has dropped 130 places on the world rankings since he played in the last Ryder Cup, but he now hopes the good times are back.

Thanks to a five under-par second round of 66 at Celtic Manor — scene of his debut two years ago, of course — the 31-year-old leads the ISPS Handa Wales Open at the halfway point.

* Portmarnock’s Adrian Morrow has captured the Irish Seniors Amateur Open title at Athenry Golf Club after leading the event from start to finish.

This is Morrow’s second win in the event, his first coming in Westport in 2008.

Having started the day with a three-shot lead over Scotland’s Ian Brotherston, Morrow was never troubled by the chasing pack and ran out champion by three shots.

His final round got off to a poor start, with bogeys at the first and fifth leaving the Dubliner on two over par. He got one shot back at the sixth, only to make bogey on the next.

* Ballymena teenager Dermot McElroy made a solid start to his glory bid in the Scottish Open Stroke-Play Championship at Kilmarnock (Barassie) yesterday — but he will still have to step up a gear today if he is to survive the halfway cut.

The Great Britain and Ireland St Andrews Trophy squad member who will be 19 later this month, fired a highly creditable one-over-par 74 after an excellent homeward half of 34.

That left him nine strokes off the pace set by South African Hayden Porteous, who had two eagles in his round, but he still beat more than half the field.

Going out McElroy struggled a little and suffered two double bogeys but was in inspirational form coming home with an eagle three on the long 12th being the highlight when he holed a long putt after a superb second shot.

If McElroy can shave a couple of strokes off that score today then he should be set for the final 36 holes of this prestigious competition tomorrow.