McIlroy turns on style in back-nine

Rory McIlroy, who shared the lead after firing a five under 67 on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Championship, was stuck in neutral for much of his second round yesterday as he sandwiched seven pars between two bogeys on his first and ninth holes.

The second nine was a different story, as the world’s number two picked up where he left off after Thursday’s sizzling start and posted three birdies to get to one under for the day.

On a morning when Australian journeyman Scott Gardiner scorched the front nine at Quail Hollow to the tune of five birdies, including four in succession before making the turn at five under 31, most of those early tee times struggled to get into red numbers. McIlroy was one of them, until he went on a birdie barrage of his own on the way in.

His back-nine turn-around yesterday put McIlroy in the clubhouse with at least a share of the lead for only the second time this season, Thursday being the first. The two-time major champion, whose last competitive round was a 69 on Sunday at the Masters where he tied for 25th, still had a scrum of players to contend with, including Gardiner, who was at seven under for the week through 14 holes after going back-to-back-to-back-to-back on holes six through nine.

For McIlroy, the start to the tournament must have offered a serious boost to his confidence as he looks ahead to next week’s Players’ Championship. He certainly appeared to have put the terrible start to his season — which included a much-criticised equipment change, a missed cut in Abu Dhabi, a first-round ouster from match play, a controversial withdrawal from the Honda Classic, and a tweak to his swing — behind him.

“Now that I feel like I’m swinging it well, this is the sort of golf I expect to play,” he said.

Work with swing coach Michael Bannon seemed to pay off. “It’s big strides because my game wasn’t where it should have been at all at the start of the year. Got into a couple of bad habits on my swing, and it just took me a little bit of time to get out of them,” McIlroy said. “I feel a lot more comfortable with my swing and a lot more comfortable with where my game is at, so that’s always going to make it easier.”

- Robin Dawson led the Irish charge in the opening round of the Fairhaven Trophy on the Lancashire coast yesterday.

The scratch handicapper fired a two over par 74 thanks to a solid performance in every department but is five strokes adrift of leader Bradley Neil, the 17-year-old Scottish Boys champion.

Dawson recorded three bogeys- on 5,10 and 16 and one birdie on the 13th as he compiled level halves of 37. He was hitting the ball solidly from tee and fairway and his short game was impressive today. His Kildare compatriot James Sugrue from Mallow posted a highly-creditable 76 but Belvoir Park’s Gareth Lappin, Sean Flanagan of County Sligo and Dublinner Paulo McBride have left themselves with plenty of work to do after carding scores of 79.

Neil after his fine 69 goes into round two three strokes clear of fellow Scot Callum Hall and Marcus Penge of Sussex.