London - Rory McIlroy showed signs of sorting out his putting problems as he entered the weekend in sight of winning his 11th US PGA Tour title.
The world No 1 recorded a faultless five-under-par 67 in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow, North Carolina to follow his first-round 70 and move within two shots of early leader American Patrick Rodgers.
McIlroy, who left the Players Championship at Sawgrass last week worried that inconsistent play on the greens was costing him, was rewarded for the practice he has put in since then as he showed a perfect touch. He sank one putt from nine yards to birdie the 10th as he built on an impressive start, going on to complete his round without bogeying a single hole.
McIlroy believes his short game will be key to his hopes of recapturing the US Open title next month to go with the two majors he already holds - The Open and the US PGA.
He said earlier this week: ‘I’m really happy with the way things are from tee to green.’
McIlroy won the WGC Matchplay Championship earlier this month but hasn’t won a stroke play tournament on the PGA Tour since his victory at Valhalla last August.
But he feels at home at Quail Hollow, having won the first of his 10 Tour titles there in 2010.
He said: ‘I was excited to get back here because I have great memories.’
Scotsman Russell Knox continued his outstanding start to the 2015 season, hitting a 69 for the second day in a row to be a shot behind McIlroy.
Meanwhile, Sergio Garcia had the weather to thank for not missing the cut for the first time in 11 appearances in the Open de Espana.
Five of Garcia’s 11 European Tour titles have come on home soil and the world No 7 came into the event having lost out in a play-off for the Players Championship last Sunday.
However, the 35-year-old, the pre-tournament favourite, could only add a second round of 72 to his opening 75 at El Prat to finish three over par - at that time one shot outside the projected cut. But luckily for Garcia the wind began to pick up in the afternoon, and the tough conditions meant Garcia ended up one shot the right side of the cut.
At that stage Argentina’s Ricardo Gonzalez had set the clubhouse target on six under par thanks to a second consecutive 69, with Northern Ireland’s Michael Hoey a shot behind after adding a 68 to his opening 71.
But France’s Edouard Espana had a second-round 69 for a halfway total of 137, putting him in the lead by one stroke - and a 10-stroke advantage over Garcia.
Daily Mail