Rory McIlroy (-4) has finished his second round at the Texas Children’s Houston Open with three birdies in the last four to make the cut just in time. The expression is both literal and figurative. He did it at the last gasp and just as the horn was sounding to suspend play due to lack of light at Memorial Park.
Play was halted for just over two hours due to a thunderstorm, enough time to prevent the round from being completed. This Saturday, play will resume with the 52 golfers who couldn’t finish. Among them are Nico Echavarría (-10), Min Woo Lee (-9), or Ryan Gerard (-9), who still have two, two, and seven holes left respectively and could still dethrone Scottie Scheffler (-11) from the lead.
Play will resume at half past two in the afternoon, Spanish mainland time, and the third round will be played, once the cut is established, from two tees and in groups of three.
McIlroy demonstrated his champion’s grit and courage this Friday in Houston. He was on the brink of missing the cut. With four holes to go, he was one under par, and the cut was already pointing to three under at that moment. He needed something very special after a dreadful day, where nothing was going right, especially on the greens, with the more than two-hour interruption… He could have easily given up. Coming off a win at the THE PLAYERS, it could have been understandable if he had waved the white flag to switch into Masters mode early.
But giving up is not in the vocabulary of these great players, and he thought there was no better way to get to Augusta than with two more rounds of competition. As it was, he made three consecutive birdies on holes 15, 16, and 17. He started with a great birdie putt from about five metres, followed with an almost given birdie on the par 5, and capped his comeback with a great hole 17, hitting a good second shot to just over three metres and sinking the putt. By then, there was little light, and he finished almost in the dark with a par on 18. It was the last group to finish on hole 18.
There are still chances that the cut could be -2 instead of -3. It will all depend on the conditions in Houston this Saturday morning. Initially, rain is expected and not too much wind, so the greens will remain receptive, and it’s likely that good scores will continue to be seen. In other words, it points more to a cut at three under than two under par.
McIlroy wasn’t the only one in his group who struggled in the last holes to make the cut. His partners, Wyndham Clark and Maverick McNealy, had to finish with four consecutive pars to end at three under par and also secure their presence for the weekend. Of course, once past the cut, it remains to be seen how far McIlroy can go. He is set to be one of the big entertainers of the weekend coming from behind.
