Irish left in dire Straits as McIlroy is our last man standing
Wonderkid makes move by holing from bunker
ON THE bus to the course yesterday morning, Jordan Spieth’s little sister Ellie expressed a wish. ‘I want to see a hole in one from you today,’ said the 13-year-old.
Well, the bald facts are that golf’s 22-year- old wonderkid failed in that mission but, goodness, he did everything else. He chipped in from a bunker at the 18th, shot 33 for his back nine (the front nine on the course) and has reached the halfway stage of the 97th US PGA Championship perfectly placed to achieve something way more special this weekend — sorry, Ellie — than a mere ace.
Trying to become only the third golfer in the modern era after Ben Hogan (1953) and Tiger Woods (2000) to win three majors in the same season, the Texan took full advantage of ideal conditions to post a 67 and a six under par total that left him one shot behind Sweden’s David Lingmerth after the first wave of players had completed 36 holes.
In short, that chip on Spieth’s shoulder he confessed to having after falling one shot shy at The Open at St Andrews last month could well fall into beautiful Lake Michigan tomorrow afternoon.
This was the 10th time Spieth has partnered Rory McIlroy in competition but the first when he has comfortably outscored him. Given that Japan’s Hiroshi Iwata shot the 27th score of 63 in major championship history and George Coetzee a 65, perhaps it was understandable the world No 1 cut a subdued figure following a second successive round of 71.
‘I felt I played an awful lot better than I scored,’ reasoned McIlroy, who followed an ugly double bogey at the 18th by chipping in for an eagle at the second. The truth, though, is that this has been a more than acceptable defence so far, given that he is playing under the massive handicap of 53 days without competition.
When the initial disappointment subsided, he would have realised as well that he is only four shots behind Spieth, and playing well enough to post a low number of his own today.
What a massive gathering the pair attracted, all of whom deserved medals as they climbed up hill and traipsed down dale in blistering heat. At the 18th hole, they got their reward with a truly magical blow from Spieth.
At the start of this season, he and his caddie Michael Greller had a bet on the number of chipins the former would manage this year. They eventually settled on 13 as a fair target, with Greller buying an expensive meal if it was more than that amount and Spieth picking up the tab for less.
So well has Spieth played this year that we’re still only in the middle of August and the shortgame maestro has already blitzed that total. ‘Now I’m just cheering him on to make as many as he can,’ said Greller, after Spieth chipped i n for the 15th time during the opening round. His 16th, however, might well prove one of the most significant yet.
He looked more likely to drop a shot than pick one up after pushing his approach. The ball finished towards the back of the sand, with the flag on that side of the green. But he played the perfect shot shot, the ball screeching to a halt a foot from the hole before edging slowly, thrillingly, below ground.
‘I definitely had a pep in my stride after that,’ he said, and it showed. At the short third he almost fulfilled Ellie’s wish, as a bullet-straight iron pulled up just three feet short of the hole. He picked up two other shots as well to draw level with first-round leader Dustin Johnson, who was out late in the day.
Arguably the best round on day one came from the in-form Lingmerth, who shot 67 in the wind that blew on Thursday afternoon. He actually had more birdies yesterday, with no fewer than eight on his card, but there were mistakes as well. At one point he was eight under for the championship, then he fell back to four, before finally settling for seven under.
Lingmerth came to prominence earlier this year when he defeated Justin Rose in a sudden- death play-off for the Memorial tourna- ment in Ohio.Ohio PrimarilyPrim American based, he can surely expect a word from Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke to join the European Tour and make himself eligible for next year’s match at Hazeltine if he keeps playing like this.
Iwata made his score with an incredible back nine of 29 and was one a number of players to atone for poor opening rounds.
Lingmerth’s better- known countryman Henrik Stenson improved by no fewer than 10 shots on his opening 76.
As for the afternoon players, they did not have to contend with the winds that wrecked so many cards the day before and definitely had the better of the draw.
Johnson began with four straight pars, while Justin Rose remained in touch on four under after six. Even Tiger Woods was two under for his round after three holes. That brought him back to one over for the event and in with a chance of avoiding the ignominy of a third missed cut in a row.