Rory McIlroy says his short game has been key to his success this season.
The FedEx Cup champion shot a second round of 67, which included an eagle at the final hole to sit on 10 under par, second on the leaderboard going into the weekend. Matt Fitzpatrick leads the tournament on 11 under par.
After his round, Rory McIlroy was asked if he was happy with his round.
"Yeah, 67 around here, I think after the way I started, four under through six. I was thinking maybe shoot a better score than I shot yesterday (also 67)."
"But you start missing a couple of fairways, missing a couple of greens and this course all of a sudden, gets pretty tricky.
"It's easy from the fairways but I sort of veered off them a little bit around the middle fo the round but was able to get back on track.
"It was nice to finish the way I did (eagle on 18) especially after the mess I nearly made of 16 (bogey)."
The shot of the day from @McIlroyRory. 👏
A finishing eagle has him one shot back of the lead. 🦅#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/BJX3vuN4qg— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) November 1, 2019
Short Game
It has been a strong finish to the season for Rory McIlroy who attributed the success to his short game
"I think my short game has been really good, which then takes the pressure off your long game. So I can be a little more free with my long game. Maybe go at a few more pins, be a little more aggressive.
"Because of that (good short game), I'm hitting it closer and giving myself plenty of chances for birdies, but if I do miss I have my short game to fall back on and rely on. I have been able to get the ball up and doing very well over the past few months.
"All of that combined, confidence with the second shots, and then confidence if I do miss a green. That's been key to shooting some of these low scores that I've shot."
When asked about the course set-up, it was suggested it will give up some low scores. McIlroy suggested he though it will be tougher for the weekend.
"It was firm at the start of the week. I'm surprised it hasn't just got a touch firmer. I even felt it was a touch firmer yesterday.
"I'm sure how much water they put on the course but I would expect it to firm up a little over the weekend. Which would make it a tough test.
So I still think there are birdies out there, you've got the four par fives and a couple of the shorter par fours.
"The gameplan is just to try keep it on the fairways and from there the course is pretty score-able."
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