Rory still figuring out the front nine

US Tour

Rory McIlroy just about managed to make the cut at the Players Championship on Friday thanks to an excellent fightback on the back nine.

Having posted a solid two-under-par 70 at TPC Sawgrass on Thursday, the two-time major champion appeared to be well course to make the cut, but it was anything but easy.

He was all over the show on the front nine as he carded four bogeys and a double bogey at the par-four sixth over five holes to go out in 42.

However, he upped his game on the back nine with four birdies helping him to finish with a two-over 72, which left him level for the tournament and 12 strokes behind second-round leader Martin Kaymer.

“It’s funny, I feel very comfortable on the back nine here,” McIlroy told the official PGATour website. “If I could only just figure out the front nine, I would be okay. But yeah, I mean, I just got off to an awful start again. Seems like Friday afternoons aren’t really when I want to play.

“I battled back well. My attitude probably cost me a couple of shots on the front nine, but on the back nine I was able to regroup and stay patient and knew that there was some birdies out there, and it was nice to birdie the last just to make it into the weekend.”

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