San Francisco Frontiers - Surging McIlroy positioned to end major title drought

The Northern Ireland star, who claimed the last of his four majors at the PGA Championship in 2014, got off to a rocky start in the second round at Los Angeles Country Club with three bogeys and a birdie in his first nine holes.

But McIlroy had teed off on 10 and, with the tougher second nine behind him, he ravaged the front, capping his day with a near-ace at the par-three ninth.

His tee shot hit inches from the cup and he tapped in for his seventh birdie of the day and an eight-under par total of 132.

"Obviously, a great way to finish the round," said McIlroy, whose first round ended on a sour note when he whiffed a shot from the rough on the way to a bogey at 18.

"Bit of a sort of reversal from yesterday, making that bogey at the last, so it was nice to finish off the round properly today and put myself right in the mix heading into the weekend."

McIlroy got his second nine going with a five-foot birdie at the first and picked up another shot at the third.

After a bogey at the fourth, he birdied four of his last five holes in a textbook display of ball striking.

McIlroy has hit 21 of 26 fairways and 29 of 36 greens in regulation, with 13 birdies through two rounds.

"Coming into this week, the key for me was going to be if I could put the ball in play," McIlroy said. "You can play from there and create some scoring opportunities.

"That's really my game plan over the next couple of days. Put the ball in play off the tee, and I think I'll be just fine from there."

McIlroy, who won the US Open in 2011, said the thought of winning again had been on his mind since his arrival in Los Angeles -- as it is at every major.

Since 2014, when he won the Open Championship as well as the PGA, McIlroy has a wealth of top-10 finishes in majors, but it has been rarer to see him challenging late on Sunday.

He was tied for the lead heading into the final round of the Open Championship last year on the way to a tie for third and he played in the final group at the Masters in 2018 but finished six strokes behind winner Patrick Reed.

"No one wants me to win another major more than I do," McIlroy said. "The desire is obviously there. I've been trying and I've come close over the past nine years or whatever it is, and I keep coming back.

"I feel like I've showed a lot of resilience in my career, a lot of ups and downs, and I keep coming back. And whether that means that I get rewarded or I get punched in the gut or whatever it is, I'll always keep coming back."

E.Walker--SFF