Rory McIlroy is not at his best at the Players Championship, and his struggles were evident in the second round. After surviving the cut by a narrow margin, the star golfer was relieved to get two more rounds in this week.
On Friday, March 13, Rory McIlroy carded a 1-under 71 in the second round of the Players Championship. He made a birdie on the eighteenth that pushed him just inside the cutline, as he finished at 1-over after 36 holes.
During his post-round interview, Rory McIlroy expressed relief at making the cut.
“I’m happy to be here for the weekend,” he said. “I’m happy to get two more runs at it. So yeah, like, it would have sucked to be going home this afternoon, so to hang around and hopefully play two more days, that’s a win.”
The five-time major champion admitted that he was stressed on Friday and said that making the cut was constantly on his mind.
“Bones asked me walking down the 9th hole there, my last hole,” he added. “‘What’s your plan after this for like the next few weeks,’ and I said, ‘Bones, I’ll tell you after this hole’. There’s a lot riding on this golf hole. So I mean, obviously I wanted to make the cut, of course. I mean, yeah, of course you want to be here for the weekend.”
The 36-year-old golfer added that he was proud of not missing many cuts in his career. He also revealed that he would have tweaked his schedule if he had missed the weekend at Sawgrass.
“If I had have missed the cut I probably would have added an event going into the Masters, so hopefully I’m here for the weekend and I don’t have to do that,” he stated further.
When will Rory McIlroy tee off at the Players Championship 2026, Round 3?
Rory McIlroy is paired with Joe Highsmith for the third round of the Players Championship. The duo will tee off on Saturday, March 14, at 9:55 a.m. ET.
Following the two rounds, Rory McIlroy is 13 strokes off the lead at 1-over. Ludvig Åberg fired a low 63 to take the 36-hole lead, while Xander Schauffele was sitting two strokes back after a second-day 65.
Here’s a look at the leaderboard of the Players Championship after Round 2:
- 1. Ludvig Aberg: -12
- 2. Xander Schauffele: -10
- 3. Cameron Young: -9
- T4. Corey Conners: -8
- T4. Justin Thomas: -8
- 6. Sepp Straka: -7
- T7. Lee Hodges: -6
- T7. Jacob Bridgeman: -6
- T7. Maverick McNealy: -6
- T10. Austin Smotherman: -5
- T10. Michael Thorbjornsen: -5
- T10. Tommy Fleetwood: -5
- T10. Brian Harman: -5
- T10. Viktor Hovland: -5
- T10. Russell Henley: -5
- T10. Matt Fitzpatrick: -5
- T17. Patrick Rodgers: -4
- T17. Keith Mitchell: -4
- T17. Alex Smalley: -4
- T17. Ryo Hisatsune: -4
- T17. Justin Rose: -4
- T17. Jason Day: -4