RORY MCILROY insists tough weekend weather won't blow him off course as he bids to land a second Players Championship.
The Northern Irishman had a disappointing finish to his second round, bogeying two of his last four holes to add a 68 to his opening 67.
But he's still handily placed at nine under, two shots behind early club leaders Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia, who both shot 66.
Winds of up to 30mph are forecast but Mcllroy believes he is well equipped to deal with the challenge on the difficult Sawgrass course.
The 2019 winner said: "I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be really important to try to flight your ball and keep it under the tree line. Once it gets above the tree line here it can start to really get hit by it.
"It does swirl a little bit but when the wind is so strong it will be a little more consistent. This course is challenging enough but with a wind like that? Yeah, I'm excited for that challenge.
"Just trying to control my ball flight, trying to hit different shots, trying to play with some creativity is something that I think I've gotten a lot better at over the last few years."
Starting from the 10th, McIlroy chipped in for birdie on his opening hole and picked up further shots on the 12th, 14th, 16th and 18th to cover the back nine in 31.
The world No.2 also birdied the par-five second but dropped a shot on the sixth after twice finding sand on the difficult par four, which provoked a mixed reaction from the players after an overhanging tree - replacing the original which had to be removed 11 years ago - was planted in front of the tee.
Mcllroy also ...
The Northern Irishman had a disappointing finish to his second round, bogeying two of his last four holes to add a 68 to his opening 67.
But he's still handily placed at nine under, two shots behind early club leaders Min Woo Lee and Akshay Bhatia, who both shot 66.
Winds of up to 30mph are forecast but Mcllroy believes he is well equipped to deal with the challenge on the difficult Sawgrass course.
The 2019 winner said: "I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be really important to try to flight your ball and keep it under the tree line. Once it gets above the tree line here it can start to really get hit by it.
"It does swirl a little bit but when the wind is so strong it will be a little more consistent. This course is challenging enough but with a wind like that? Yeah, I'm excited for that challenge.
"Just trying to control my ball flight, trying to hit different shots, trying to play with some creativity is something that I think I've gotten a lot better at over the last few years."
Starting from the 10th, McIlroy chipped in for birdie on his opening hole and picked up further shots on the 12th, 14th, 16th and 18th to cover the back nine in 31.
The world No.2 also birdied the par-five second but dropped a shot on the sixth after twice finding sand on the difficult par four, which provoked a mixed reaction from the players after an overhanging tree - replacing the original which had to be removed 11 years ago - was planted in front of the tee.
Mcllroy also ...
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Daily Record (Digital) - 1 Issue, March 15, 2025