Tiger's back on track at the Memorial… but McIlroy misses THIRD straight cut
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UPDATED:
07:55 GMT, 2 June 2012
Rory McIlroy missed his third straight cut with a miserable seven-over second round at Muirfield Village as Tiger Woods eased into contention at the Memorial Tournament.
McIlroy had recovered from a nightmare quadruple-bogey seven on the ninth hole to finish the day in a share of 20th on one under.
But the next day there was no halt to his steady decline, as he bogeyed twice on the front nine before doubles at the 11th and 14th, together with a further dropped shot at 13, confirmed his early exit.
Off colour: Rory McIlroy had a nightmare
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Keep up to date with the latest scores from the Memorial Tournament here
McIlroy said: 'I hit some good shots,
it just seems like every time I go out there I make one or two big
numbers and that sort of throws me.
'Just those big numbers at the beginning are killing me, and I just need to get those off the card and I'll be okay.'
The round, which did not include a
single birdie, came after McIlroy missed cuts at the Players
Championship and the PGA Championship.
Looking ahead to the US Open, he
added: 'I hit some good shots out there. I'm definitely hitting the ball
better than I did last week, so I can see an improvement there.
'But I've still got a long way to go.'
Shooting the breeze: Tiger Woods talks with his caddie during the second round
For Woods it was a different story as
his three-under 69 saw him finish the day five under overall, one stroke
behind second-round leader Rory Sabbatini of South Africa.
Woods hit five birdies in his round, and it could have been even better but for a double bogey on the par-three 12th.
Woods predicted the field would stay
bunched up, telling www.pgatour.com: 'The guys aren't going to go out
there and shoot a bunch of low rounds out here.
'This golf course is hard. The pin locations for tomorrow are going to be difficult. So it's going to be another good test.'
Big hitter: Luke Donald tees off on the fourth hole
Sabbatini was also three under,
carding five birdies against two bogies to sit a shot clear of American
trio Woods, Spencer Levin and Scott Stallings.
The South African said: 'It feels
good. Obviously it's been a trying year, and obviously it's great to see
some return on the effort I've been putting in.
'So that feels fantastic.'
Stroll on: Woods crosses a bridge on the 11th hole
Overnight leader Stallings could not
repeat his fireworks of yesterday as his four birdies were more than
cancelled out by five bogeys for a one-over 73, while Levein was level
for his round.
Two more Americans, Daniel Summerhays
and Jim Furyk, shared fifth on four under, while Sweden's Henrik Stenson
led the European challenge on two under.
England's Greg Owen was one under, one shot ahead of compatriot and world number one Luke Donald.