Rory McIlroy remained in contention after two rounds at the Truist Championship.
Defending champion McIlroy finished the second day on seven under par, five shots behind leader Keith Mitchell.
McIlroy shot a three-under 67 on Friday and was part of a large group tied in fourth place that included Justin Thomas (67), Collin Morikawa (70) and Patrick Cantlay (68).
He had an uneven round of six birdies and three bogeys while playing in his first individual tournament since completing the career Grand Slam at the Masters last month.
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Rory McIlroy’s best shots from his historical 2025 Masters victory at the Augusta National Golf Club.
“We all have our own challenges, and if my challenge is to try to focus on the present and not think about a dream come true a few weeks ago, then that’s a pretty good challenge to have,” McIlroy said afterwards.
McIlroy hasn’t wavered in his aggressive approach to playing the Philadelphia Cricket Club’s Wissahickon Course. The Northern Irishman’s long-distance success came on the greens. He drained putts from just under 10ft at 12, close to 29ft at 14, 17ft 4 in at 15 and nearly 28ft at 18. He finished with 126.5ft of putts made.
McIlroy has won three times this season – at Pebble Beach, the Players Championship and Augusta National – and is a four-time champion of this event. He acknowledged that his game needs some fine tuning as he prepares for next week’s PGA Championship at Quail Hollow, a course where he has won four times.
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Highlights from round one at the Truist Championship in Pennsylvania.
“I felt like today was another sort of scrappy one. I made what I feel are some uncharacteristic mistakes compared to how I’ve played the majority of the year,” he said.
“So just got to try to iron that out over the next couple of days, try to shoot a couple of scores without as many bogeys on the card.
“If I can do that and just tidy it up a little bit, I feel like I’ll be in a good spot heading into next week.”
Mitchell followed a career-best round the previous day with a three-under 67 and maintained a one-shot lead over Shane Lowry.
Mitchell offset two bogeys with five birdies, including a three-hole run from three to five, for a 12-under total in the sixth signature event of the PGA Tour season.
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Speaking on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Rory McIlroy reveals he got a call from Sir Elton John after winning The Masters before he took on the host in an iconic game from his childhood.
One day after 64 of the 72 golfers in the no-cut field broke par in near-perfect weather and scoring conditions, the course was softened by overnight rain and the field dealt with on-and-off showers.
Lowry was undeterred by the weather and posted a five-under 65, the lowest round of the day, and was second at 11 under. Sepp Straka (67) was another stroke back.
Lowry, who opened with a 64, birdied four of his first eight holes. After a bogey at the 10th, he bounced back by making a 53ft birdie putt at the 11th and closed out the round with another birdie at the 15th.
Who will win the Truist Championship? Watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Early coverage begins on Saturday from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf and 10.30pm on Sky Sports Main Event. Get Sky Sports or stream with NOW.
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