Rory McIlroy acknowledged that if he wasn’t playing in a major, he wouldn’t be playing golf right now.
After an MRI revealed only a strained tendon in his right wrist, McIlroy played the second round of the PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club on Friday. He shot a round of 3-over-par 73 with his wrist heavily bandaged. McIlroy suffered the injury when he hit a large root on the third hole as he scrambled for an opening-round par 70. The scores will keep him around for the weekend.
“When I woke up [Friday] morning, it was stiff, but it wasn’t as painful,” McIlroy said. “I hit a few shots on the range and it was fine, and I felt as if I was OK to go out and play.”
McIlroy, who said he feels 70-75 percent, went to the Peachtree Dunwoody Medical Center on Thursday for the exam. He slept with a soft cast on the arm, according to Chubby Chandler, his manager.
Chandler said they won’t know until Monday if the injury will affect McIlroy’s schedule for the remainder of the season.
At 3 over par, which includes a triple-bogey six at No. 17 on Friday, McIlory said he feels like he’s not out of the tournament.
“I feel as if I can still make birdies out there,” he said. “If I don’t think I could contend, I probably wouldn’t be playing.”
Snedeker penalized
Brandt Snedeker said he felt like a 2-year-old after showing up two minutes, 15 seconds late for his 8:10 a.m. tee time Friday. For his tardiness, he incurred a two-stroke penalty.
Although he arrived at the course at 6:30 a.m., Snedeker said he thought his tee time was 8:20 a.m.
“That’s the first time that’s happened in my career, and I guarantee it’ll be my last,” he said. “It’s very frustrating to say the least. It’s embarrassing.”
Snedeker was on the practice green when he learned of his mistake. He bogeyed the opening par-4 first hole and carded a seven with the penalty. Without the penalty, he would have still missed the cut by a stroke.
“I wasn’t the first guy to do it, and I won’t be the last guy,” he said. “You live and learn.”
The better part of valor
Phil Mickelson was starting to feel very good about his standing on the leaderboard Friday. He stood on No. 18 tee at 1 under after sinking a long putt for birdie on No. 17.
However, Mickelson double bogeyed the final hole by hitting in the water that fronts the 18th green. He heads to the weekend at 1 over.
The 18th played five yards shorter Friday than Thursday, measuring 486 yards. The length is not an issue which is why players, including Tiger Woods, are finding the water trying to make the green in regulation.
“The last hole, the landing area doesn’t move if the tee goes up or back,” Mickelson said. “By moving the tee up it doesn’t mean you can hit the ball farther down the fairway because there is no fairway to hit to. ... They could move the tee 60 yards back, and it wouldn’t matter because the landing area stays the same. The second shot is a challenge. It’s a good hard, challenging shot over water of 230 yards or so.”
Mickelson hit five-iron off the tee and went for the green with a four-iron from 244 yards.
Adam Scott, who found the water trying to lay up short of the hazard after a wayward tee shot, said he would consider not going for the green even with an approach from the fairway.
“Not a bad way to play the hole,” Scott said.
Local connections
Several players with local connections made the cut at the PGA Championship led by Davis Love III who is 1 under par after two rounds. Love shot 71 on Friday, after an opening round of 68, and is four strokes off the lead. He refused to speak to reporters following Friday’s round.
Others to make the cut were: Bubba Watson (Georgia) at 2 over, Matt Kuchar (Georgia Tech) at 2 over, Bryce Molder (Georgia Tech) at 3 over and Chris Kirk (Georgia) at 4 over.
Locals who missed the cut were: Cameron Tringale (Georgia Tech) at 6 over, Stewart Cink (Georgia Tech) at 7 over and Ryuji Imada (Georgia) at 12 over.
Alpharetta’s Heath Slocum rebounded with a 67 on Friday after an opening-round 80. The 13-shot improvement tied Ryo Ishikawa (85-72) for the biggest jump of the day.
Craig Stevens, the teaching pro at Steel Canyon in Sandy Springs, shots rounds of 76 and 77 to finish 13 over.
“I really didn’t do any part of the game good today,” Cink said. “I drove it crooked, lost my confidence early on and it snowballed all day. The golf course is pretty hard if you are not confident and striking it well. It punished me, and I deserved it.”
Kaymer status
Defending PGA champion Martin Kaymer had another day of frustration, shooting 3 over and missing the cut at 5 over.
“It’s just that nothing went in,” Kaymer said. “It was a frustrating day.”
He hit all nine greens in regulation on the front nine, but made just one birdie (No. 9). It was the second consecutive day, and second week, when Kaymer said he thought he played well with little to show for it.
“Overall it was a frustrating tournament because nothing went my way,” he said.
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