McIlroy and Lowry remain well placed at Irish Open

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Matt GaultBBC Sport NI at Royal County Down

• Published13 September 2024

Irish Open second-round leaderboard (play ongoing)

-6 M Manassero (Ita); -5 L Canter (Eng), T Clements (Eng); -4 R McIlroy (NI), A Del Rey (Spa), E Ferguson (Sco); -3 C Hill (Sco), C Syme (Sco), D Brown (Eng), R Hojgaard (Den), E van Rooyen (SA), J Dantorp (Swe)

Selected: -1 S Lowry (Ire), R MacIntyre (Sco), J Walker (US); +1 S Keeling (Ire)*, S Power (Ire), T McKibbin (NI); +4 V Norrman (Swe); +5 P Harrington (Ire)

*denotes amateur

Full leaderboard

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry remain in contention after their second rounds of the Irish Open despite failing to take full advantage of the benign conditions at Royal County Down.

World number three McIlroy shot a one-under 70, the highlight of which was an eagle at the par-five first - his 10th - and sits back two adrift of halfway leader Matteo Manassero, who reached six-under with a 66 that included two eagles.

Lowry is a further three back of the Italian, having been had been on track for a 68 until a bogey at his closing hole left him five adrift on one-under.

At five under, English pair Laurie Canter and Todd Clements are Manassero's closest challengers while Spain's Alejandro Del Rey is alongside McIlroy and Scotland's Ewen Ferguson.

Del Rey reached eight under before plummeting back to the field with a quadruple bogey eight on the 15th.

McIlroy's fellow Northern Irishman Tom McKibbin closed with a birdie to card a 69 and looks certain to make the weekend at one over par.

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McIlroy and Lowry stay in the hunt

Persistent crosswinds tested the players on Thursday but the conditions were as calm as they have been all week for the early starts on Friday.

Despite that, however, McIlroy played his first five holes in one over, a bogey on the par-three 14th putting him on the backfoot before he picked up his first of the round at the next.

Having birdied 16, 17 and 18 on Thursday, McIlroy had to settle for three pars on Friday but he prompted a huge roar from the crowd with an eagle at the first, made possible by a booming 333-yard drive down the fairway.

"I wish every hole was that easy," he quipped after his round.

That was as good as it got for the 35-year-old, though. A bogey five at the fifth after finding trouble off the tee brought him back to four under but he is primed to be a central protagonist over the weekend.

So, too, is Lowry. Like McIlroy, the 2019 Open champion did not have it all his own way on Friday, cutting a despondent figure after de-greening his eagle putt at the driveable par-four 16th, leading to an unlikely bogey.

But the 37-year-old has spoken positively of how he has handled setbacks this year and he reeled off three birdies around the turn to reach two under.

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Six pars and a closing bogey, having missed a four-footer for par at the last, left a somewhat sour taste in the 2009 champion's mouth but he is well-placed for a Saturday charge at just four back.

Lowry's 36-hole score of 141 was matched by his playing partner Robert MacIntyre. The Scot, who won his national open in July having already clinched the Canadian Open in June, battled back superbly with five straight birdies having fallen to four over with a double bogey at the 16th.

MacIntyre's countrymen Calum Hill and Connor Syme are two shots better off on three under while India's Shubhankar Sharma carded nine birdies and three bogeys in a tournament-low 65 to sit one further back.

Among those missing the cut which came at two over par were three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and defending champion Vincent Norrman.