
Rory McIlroy remains in contention despite over-par round
Rory McIlroy remains in contention at the midway point of the Travelers Championship despite posting an over-par round at TPC River Highlands on Friday.
The five-time major winner posted a flawless six-under 64 on Thursday, however, he suffered a horror start to his second round, dropping three shots in his opening four holes.
A birdie on the sixth was then cancelled out on the following hole as McIlroy turned on three over for the front nine
The County Down man charged down the back nine, regaining the three shots with birdies on the tenth, 13th, and 15th holes, however, he came unstuck on the penultimate hole, dropping a shot following a poor approach from the fairway bunker.
McIlroy had a look at birdie to close but was unable to drain his 20 footer and settled for a one-over 71 ahead of Saturday's third round.
World number one, Scottie Scheffler shares the midway lead with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood, on nine under par, leaving McIlroy four shots off the pace and in a tie for ninth going into the weekend.
Shane Lowry struggled to a three-over par round of 73 to sit on five-over-par heading into the weekend.
Three bogeys in succession at the start of the back nine saw the Offaly man fall to six-over, with a solitary late birdie coming at the short par-four 15th.
The 2019 Open champion lies tied-63rd in a 70-strong field - Justin Spieth and Si Woo Kim having withdrawn - though with no cut in operation, he will be around for the weekend.

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RTÉ News
6 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Rory McIlroy remains in contention despite over-par round
Rory McIlroy remains in contention at the midway point of the Travelers Championship despite posting an over-par round at TPC River Highlands on Friday. The five-time major winner posted a flawless six-under 64 on Thursday, however, he suffered a horror start to his second round, dropping three shots in his opening four holes. A birdie on the sixth was then cancelled out on the following hole as McIlroy turned on three over for the front nine The County Down man charged down the back nine, regaining the three shots with birdies on the tenth, 13th, and 15th holes, however, he came unstuck on the penultimate hole, dropping a shot following a poor approach from the fairway bunker. McIlroy had a look at birdie to close but was unable to drain his 20 footer and settled for a one-over 71 ahead of Saturday's third round. World number one, Scottie Scheffler shares the midway lead with Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood, on nine under par, leaving McIlroy four shots off the pace and in a tie for ninth going into the weekend. Shane Lowry struggled to a three-over par round of 73 to sit on five-over-par heading into the weekend. Three bogeys in succession at the start of the back nine saw the Offaly man fall to six-over, with a solitary late birdie coming at the short par-four 15th. The 2019 Open champion lies tied-63rd in a 70-strong field - Justin Spieth and Si Woo Kim having withdrawn - though with no cut in operation, he will be around for the weekend.


RTÉ News
12 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Gavin Tiernan on cusp of glory after semi-final win at Amateur Championship
Gavin Tiernan from the County Louth club in Baltray is just one match away from the Amateur Championship title at Royal St Georges in Kent. The 19-year old Tiernan is ranked outside the top 1000 male amateur golfers in the world at 1340th. This afternoon, in breezy conditions, Tiernan easily defeated Riccardo Fantinelli of Italy (ranked more than 1000 places above him) in the semi final by 4&3. The second Finalist of the 130th Amateur Championship, Gavin Tiernan 🏌️♂️ — The R&A (@RandA) June 20, 2025 The winner tomorrow gets invitation to the Open next month in Royal Portrush and also the 2026 Masters and US Open along with one of the most coveted titles in men's amateur golf worldwide. Tiernan will play the World No 7 ranked player Ethan Fang of the United States in a 36-hole final starting just after 8.30 tomorrow morning. The last Irish winner was James Sugrue of Mallow in 2019. He won the title at Portmarnock when ranked 232nd in the world. Tiernan is seeking to become the ninth Irish winner of the Amateur Championship, with Jimmy Bruen the first back in 1946.


Irish Examiner
16 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Rory McIlroy trails by two as Scottie Scheffler holds share of lead
Rory McIlroy made an impressive start to the Travelers Championship to sit two shots off the lead, before world number one Scottie Scheffler later laid down a marker to defend his title in Connecticut. Masters champion McIlroy had finished tied for 19th at the US Open over a punishing Oakmont course – but ended the weekend on a positive following a three-under-par final round, which was the joint best of the day. The Northern Irishman – who saw his driver ruled as 'non-conforming' ahead of last month's PGA Championship before then missing the cut at the Canadian Open – had been looking to build some momentum at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell as focus turns towards the Open at Royal Portrush. Rory McIlroy made an impressive start in Cromwell (Jessica Hill/AP) World number two McIlroy landed a birdie at the second and then sank two more ahead of the turn at the final PGA Tour Signature Event of 2025. After picking up another couple, a further birdie at the 17th – from the best part of 30 feet having hit a fine recovery shot out of the rough and over the water onto the green – saw him finish six under with 64 to sit in a tie for second, two shots behind early clubhouse leader Austin Eckroat. American Eckroat hit a fine eight-under round, which included an eagle at the par-three 13th and a sixth birdie at the 18th. Scottie joins Eckroat atop the leaderboard with a 62 (-8) of his own!👏 — TravelersChamp (@TravelersChamp) June 19, 2025 Scheffler was one of the late starters paired alongside newly-crowned US Open champion JJ Spaun – who unlike his playing partner endured a perhaps expected tough round to finish three-over following successive bogeys on the closing two holes. There was, though, no such trouble for Scheffler, who never looked back after three birdies from the opening four holes. The American – who landed a third major title with the PGA Championship crown at Quail Hollow during May – then picked up an eagle on the 13th and another birdie at 15, before a bogey at the 17th was the only blemish on his eight-under 62. McIlroy's playing partner Keegan Bradley is also at six-under, having dropped a shot at the 12th, alongside Wyndham Clark, the 2023 US Open champion. 'Overall it was a good start to the tournament, and I think when you're in a two-ball like that and we can sort of feed off one another a little bit too, that's nice as well,' McIlroy said after his opening round. 'I just want to see some good golf and see some better shots. I think if you concentrate on that and you are concentrating on your quality of golf and concentrating on just trying to play to the best of your ability, the result will take care of itself. 'There's no point in thinking about the result right now. I'm just trying to play as good as I can and make good swings, and if I do that enough, more than likely I'll find myself in a position to have a chance to win.' England's Tommy Fleetwood carded a first round of 66 to sit in a group tied for sixth. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, runner-up at Oakmont on Sunday, finished one over following a double-bogey six on the 17th. Jordan Spieth WD during the first round of the Travelers Championship with a neck/upper back injury. — PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) June 19, 2025 Jordan Spieth withdrew during his first round because of a neck/upper back injury. 'I may have just slept wrong and then something came along. I don't know what caused it,' he said. 'I think it was just a random one-off that unfortunately got worse and bad enough on a Thursday that I didn't feel like I could continue.'