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"Felt like (the round) was pretty scrappy for
the most part," he said. "I don't really feel like I left many
out there. I thought I got a lot out of my game today."
He started on the back nine with birdies on the par-five 10 and
the par-four 13, but landed in the bunker twice for a bogey on
17.
He looked as though he was on course for another disappointment
on 18 when he sent one into the water. But he held his nerve and
made a terrific up-and-down to salvage par and keep the momentum
going.
The drama continued when he whacked the flagstick en route to a
birdie on the next hole.
"It was huge," he told reporters. "I could have easily bogeyed
18 and been back to even par, and then again, that ball on one
could have hit the flagstick and went anywhere.
"I could have made bogey from that. Potentially being one-over
par through 10, I'm two-under. So it's a three-shot difference.
It's a big swing."
McIlroy is trying to end a 10-year major drought while blocking
out unwanted attention on his personal life, after the shock
announcement this week that he was ending his seven-year
marriage and had filed for divorce.
He deflected questions about his concentration on Thursday,
telling reporters: "Happy to be here."
"It's always nice to be inside the ropes," he said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York) [© 2024 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
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