Defending Champion McIlroy "Tied 2nd, 1 Stroke Behind"... No Seung-yeol 'Tied 33rd'

RBC Canada Open Day 2: Clark Leads at 2 Under, Two-Day Leader, No. 1 Schauffele Tied 8th, Bae Sang-moon and Kang Sung-hoon Miss Cut

Defending champion Rory McIlroy is teeing off on the 11th hole on the second day of the RBC Canadian Open. Toronto, Canada - Getty Images/Multibits Photo by Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] World No. 8 Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland) is cruising smoothly.

On the 11th (Korean time), at the second day of the PGA Tour RBC Canadian Open (total prize money $8.7 million) held at St. George Golf Course in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (par 70, 7,014 yards), he added 2 under par to rise to a tie for 2nd place (6 under par, 134 strokes). Matt Fitzpatrick (England), Keith Mitchell, and Alex Smoly (both USA) joined this group. Wyndham Clark (USA) is leading for the second consecutive day with 7 under par, 133 strokes.

Starting from a tie for 5th place, 3 strokes behind, McIlroy recorded 4 birdies and 2 bogeys. On 14 holes, he exchanged 2 birdies and 2 bogeys, struggling to reduce his score. However, he made 'stepping stone birdies' on the 15th hole (par 5) and the 17th hole, leaping into the leading group. He relied on his powerful drives of up to 375 yards and scrambling ability (85.71%) to save par when missing the green. However, his putting average of 1.909 per hole was somewhat disappointing.

McIlroy is chasing the leader by 1 stroke, aiming for his second win of the season and 21st career victory, eight months after winning the 4th event of the 2021/2022 season, The CJ Cup, last October. Due to the impact of COVID-19, this tournament was not held for two years, so this is his first attempt to defend the title in three years since his 2019 victory. McIlroy said, "The wind picked up, and the greens were tricky, but I got a decent scorecard," adding, "I want to play well for the remaining two days."

Wyndham Clark is teeing off on the 14th hole on the second day of the RBC Canadian Open. Toronto, Canada = Getty Images / Multibits

Clark exchanged 3 birdies and 3 bogeys. Although he joined the PGA Tour in 2019, he has yet to win a tournament. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (USA) shot 3 under par to sit tied for 8th place (4 under par, 136 strokes). Justin Thomas (USA) is tied for 21st place (2 under par, 138 strokes). From Korea, Noh Seung-yeol (31, Givent) advanced to the third round tied for 33rd place (1 under par, 139 strokes). On the other hand, Bae Sang-moon (36, Kiwoom Securities) and Kang Sung-hoon (35, CJ Logistics) were cut off.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.