For a brief period of time on day two of the Australian Open, after Rory McIlroy took an air swing in the bushes on the 14th hole and suffered a bogey, the superstar Northern Irishman was outside the cut.
He revived his tournament in sublime fashion, shooting a birdie, a par and another two birdies to card a 68 and scrape through.
McIlroy, the reigning US Masters champion, reached the halfway point of the Australian Open at 2-under par to be tied for 28th with a string of others.
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“It was nice to bounce back … and play like I did the last few holes,” McIlroy said.
Sharing the lead after the second round are Portugal’s Daniel Rodrigues and Denmark’s Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen at -9 under par. They shot a 64 and a 66 respectively on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy pictured during the second round of the Australian Open. Getty
Australia’s Min Woo Lee is equal third at -8 after shooting a 65, while fellow Australians Cameron Smith and Adam Scott are tied for fourth with Mexico’s Carlos Ortiz at -7. As Smith carded a 65 and Scott a 66, Ortiz slumped to a 70.
McIlroy faced the prospect of being bundled out at the cut at Royal Melbourne after he took a swing in the bushes on the 14th and missed the ball by several metres.
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The five-time major champion collected branches during his backswing and it threw him right off.
“I felt like I could get in there really low … and just flick a little four iron and get it back into play, and on the way down caught a branch and obviously just completely went over the ball,” McIlroy recalled with a grin.
“I honestly can’t remember the last time I had a fresh-air.
“Not one of my finer moments.”
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