Rory McIlroy made three birdies in his last four holes in the second round to make the cut for the weekend at the Australian Open at Royal Melbourne.<\/p>\n
The Masters champion, who won this tournament in 2013, carded a second round three-under 68 to finish inside the cut line and move to two-under after two rounds.<\/p>\n
After an up and down first round, the Northern Irish golfer recovered in the second to move seven shots behind joint leaders Daniel Rodrigues and Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, who are on nine-under.<\/p>\n
McIlroy, who is featuring at the Australian Open for the first time since 2014, made a birdie and eight pars in a solid start on the front nine.<\/p>\n
He made four more pars on the way back to the clubhouse before faltering on the par-five 14th with a bogey that included a rare air shot.<\/p>\n
A birdie at the 15th, 17th and 18th helped him make the cut and climb steadily up the leaderboard.<\/p>\n
McIlroy felt the conditions were much improved compared to the tricky crosswinds he faced on the opening day.<\/p>\n
“Opposite wind, coming out of the south so it definitely played like a different golf course, different clubs off tees,” he told Sky Sports.<\/p>\n
“A few different options. It was great, the course is firming up. It’s really making you think out there, especially with your approach shots.<\/p>\n
“Certainly not my best stuff out there the last few days but it was nice to finish the way I did.<\/p>\n
“It wasn’t looking great after the bogey on 14, but overall, a great finish and delighted to be here for the weekend.”<\/p>\n
The 36-year-old also believes a positive start to the third round can set him up to challenge for a second Stonehaven Cup.<\/p>\n
“Seven isn’t too far back, I feel if I can go out there tomorrow morning and shoot a good one, I can get myself right back in the tournament.”<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, Scotland’s Cameron Adam, appearing at just his second tournament as a professional, also made the cut with a second round of 64 to move to one-under after two rounds.<\/p>\n