McIlroy makes cut at Australian Open with late birdie burst

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Not before a bit of back-nine drama at Royal Melbourne, Rory McIlroy has made the weekend at the Australian Open after shooting a 3-under 68 on Friday to finish inside the 36-hole cut line.

McIlroy, who was 2-under on the tournament, was seven strokes behind leaders Daniel Rodriques (64) and Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson (66), who had 9-under totals of 133.

The leading pair were one shot clear of third-place Min Woo Lee, who shot 65 Friday. Adam Scott (66) was in a tie for fourth with Cameron Smith (65), who avoided adding to his tally of seven consecutive missed cuts.

McIlroy started the day at 1-over after a 72 on Thursday, tied for 57th and trailing the leaders by seven shots. At the time, that was just one shot inside the expected cut of 2-over.

He birdied one hole and had eight pars on his front nine Friday, then had four more pars before making a bogey on the par-5 14th. He missed the fairway to the right off the tee and ended up under a tea tree. McIlroy then whiffed on his next shot as his club got stuck in a branch, but he recovered to make a 6.

That put him outside the 36-hole cut, but he birdied the next hole, the par-3 15th, to put himself back at even-par and safe, at least at that stage.

He parred the 16th to stay at even-par, then perhaps made his shot of the tournament - from the patchy rough on 17, swinging through a small bush this time, where he tapped in for birdie after a long eagle putt went just wide.

That moved McIlroy to 1-under on the tournament and up about 20 places on the leaderboard, leaving him safe for the weekend, particularly after he birdied the 18th.

"With the wind, it played like a different golf course today," McIlroy said. "I certainly haven't played my best over the past couple of days but it was nice to finish the way I did. Delighted to be here for the weekend . . . seven isn't too far back."

On his whiffed shot from under the trees, he said: "Not one of my finer moments, but nice to be able to come back over the last few holes."

Co-leader Neergard-Peterson missed the cut last week at the Australian PGA Championship.

"Certainly I feel like I’ve proved over the last year or so that I have the level to compete out here and be in the thick of things on Sunday," Neergard-Petersen said.

McIlroy, whose pre-tournament news conference included comments that Royal Melbourne was not the best sandbelt course in the city, had a wild opening round containing six bogeys and five birdies.

McIlroy, the Race to Dubai winner, is making his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015 - he won it in 2013.

The winner of the Australian Open, which is the second event on the European tour's new schedule of tournaments for late this year and 2026, receives a Masters exemption next year. And the top three finishers not already exempt will qualify for the British Open in 2026 at Royal Birkdale.

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