LYTHAM ST. ANNES, England — As his birdie attempt slipped by the 18th hole Friday, Rory McIlroy gripped his putter tight and looked up in despair to an overcast sky.
Except it wasn’t his play on the greens that frustrated the world’s second-ranked golfer during the second round of the 141st British Open.
Spraying drives left, right and straight into water-filled bunkers around Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, McIlroy’s wayward tee shots led to his 5-over-par 75. That left him at 2-over 142 — 12 shots behind leader Brandt Snedeker — and flirting with the cut mark.
With its tight fairways and unforgiving rough, the links course demands accuracy off the tee. There also are 206 bunkers on the course, and McIlroy found three of them in his back nine.
“The course is very playable. You just need to keep out of the bunkers, which is the whole idea anyway,” McIlroy said.
The Associated Press
