After whiffing on an attempted shot from beneath trees at the Australian Open to fall outside the cutline on Friday, Rory McIlroy rebounded with three closing birdies and qualify for the weekend, seven shots out of the lead.
The Masters champion, who brought his green jacket to Royal Melbourne for the DP World Tour event, admitted he has struggled over the first two days before massive galleries at the famous sand belt course.
The whiff occurred on the par-5 14th hole and led to a bogey that left McIlroy in danger of missing the 36-hole cut.
“That was not one of my finer moments on 14,” McIlroy said after his round. “I can’t remember the last time I had a fresh air (swing).”
Hole 14: Misses the ball and makes bogey on a par five 😡
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) December 5, 2025
Hole 15: Nearly drives the green and becomes only the eighth player to birdie the 15th 🔥
McIlroy now sits within the cut line 💪#AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/nX2bZMMjr8
McIlroy nearly drove the short par-4 15th green and made a birdie, then added two more at the 17th and 18th holes for a score of 68, 3 under par that put him seven shots behind 36-hole co-leaders Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Daniel Rodrigues, who finished at 9 under par.
Australia’s Min Woo Lee shot 65 to finish a shot back of the leaders. McIlroy played the first two rounds with local stars Lee and Adam Scott, who is tied for fourth, another shot back.
Cam Smith, the 2022 British Open champion who missed the cut in all four majors this year and had not made the cut in a 72-hole event, is also tied for fourth with Scott.
“Absolutely (relieved); I think it would have been a big downer for everyone involved if I wasn’t here for the weekend,” McIlroy said. “The drive on 15 was a big shot because it could have been a turning point one way or another. If I don’t hit that tee shot well, I’m looking at another bogey. I needed to play those last four holes the way I did.
“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.”
McIlroy, who won at Pebble Beach, the Players Championship, the Masters and the Irish Open this year, captured the season-long Race to Dubai title on the European Tour. This is the second week of the new season.
It is McIlroy’s first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015, a tournament he won in 2013.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rory McIlroy Whiffs Shot but Rallies to Make Cut in Australia.
