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Morrison Leads but Donald Looms as McIlroy Heads Home
McIlroy Crashes Out of PGA Championship
Morrison Leads but Donald Looms as McIlroy Heads Home
WENTWORTH, England, May 25, 2012 (AFP) - England's James Morrison was the shock leader after two rounds of the PGA Championship here on Friday but world number one Rory McIlroy was heading home after missing the cut.
Morrison shot a 64 for a two round aggregate of 132, twelve-under par, 21 shots better than McIlroy who imploded with a second round 79 and will lose his top-ranked status if Luke Donald finishes eighth on his own or better this weekend.
Morrison, 27, leads by four from defending champion Donald, who had a second successive 68 and overnight leader David Drysdale who followed up his 66 with a 70. Ireland's Peter Lawrie and Alvaro Quiros of Spain were a further shot back in fourth on seven-under.
World number three Lee Westwood made a birdie on the par-5 last to squeeze into the last two days after finishing on 145, one-over par.
Morrison did not have a bogey on his card, making six birdies before a grandstand finish at the par-5 18th where he rolled in a 30-foot putt for an eagle and the second best 36-hole score in this tournament's history. Paul McGinley was 13-under at the same stage in 2008.
Despite his one tour win Morrison is not used to competing in tournaments of this magnitude and admitted he can see Donald out of his rear view mirror.
"I expect a lot but at the same time you have got the likes of Donald and company behind you," he said.
"If I shoot 80 on Saturday or 65 I will take what I can from it. I desperately, desperately want to keep going forward and that is my problem sometimes - I am too keen. I am going to be trying my hardest to win.
"This is my third year on tour and I have won but this is a different level. But that was one of the best rounds I have played and probably one of the easiest, or it felt easy. I wish golf was like that every day but it isn't."
Morrison was a promising cricketer as a youth and played in the same England age-group sides as current internationals Alastair Cook, Tim Bresnan and Ravi Bopara.
He switched to golf aged 16 and within a year he was a scratch player before accepting a scholarship in the United States ahead of turning professional.
Donald got off to a bad start by dropping a shot at the first but five subsequent birdies and an eagle helped him keep Morrison in his sights.
The world number two said: "It is a great opportunity for him - any aspiring golfer would want to get into this situation and see how they deal with it. This is the biggest event on the European Tour. I am sure he will have some nerves and I will try and chase him down."
"Sixty four is impressive. There are opportunities out there and going off early is going to be a help but to shoot 64 around this course is great going."
Gusting winds did not help the afternoon starters and McIlroy suffered more than most as he missed a second cut in a row after failing to make the weekend at the Players Championship.
McIlroy shipped shots consistently through the second round less than three weeks away from his defence of the US Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco and will heading straight for the range.
He said: "I will have to go and work really hard to get my game back to the level it was before the Masters. I have been putting the work in it is just being more specific.
"I will go and chat to my team and make sure I am ready for the next few weeks. It is just putting the time in on the range and hitting a lot of balls."
McIlroy Crashes Out of PGA Championship
Wentworth, United Kingdom, May 25, 2012 (AFP) - Rory McIlroy crashed out of the PGA Championship here at Wentworth on Friday and could lose his status as world number one by the end of the tournament.
When McIlroy finally holed out for a 79, seven-over par and a two-round total of 153, nine-over par he was eight shots off the projected cut mark of one over.
This is the second time he has failed to make the weekend recently after flopping at the Players' Championship at Sawgrass a fortnight ago.
The confidence ebbed away from McIlroy as he shipped shots consistently through the second round less than three weeks away from his defence of the US Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.
But McIlroy has vowed to get straight on the range to get his game straight for the season's second major.
He said: "I will have to go and work really hard to get my game back to the level it was before the Masters.
"I have been putting the work in it is just being more specific. I will go and chat to my team and make sure I am ready for the next few weeks. It is just putting the time in on the range and hitting a lot of balls."
It is only the second time in his professional career that McIlroy has missed two cuts on the spin. The previous occasion came in 2010 when he missed out at the Houston Open and the Masters.
World number two Luke Donald was sitting pretty in clubhouse after getting to halfway on 136, eight-under par, and was in second place, along with Scotland's David Drysdale, four shots behind leader James Morrison.
With McIlroy out of the equation Donald needs to finish eighth on his own or better on Sunday to reclaim his spot at the top of the rankings.
Twenty-three- year old McIlroy was up against it after a first round 74 had left him fighting for his life and he was not helped by the wind that strengthened on the West Course in the afternoon.
He had four bogeys and a double bogey on his card by the time he got to the turn dropped two more shots then his drive on the par-5 12th into trees on the left.
He added: "I couldn't get anything going. There is something about the middle of this golf course. It halts your momentum."
McIlroy slipped to a bogey six there and another at the 13th took him to seven-over for the tournament. The misery continued with a double bogey at the 15th and McIlroy could not get into the clubhouse quickly enough.
Ahead of this event McIlroy claimed he was comfortable with the number one status but he was involved in a club throwing episode on the first day and his body language betrayed his frustrations in the second round.
On Wednesday McIlroy had told reporters that he believed his US Open at Congressional last June had made him believe he belonged in the elite.
"You have to believe that you're the best and certainly I do," he told reporters then.
"On my day, I believe I can beat anyone in the world. I started thinking of myself as one of the elite players. There's a big difference between having the potential to be the best in the world and actually thinking you are the best. It's hard to walk around saying, 'I'm the best'. But you just have to believe in it and be quietly confident."
The world number one ranking has changed five times in the last two months with McIlroy being at the top since coming second in the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow three weeks ago.
And it looks likely to change again with Donald, the defending champion here, poised for a high finish in the European Tour's premier event.
Leading scores after the second round of the European Tour PGA Championship at Wentworth on Friday (par 72, cut 145):
132 - James Morrison (ENG) 68-64
136 - David Drysdale (SCO) 66-70, Luke Donald (ENG) 68-68
137 - Peter Lawrie (IRL) 66-71, Alvaro Quiros (ESP) 67-70
138 - Marcel Siem (GER) 71-67, Francesco Molinari (ITA) 68-70, Branden Grace (RSA) 69-69, Rafa Cabrera-Bello (ESP) 68-70, Justin Rose (ENG) 67-71, Peter Hedblom (SWE) 68-70, Fredrik Andersson Hed (SWE) 70-68, Ricardo Gonzalez (ARG) 71-67