One thing that didn’t change was his name atop the leaderboard at the Frys.com Open.
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He was second at the Humana Challenge in January 2015, but put himself in pole position after 36 holes at the Silverado course on Friday after following up his breathtaking opening 63 with a solid 70 to reach 11 under par.
In ideal conditions Thursday at Silverado, Steele had no stress. What pleased McIlroy was the quality of his game from tee-to-green, far crisper than it was at the Tour Championship three weeks ago.
McIlroy finished 16th at the Tour Championship last month, 10 shots behind champion Jordan Spieth. He is tied for 56th, well off the pace set by Brendan Steele.
The lead was held by American Brendan Steele, whose opening nine holes were exceptional. The difference was seven shots. Harold Varner III and Martin Laird now sit in third place at seven under, with Varner playing his last three holes at four under.
Rose said: “I played pretty scrappily, a few ugly shots out there, a few long par-save putts, so for me it was a really good 69”. Obviously handsome weather. There’s a lot of stuff to do away from the golf course. “Like even here. OK, there are guys [four] coming from Korea from the Presidents Cup so I shouldn’t be complaining, but the 12-hour flight to get here landed [Tuesday] at 3 p.m. You struggle with jet leg a little bit”.
The afternoon golfers didn’t seem to go as low as the morning rounds with the lowest score being Scott Langley at 6-under, but they’ll get their chance on Friday when they tee off early.
While this is the season opener on the PGA Tour, he leaves after this week for three tournaments in Asia to finish off his European Tour schedule with hopes of winning another Race to Dubai title.
And in return for being granted a release to play in Turkey – where Rose won 1.5million United States dollars for beating Lee Westwood in the final – all eight players had to agree to make the trip to Napa Valley at least once during the next three years.
“I felt like I played pretty well”.
“It’s a nice event”.
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McIlroy (No. 3) and Rose (No. 7) are each in the Official World Golf Ranking. He also walked 932 miles on golf courses. “I’m trying to find the balance between enjoying myself this week and still trying to play well”.
