Rory McIlroy saves double bogey, keeps himself in mix at U.S. Open

BROOKLINE, Mass. — After pushing his approach shot right of the green on the third hole at the 122nd U.S. Open on Friday, Rory McIlroy's ball was buried in thick heather as high as his knees. He swung his wedge violently, but the ball moved only about a yard.

McIlroy looked down and wiped his face before swinging again. The ball popped about six inches into the air and fell back to the ground. McIlroy backed away from his ball, composed himself while playing partner Xander Schauffele took his next shot, and then swung again.

This time, on McIlroy's fifth shot on the 496-yard, par-4 hole, McIlroy's ball landed about 23 feet past the hole. He made the putt for a double-bogey 6.

Just like that, McIlroy went from 3-under to 1-under in the second round The Country Club. It seemed like his chances of ending an eight-year drought without a major championship victory were slipping away again.

«I mean, you're only 2-over for the day,» McIlroy said. «It wasn't disastrous.… Yeah, I knew I was going to have chances, so I didn't panic. I didn't do anything stupid. I didn't force anything. I was rewarded with that patience by playing a really good back nine.»

McIlroy, a four-time major champion, recovered to card a 1-under 69. His 36-hole total of 4-under put him in a tie for third, one shot behind co-leaders Collin Morikawa and Joel Dahmen.

«I made two bad swings [on Friday],» McIlroy said. «I made a bad swing on the second shot on 3, and I made a bad swing on the tee shot on 10, and limited the damage as much as I could. Those two holes cost me three shots. But I stayed patient, and I knew I was going to give myself chances if I just hit the ball the way I have been hitting it. Today was a really good example of just having a good