Rory McIlroy fired a second-round 67 at Quail Hollow on Friday to vault himself back into contention at the Truist Championship.
McIlroy certainly wasn’t at his best during the first 27 holes of the Truist Championship, but he caught fire on the back nine on Friday.
The Northern Irishman shot four-under-par on his back nine, despite making a bogey on his final hole of the day.
Rory McIlroy sits just four shots adrift of the halfway leader, Sungjae Im, at the Truist Championship , after shooting rounds of 70 and 67.
As mentioned already, the Northern Irishman has been nowhere near his best in Charlotte this week, but he looks very motivated to continue along his path to legendary status.
Rory McIlroy has been happy with his game at the Truist Championship , despite the fact that he hasn’t been firing on all cylinders in North Carolina just yet.
It does feel like he’s warming up very nicely indeed for a weekend charge at Quail Hollow.
Sky Sports’ on-course commentator Wayne Riley followed McIlroy’s group around Quail Hollow on Friday afternoon.
And the Australian was mightily impressed with what he saw.
Riley responded when asked whether he believes McIlroy has his mojo back after winning The Masters four weeks ago.
“ He was explosive, wasn’t he? But he’ll be disappointed with the last. No one likes to finish like that, but he’ll be okay, “ Riley said.
“ You know, yesterday, paring the golf course to death, burning the last, and, you know, today, it was just a slow start, and then boom, straight back into the championship.
“ Absolutely he has his mojo back.
“ Look, if he wins next week, then do we start speaking of it? You know, will he win all four?
“ And the golf course next week. It suits Rory McIlroy. So he might be two out of two, and then we can have that conversation.
“ It’s a golf course that he’s going to absolutely adore. “
It is common knowledge that McIlroy struggled with getting motivated to practice and play after he won The Masters for the first time in 2025.
However, it seems like a completely different story for the 37-year-old after his second win at Augusta National last month.
McIlroy was asked after his third round at the Truist whether he feels like he already has the hunger back after his huge accomplishment just one month ago.
“ I do, yeah, and I feel like I got that hunger back in the middle of last year, “ McIlroy admitted.
“ I think, you know, going into Portrush in the Open at home, I think that gave me a spark.
“ And then after that, it was looking towards the Ryder Cup.
“ Then winning at home in Ireland was an amazing thing.
“ Then to make sure that my game was in a really good spot for the team so that I could get as many points on the board for Europe as I could.
“ So, there are things that I have to look forward to and I always have to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
“ I think I’ve made everyone aware what my goals are for the rest of my career, and I’m making the majors a priority, and that’s sort of what drives me forward.
“ Obviously I still need to play events and stay sharp and any event that I turn up to, I want to win.
“ But, you know, the majors are my priority, and it’s making sure that I’m ready to go for them, and I will hopefully add to the six that I have. “
