Highlights
U.S. Open 2023: Rory McIlroy juuuuust missed a walk-off hole-in-one on Friday
Rory McIlroy played a beautiful first round at the 2023 U.S. Open, but an ugly finish—a whiffed pitch shot—caused him to storm off in frustration. That didn't happen on Friday.
This time playing the back nine first, McIlroy finshed on the 168-yard, par-3 ninth. And he missed a walk-off hole-in-one by inches. Have a look:
Insert the "He misread the break" joke. But seriously, that was close.
Moments later, McIlroy converted the birdie look to shoot a second-round 67 and move to eight under for the tournament. It's an impressive 36-hole total—especially considering McIlroy was only three under when he made the turn.
But the four-time major champ and 2011 U.S. Open winner blitzed his back nine with six birdies to climb back near the top of the leaderboard at Los Angeles Country Club. He briefly hung his head in disappointment when his tee shot on No. 9 didn't drop, but he was clearly pleased with his effort.
"Obviously, a great way to finish the round," McIlroy told NBC Sports' Damon Hack after his round. "Bit of a sort of reversal from yesterday, making that bogey at the last, so it was nice to finish off the round properly today and put myself right in the mix heading into the weekend."