McIlroy to attack Royal Birkdale with driver in pursuit of Open challenge

Rory McIlroy is ready to attack Royal Birkdale with the driver as much as possible as he targets a fast start to force his way back into contention at The 154th Open.

McIlroy bounced back from an opening-round 72 to post a three-under 67 in the best of Friday's conditions, mixing four birdies with a lone bogey to leave himself seven strokes behind clubhouse leader Lucas Herbert.

The world No 2 was level par for his round until he followed a birdie at the eighth by driving the par-four ninth green and two-putting from 10 feet for another, with a further birdie at the par-five 14th moving him under-par for the tournament.

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McIlroy impressed off the tee and noticed an improved display with the putter, having been 148th in the 156-man field on the greens during the opening day, although was left frustrated not to be closer to the lead after a day of record scoring.

"It was a little better," McIlroy said. "I felt like I had momentum coming off the end of the front nine there with the two birdies on eight and nine - I felt like I stole a little bit on the back.

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"I think the main objective today was to be here for the weekend, which I am. I felt like I left a couple out there. Then you look at the leaderboard and you see a couple of 62s [Herbert and Sam Burns] and you feel like you could have done a bit better.

"Yeah, [need to] get off to a decent start tomorrow. There's a couple of guys up there where this will be their first experience of playing in the lead at a major championship on the weekend.

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"There's obviously some that are very experienced at it like Cam [Young] and Sam [Burns] as well. I think if I can get off to a decent start tomorrow, be four or five under for the tournament, I'll be right in it."

McIlroy has driven the par-four ninth green in both the first two rounds, with the six-time major champion trying to remain aggressive as he looks to build on his second-round display.

"I think I've driven the ball so well the last two days," McIlroy added. "I think anytime I can get a driver in my hand, I'm going to try to. I just feel like with how I'm feeling with the driver, I think it's a big advantage if I can get the ball down there and take out some of these fairway bunkers.

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"I'll continue to do that when I can and then I'm still trying to figure out these greens a little bit. Yeah, I've struggled the last couple of days. It was a little better today, but still didn't feel 100 per cent comfortable. Hopefully try to figure that out as the week goes on.

"There's times when I could have been more aggressive and hit iron off the tee because that was the better play, but yeah, I'm picking and choosing my spots when to be aggressive."

McIlroy has been ragged but he's still in the title mix'

Sky Sports Golf's Paul McGinley:

"He's [McIlroy] made too many mistakes and hasn't been on his game.

"It looks a little bit ragged, he's dropped seven shots over the first two days, but there's brilliance in there too. His driving is just phenomenal and he's giving himself so many chances.

"His iron play is not particularly good and his putting has been so-so, but he is under par and anybody under par is in the shake-up here.

"It's a condensed leaderboard and Herbert will feel pressure up there, so there is a lot to play for. Rory McIlroy at one under is still in it."

When is The Open live on Sky Sports?

Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open in the UK and Ireland, with wall-to-wall action from the final men's major of the year throughout the weekend on Sky Sports Golf.

'Saturday at The Open' will kick off the third-round coverage from 9am on Sky Sports Golf, with early play on Sky Sports+ and the Sky Sports App ahead of full coverage on Sky Sports Golf from 11am.

Featured Groups will also be available on Sky Sports+ or the Sky Sports App, with coverage then starting for Sunday's final round from 8am on Sunday on Sky Sports Golf.