Rory McIlroy tossed a club into water in disgust and even the usually serene Scottie Scheffler lost his patience in the second round of the BMW Championship in Denver.
Far from sharp, the Holywood star was disgusted to miss his fourth fairway of the day at the par-five 17th en route to a 71 that left him ten shots behind Australian Adam Scott in a tie for 15th on three-under.
The Co Down man, who also had little luck on the greens having just three-putted the 16th, watched his drive sail right into the rough before throwing his driver into the water in front of the tee.
It barely made the hazard and he was able to retrieve it before going on to finish with two pars.
McIlroy started the playoffs in third place. But after falling to fifth in the standings following his lacklustre tie for 68th in the 70-man FedEx St Jude Championship last week, he was projected to fall to eighth last night.
That means that under the staggered start system used for the season-ending Tour Championship, he could start six shots behind leader Scottie Scheffler in Atlanta.
Masters and Olympic champion Scheffler can only be denied the number one spot at East Lake if he finishes outside the top five this week and Xander Schauffle wins.
But while Scheffler struggled to a level par 72, losing his patience several times during the round to share 29th place on one-under at Castle Pines, Schauffele was only a shot better after a 73.
Adam Scott (44), meanwhile, made 125 feet of putts in a course record, nine-under 63 to lead by three shots on 13-under from Keegan Bradley, who dropped his first shot of the week at the 18th en route to a 68.
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg matched Scott’s 63 to sit alone in third on nine-under with his compatriot Alex Noren a shot further back after a 68.
Scott, who was the 2013 Masters champion needs to finish no worse than solo seventh to jump from 41st into the top 30 who will contest next week’s Tour Championship.
But while he was projected to jump to fourth, just behind Hideki Matsuyama who withdrew before the start with a lower back injury, he knows he has the putting game to contend if he’s striking the ball well.
“I can play fairly conservative and pick my moments, and if I keep putting well, that helps a lot,” Scott said. “Putting a little better than average goes a long way out here.”
As for McIlroy, he lost strokes on the greens for the second day running, making just one putt outside eight feet.
But Shane Lowry, who is guaranteed his place at East Lake next week, bounced back from his first-round 75 by making six birdies in a five-under 67 to share 23rd with Schauffele, who shot 73, on two-under.