Rory McIlroy enjoyed a marked improvement in form on day two of the WGC-HSBC Champions, but still found himself facing an uphill battle to claim a fourth win of the year in Shanghai.
McIlroy managed just two birdies in an opening 71 at Sheshan International on Thursday to trail overnight leader Rikard Karlberg by seven shots.
And although the four-time major winner carded seven birdies in a second round of 66, that was only good enough to reduce his deficit by a single shot thanks to a brilliant 65 from Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
Meanwhile Shane Lowry improved on yesterday’s 74 with a second round 68 to move to two under par for the championship.
The Offaly golfer traded a bogey for a birdie on the front nine before hitting a run on the way home which saw him birdie the 14th and then finish birdie, birdie, birdie on the 16th, 17th and 18th to sign for a 68.
Matsuyama, who is a career-high 10th in the world after finishing second and first in his last two events, had 10 birdies and four bogeys in an opening 66 and added four more birdies and two bogeys in a front nine of 34.
The 24-year-old then started the back nine with a hat-trick of birdies and picked up further shots on the 14th and 18th to finish 13 under par, three shots ahead of American Bill Haas and defending champion Russell Knox.
Haas had carded a second consecutive 67 while Scotland’s Knox, who is looking to become only the second player after Tiger Woods to successfully defend a WGC event, was four under for the day with four holes to play.
Birdies on the second, fifth and seventh took McIlroy to the turn in 33 and the world number three picked up further shots on the 11th, 13th and 14th, despite the windy conditions.
The 27-year-old drove into a water hazard on the short par four 16th and, after pondering attempting a risky recovery shot, was forced to take a penalty drop which led to a first bogey of the day.
McIlroy made amends with a birdie on the last as he chases the victory he feels is necessary to have a chance of winning the Race to Dubai for the third year running.
The four-time major winner is more than a million points behind Masters champion Danny Willett, who has a lead of more than 400,000 points over Open champion Henrik Stenson.
Stenson was five under with five holes of his second round to play, while Willett was six over with three holes remaining.
McIlroy, who had never finished outside the top six at Sheshan International until his share of 11th place last year, told Sky Sports 4: “I felt like I hit the ball very similar the first two days, I was just able to capitalise on some of the good drives that I hit today and being able to hole a few more putts makes a big difference at the end of the day.
“I’ve been able to come back from six behind with 18 to play, so over 36 holes a lot of things can happen.
“Hideki’s playing very well and will be tough to catch, but from what I saw out there today, if I can keep that sort of golf going over the next two days I should have a chance.”
McIlroy has not played competitively since following his Tour Championship victory by winning three points from five matches in Europe’s Ryder Cup defeat at Hazeltine.
But the 27-year-old still has plenty to play for as he tries to match Stenson’s achievement of winning the FedEx Cup and Race to Dubai in the same season.
“It’s a little difficult coming off two weeks of intense competition when your adrenalin’s pumping and it’s sometimes hard to get yourself back up for it,” McIlroy added.
“But it’s a WGC and I think after the FedEx Cup I needed to reassess my goals and try and do the double, win the Race to Dubai as well as what I’ve already achieved this year.
“There’s a lot to play for and that’s why it’s pretty easy to get motivated for the next few weeks.”
Knox was unable to birdie any of his last four holes and signed for a 68 to remain three behind Matsuyama heading into the final two rounds.
