Rory McIlroy escapes early exit after tense cut scare and keeps Players Championship hopes alive at TPC Sawgrass

Rory McIlroy had a tense Friday at The Players Championship. For a while, it looked like the former champion might miss the cut and head home early. But right at the end of his round, McIlroy delivered a crucial birdie on the 18th hole.

That shot helped him stay inside the cut line and continue playing into the weekend at TPC Sawgrass.The Northern Irish star finished the second round with a 1 under 71, leaving him at 1 over par after 36 holes. It was just enough to survive the cut in one of the toughest tournaments on the PGA Tour calendar. After the round, McIlroy admitted he felt a big sense of relief. The five time major champion said the idea of leaving the tournament early was on his mind during the round.

In the end, that late birdie changed everything and gave him two more days to fight back.

Rory McIlroy survives Players Championship cut after tense round as Ludvig Aberg leads and Xander Schauffele stays close

Rory McIlroy knew the pressure was high during his second round. Every shot mattered because the cut line was getting closer. Speaking after the round, McIlroy said he was simply happy to still be in the tournament. He said, “I’m happy to be here for the weekend. I’m happy to get two more runs at it. So yeah, like, it would have sucked to be going home this afternoon, so to hang around and hopefully play two more days, that’s a win.

”The moment that saved his tournament came on the final hole. His birdie on the 18th pushed him just inside the cut line. McIlroy later revealed how much pressure he was feeling during the round. He shared a story about a conversation with his caddie Harry Diamond, who is often called Bones on tour.McIlroy explained, “Bones asked me walking down the 9th hole there, my last hole, ‘What’s your plan after this for like the next few weeks,’ and I said, ‘Bones, I’ll tell you after this hole.’

There’s a lot riding on this golf hole.” He added that making the cut was very important to him.McIlroy said, “Obviously I wanted to make the cut, of course. I mean, yeah, of course you want to be here for the weekend.” The 36 year old also explained that missing the cut would have changed his upcoming schedule before The Masters Tournament.He said, “If I had have missed the cut I probably would have added an event going into the Masters, so hopefully I’m here for the weekend and I don’t have to do that.”

Now that he is through to the weekend, McIlroy will try to climb the leaderboard.For the third round, he is paired with Joe Highsmith, and the two are scheduled to tee off at 9:55 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 14. After two rounds, McIlroy sits 13 shots behind the lead at 1 over par. At the top of the leaderboard is Ludvig Aberg, who fired an impressive 63 to take the 36-hole lead.Close behind him is Xander Schauffele, who moved into second place after shooting 65 in the second round. Even though McIlroy has a lot of ground to make up, surviving the cut means his fight at The Players Championship is still alive.