McIlroy seeks solution, Tiger finds one
June 2, 2012 — Updated 1508 GMT (2308 HKT)
Rory McIlroy cardied three bogeys and two double-bogeys in Friday’s second round at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- Rory McIlroy seeking to reverse poor run of results ahead of U.S. Open starting June 14
- Northern Irishman has missed three cuts in a row in buildup to his title defense
- He will play in Memphis next week in the last tournament before the season’s second major
- Tiger Woods was one shot behind leader Rory Sabbatini at halfway stage at Memorial event
(CNN) — Three starts and three missed cuts. Rory McIlroy has a lot of hard work to do before he begins the defense of his U.S. Open title later this month.
The world’s No. 2 golfer crashed out of weekend contention at the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament after a second-round 79 on Friday that left him 12 shots behind halfway leader Rory Sabbatini of South Africa.
“I don’t feel like the scores are actually reflecting how I’m hitting the ball,” the Northern Irishman told reporters. “I was able to string nine good holes together yesterday.
“I just need to keep working on it and try and string 18 good holes together and then try and string two days together and obviously three days and ultimately four.
Rickie Fowler, one of golf’s most colorful characters, celebrates his first PGA Tour title at Quail Hollow, where he won in a playoff against 2010 champion Rory McIlroy and D.A. Points. 
Fowler holds the Wells Fargo Championship trophy alongside his mother Lynne (letf) and girlfriend Alexandra Brown.
The 23-year-old wished his close friend Bubba Watson had been there to help celebrate. Fowler was on the green when Watson won his first major at the Masters in April, but the left-hander has played only one tournament since then as he is spending time with his newly-adopted son.
McIlroy (left) won at Quail Hollow in 2010 for his first PGA Tour victory, but lost out to Fowler in the rookie of the year award. 
They played together for the first two rounds at last year’s Masters, where McIlroy suffered a final-day collapse before winning his first major at the U.S. Open two months later. 
They were paired again at the next major, the British Open at Royal St. George’s — where Fowler tied for fifth and McIlroy was 25th.
The duo’s rivalry goes back to their amateur days, with Fowler helping the U.S. to beat Great Britain and Ireland in the 2007 Walker Cup on McIlroy’s home soil at the Royal County Down Golf Club.Fowler’s first
Support network
Bubba’s buddy
Back to back
The making of McIlroy
Together again
Walker Cup winner
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Fowler’s first PGA Tour title
Guan Tian-Lang, 13, will make history as the youngest player at a European Tour event when he tees off at his home China Open.
Guan will seek to better the achievement of Jason Hak, who was 14 when he became the youngest player to make the halfway cut at a European Tour event at the 2008 Hong Kong Open.
Japan’s Ryo Ishikawa is the youngest male player to win a professional tournament. He was 15 when he triumphed at the Munsingwear Open in 2007, and has since gone on to become a top-level tour competitor.
New Zealand’s Lydia Ko is the youngest player to win a professional event. She was just 14 when she triumphed at the the New South Wales Open in January 2012, having entered as the world’s leading female amateur.
Lexi Thompson is the youngest player to win on the women’s LPGA Tour. The American was 16 when she triumphed at the LPGA Classic in Prattville, Alabama in September 2011.
Thompson is also the youngest player to win on the European Ladies’ Tour. Here she receives her trophy at the Dubai Ladies Masters on December 17, 2011.Golf’s young prodigies
Making the cut
The future star
History maker
Young gun
Dubai double
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Golf’s young prodigies
Luke Donald never recovered from an opening round of four-over 75 at Harbour Town Golf Links.
Rory McIlroy replaced Donald as No. 1 despite a disappointing showing at the Masters in his last tournament. He spent this week with his girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki in Copenhagen.
Carl Pettersson of Sweden won the RBC Heritage by five shots from Zach Johnson for his fifth PGA Tour title.Donald finishes down field
McIlroy on top
Pettersson wins by five shots
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McIlroy reclaims top ranking from Donald
Monty: Difficult time for Tiger
“But I hit some good shots out there. I’m definitely hitting the ball better than I did last week, so I can see an improvement there. But I’ve still got a long way to go.”
The last time McIlroy missed three cuts in a row was in 2008 as a 19-year-old playing on the European Tour.
He has committed to the U.S. circuit this year and next week will play the St. Jude Classic in Memphis, a tournament he added to his schedule only after his second-round 79 at the European Tour’s flagship PGA Championship last weekend.
After Memphis comes the U.S. Open at the Olympic Club in San Francisco for the second major tournament of the golf season.
‘Mentally fatigued’ Mickelson withdraws from Memorial
The event’s course layouts are notoriously testing, but Luke Donald — who has swapped the No. 1 ranking regularly with McIlroy this year — believes the 23-year-old is close to regaining the form that has led many pundits to describe him as the next Tiger Woods.
“He’s obviously frustrated — this game does that to you,” the Englishman said.
“He’s not far away. He made a couple of careless errors, but I’m sure once he posts one solid run of maybe a couple of rounds or a tournament this will be a blur and he’ll forget about it quickly.”
Donald, who played the first two rounds at the Memorial’s Muirfield Village with McIlroy, was six shots behind Sabbatini in a tie for 27th after a 73 on Friday.
Sabbatini, seeking his seventh PGA Tour title after a poor start to 2012, had a one-shot lead after carding a second successive 69.
That scored was matched by Woods, who is hoping to tie Jack Nicklaus on 72 wins at a course designed by the “Golden Bear.”
Woods was tied for second with fellow Americans Spencer Levin (72) and Scott Stallings (73) on five-under 139 overall.
“The things that I’m supposed to be doing for the past few tournaments, I was able to do,” said Woods, who has struggled in his past three starts since ending his long wait for a 71st title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in late March. However, he has never missed successive cuts in his professional career.
“This is the way that I hit the ball at Bay Hill and the way I hit it at the end of last year. That’s what’s exciting about it,” Woods added.
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