"I'm happy to be here for the weekend. I'm happy to get two more runs at it. It would have sucked to be going home this afternoon. So to hang around and hopefully play two more days, that's a win."
"I wish I was further up the leaderboard. I felt like I played well enough today to be up the leaderboard, I just couldn't get a putt to drop."
"It feels pretty much there. Not all the way there, but I feel like it's just progressively getting better each and every day."
Rory McIlroy, the defending champion and two-time winner of The Players Championship, narrowly made the cut at TPC Sawgrass after battling lower back muscle spasms that forced his withdrawal from Bay Hill. Playing Friday's second round, McIlroy was over the projected cut line approaching his final hole but secured a birdie on the par-5 ninth for a 71, finishing at 1-over 145. While his back condition improved significantly throughout the day, his putting remained inconsistent with only four birdies through two tournament rounds. McIlroy expressed satisfaction with simply advancing to the weekend, though he felt he played well enough to be higher on the leaderboard. His back appears to be progressively improving daily, similar to his 2023 Tour Championship experience.
Read at ESPN.com
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