Rory McIlroy’s Irish Open title defense took another frustrating turn on Friday. When he scored one-under 69 during his first round, he blamed it on strong winds and slow play. But today was not that windy, and yet it was another 69 in Round 2. With the leaderboard moving quickly and his fellow Irishmen making bigger gains, the Northern Irishman was left searching for a way to turn solid golf into a score that could keep him in the mix.

Speaking after his second round, McIlroy was candid about what had been holding him back. His comments revealed a problem that can be difficult to fix once doubt starts creeping into a player’s mind.

“Frustration. I just didn’t have it on the greens. I really struggled to read them. It’s hard whenever you struggle to read them, and then when you do get over the ball, you’re trying to trust what you’re seeing, but everything else that you have seen hasn’t went the way you thought, so it’s hard to put a committed stroke on it. So yeah, it’s been a tough one on the greens the last two days. But tee to green, I’ve actually been pretty happy with how everything else is. I just need to try to hole a few more over the weekend,” Rory McIlroy revealed.

McIlroy carded two birdies and an eagle on the par-five eighth, but three bogeys (holes 7, 11, 18) offset the gains, leaving him at one-under 69. This takes his cumulative score to two-under 138, as he is currently tied at 21st on the leaderboard. But there are a few golfers yet to finish the round, which can affect the final standings.

Putting is the culprit: McIlroy’s 29.7 average ranked 61st; he ranked 80th in Greens in Regulation, a stark gap for a player ranked 9th in driving distance.

“Yeah, Shane’s going well; Tom’s had a couple good days. I’m hitting the ball well enough. I just need to try to hole a few more putts or get a handle on reading them a little bit better. But, yeah, I feel like I certainly have the ability and at least have the long game to do it. Just need to hole a few more on the greens,” Rory McIlroy added when asked about other Irish golfers playing well.

With a collective score of 11-under 129, Shane Lowry is currently leading the tournament after two rounds. He has a healthy margin of three strokes over the current tied runner-ups. There are a few players yet to finish their rounds, but it is very unlikely for anyone to go past Lowry. Tom McKibbin has also finished his second round. He scored 68-67 in his two rounds and is currently tied for sixth, alongside Rasmus Hojgaard and others.

McIlroy also noted that he couldn’t read the greens well today. Citing the birdie putt on the 17th hole, he said he hit it correctly because he saw Brooks Koepka do it earlier. So, if someone can show him the line and he can sink a few more putts confidently, it could benefit him significantly over the weekend.

With a stark difference of nine strokes between him and the current leader, there’s very slim hope for him of defending the Irish Open title. But that’s not completely out of the picture yet. Rory McIlroy had carded rounds of four-under and six-under during the weekend last year to win the title. If he could recreate that magic, he still has a pretty good chance. But it all depends on how he putts the next two days because, according to him, he is already doing quite well in every other aspect.

Rory McIlroy is happy with his driving at the Irish Open 2026

A reporter noted McIlroy had eight putts inside 12 feet that missed. If he could have managed to get even half of them in the hole, the outcome of today’s round would have been very different.

Responding to that, Rory McIlroy said that it was certainly because of not reading the greens properly, because everything else was good.

“Tee to green, I feel like I’m right there. I’m pretty happy with how I’ve hit the ball over the last couple of days. Some bad weather coming in tomorrow as well, so that should put a premium on ball striking and hitting it in the fairways and on the greens. So if I can do that and just see a couple go in, then hopefully it’s a different story,” he added.

That’s something similar to what he said yesterday about his opening round. He is not wrong because his driving average was 307.5 yards yesterday, and he ranked ninth in the field. This is way more than the tournament average of just 285.2 yards. We all know that driving is Rory McIlroy’s biggest weapon, and as he said, it would come in handy tomorrow amid the windy conditions.

However, he still has one thing to take care of. While his driving average was impressive, his driving accuracy was a different story. The tournament average was 51.5%; the 37-year-old managed only 38.5% accuracy. In a field of 137 golfers, he ranked 102nd in that stat.

Rory McIlroy is happy with his driving at the Irish Open 2026, but his struggles on the greens remain the bigger concern. If he can pair his strong ball-striking with more confidence on the greens over the weekend, he could still make a serious push up the leaderboard.