Rory McIlroy narrowly made the cut at the Houston Open after a late surge, while Scottie Scheffler delivered a record-tying performance to take the lead.
McIlroy found himself in danger of missing the cut but rallied with three consecutive birdies from the 16th hole, finishing his round at four-under-par. The day was disrupted by thunderstorms, leading to a two-hour delay, and play was ultimately suspended due to darkness.
His final score of 66 left him seven strokes behind Scheffler, the world number one, who shot a bogey-free eight-under-par 62. The American now leads by one stroke over Canada’s Taylor Pendrith and Colombia’s Nico Echavarria.
“I holed a couple of putts. That was it,” McIlroy said. “It was nice to see a couple putts go in and get finished. It was a little dicey there at the end, so it was nice to finish the round the way I did.”
Scheffler, playing before the worst of the weather hit Memorial Park, started strong with two early birdies and maintained his momentum with six more. The round marked his best performance since returning from a hand injury suffered while cooking during the holidays.
“It was important for me to stay patient out there,” Scheffler said. “It was nice to get off to a good start and kind of hold the momentum and keep the card clean.”
Echavarria was nine-under-par for his round when play was suspended. He faces a challenging chip from the edge of the 17th green to save par after finding the water off the tee.
Min Woo Lee and Ryan Gerard sit one stroke further back at nine-under, needing to complete their second rounds when play resumes.
English golfers Danny Willett and Matt Wallace remain on the edge, finishing their rounds at two-under-par—one shot outside the projected cut line. They will have to wait for the conclusion of the third round on Saturday to see if they advance to the weekend.