When Rory McIlroy dropped a shot on the 14th at Royal Melbourne, his tournament looked in tatters.
Still struggling to read the greens -- an issue that plagued him yesterday as well -- McIlroy couldn't find enough birdies to keep himself comfortable. His card was clean, bogey-free for much of the day, but it was also full of missed chances, his putts often edging the cup, some others left just short. It really was a 'nearly' day, and he spent most of it hovering precariously around the cut line.
The 36-year-old reached the back nine at one-under for the round after a front nine of one birdie and eight pars. Four more consecutive pars followed to begin his back nine, taking him into a scoreable stretch of the composite course featuring two par 5s and a par 3.
But instead of surging up the leaderboard, disaster struck when his drive on the par-5 14th drifted right into a brutal lie under trees.
With a restricted backswing, he made an unthinkable airswing that cost him a stroke. His next attempt barely advanced, staying in the rough, and his fourth found the bunker. He needed to get up and down just to save bogey. He did, but the damage was done, and he was one-over and back to even for the day.
"Not one of my finer moments on 14, I can't remember the last time I had a fresh air," McIlroy said after his round.
"I was trying to get in really low, flick it back in the play, and caught a branch on the way down and completely missed the ball."
With four holes to play, McIlroy was outside the cut and fading fast. Meanwhile, Adam Scott had eagled the same hole, and Min Woo Lee produced an unbelievable moment, holing out for eagle on the difficult par-4 10th.
MIN WOO LEE HOLES OUT FOR EAGLE! 🤯🤯#AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/LHuBtCA6mS
— Australian Open (@AusOpenGolf) December 5, 2025
The Northern Irishman, however, was going the other way. His playing partners made a serious climb up the leaderboard while he slipped. But you never doubt class.
McIlroy immediately clawed a shot back with a birdie on 15. A par on 16 followed. That put him back to even, one-under for the day, and just inside the projected cut.
"The drive on 15 was a big shot because that was, it could have been a turning point one way or another, I don't hit that tee shot well, and you're looking at another bogey, but gave myself an easy enough birdie," he said.
Then came the par-5 17th, and once again his drive veered right into the rough, leaving his tournament on a knife's edge. A shrub restricted his swing and forced him to shape the ball from an awkward position. He swung through, unsure where the ball had even gone, until it reappeared high, landed softly and finished safely on the green. Against all odds, he had a long eagle putt. His first putt was close, leaving a tap-in birdie. It felt like his weekend hinged on that very moment.
But he wasn't bothered.
"I certainly hoped that I wasn't going to fresh air that one, but the thing is, even if I had tried to lay up, I was still having to contend with that," he said. "So it's like, well, I may as well hit something hard, get speed into it, and hopefully it doesn't affect it too much and thankfully it came out pretty well."
Rory erupts the crowd 🤯@CrownResorts | #AusOpenGolf pic.twitter.com/jZ5uq48TfN
— Australian Open (@AusOpenGolf) December 5, 2025
Only needing a bogey on 18th, he piped his tee shot down the middle, found the green with his nine-iron, and rolled in another birdie, completing a birdie-birdie finish, three birdies in his final four holes, and a remarkable salvage job to somehow keep his tournament alive despite his obvious troubles.
McIlroy admitted he felt a sense of relief making the cut. But looking ahead, he knows he needs to start landing more putts.
"I think that would've been a big downer for everyone involved if I wasn't here for the weekend," he said.
"I really struggled again on the greens today. I struggled with the speed. I think a lot of people did, even Adam and Min Woo leaving a lot of downhill putts short. They look really fast and they look shiny, but they're just not quite there after not being cut yesterday.
"Hopefully the greens can get up to their normal speed over the weekend. I putted okay, I've holed some good ones, but I've certainly missed my fair share as well. So few more putts dropping would be nice to see."
While McIlroy was battling for survival out there, the Australians around him were outstanding. Min Woo Lee continued his blistering form to reach -8 and sit outright third after another superb day, highlighted by his stunning hole-out eagle on the 10th. Scott and Cam Smith also powered up the leaderboard, both finishing at -7 to share fourth after brilliant rounds of their own. It was a dominant day for the local stars, and a rather sharp contrast to the grind McIlroy endured.
At the top of the board, Denmark's Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen and Portugal's Daniel Rodrigues head into the weekend as co-leaders at nine-under. Both produced composed, high-quality second rounds to separate themselves from a crowded chasing pack and set up a fascinating battle over the final two days.
Catch up on how the day unfolded below: