6/1 McIlroy not holding back at Liberty National

Rory McIlroy (6/1 – Northern Trust Outright) feels his aggressive approach at The Northern Trust is serving him well as he finds himself in the mix at Liberty National.

The Northern Irishman produced a fine round of 65 on Thursday to get himself to just three shots off the overnight leader Troy Merritt (25/1 – Northern Trust Outright) going into Friday’s second round in New Jersey.

With McIlroy looking to really attack the course at Liberty National, the 30-year-old feels the conditions will allow him to do that this week.

“It’s so soft out there, so you need to shoot low scores this week to have a chance,” McIlroy said.

“Obviously, I’m still three shots behind the lead at this point and there are some pretty good players that have shot good scores, so just going to try to have to keep the foot down.

“There’s not much rough out there, so it’s sort of ‘bombs away’ with the driver and try to get it up as far as you can and go from there. It’s definitely a golf course that you’re going to have to keep being aggressive this week.

“The par-fives are all reachable and there are a couple of shorter par-fours, and if you take care of your business on those gettable holes, it’s hard to get yourself really out of position or short-side yourself that you’re struggling for pars.”

Meanwhile, world number one Brooks Koepka (40/1 – Northern Trust Outright) was a little out of sorts as he mixed three birdies in with two bogeys for a disappointing first-round 70.

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