Rory McIlroy left with uphill task at PGA Championship after costly six-hole stretch

Rory McIlroy's hopes of ending his decade-long major drought took a hit at the PGA Championship on Saturday, as he failed to capitalise on a birdie blitz during his second round. The Northern Irishman had set himself up nicely with a five-under-par 66 in Thursday's opening round, but a level-par 71 in round two saw him fall behind the leaders.

Saturday's perfect conditions saw a host of early starters, including McIlroy's Ryder Cup teammate Shane Lowry, make a string of birdies. Lowry's nine-under-par 62 equalled the record and put him firmly in contention for championship Sunday.

However, four-time major winner McIlroy couldn't take advantage of the favourable conditions, playing his first six holes at level-par. But showing his class, McIlroy then made four consecutive birdies from the seventh hole to move within three shots of leader Xander Schauffele, reports the Irish Mirror.

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His best moment came at the par-three eighth, where he sank a brilliant 21-foot putt for birdie. Now nine-under for the tournament, McIlroy had a chance for a fifth birdie at the par-three 11th, but it marked the start of a frustrating period for the 2014 champion.

After skimming the hole with his birdie putt on the ninth, Rory McIlroy was left feeling hard done by. Despite not letting this dampen his spirit, a familiar tale of missed opportunities came back to haunt him at the 12th.

Sadly, that pattern continued for Rory throughout the remainder of his round. From being in great form earlier in the day, he suffered a dry spell, culminating in unfortunate bogeys on the 14th and 16th holes.

Despite lagging six shots behind the leader, Rory battled on, finishing the day eight-under par following a neat finish on the 18th. However, with so many contenders still on the course, his chances of contending for the title seemed slim.

Reflecting on his performance, Rory cited a crucial six-hole stretch that dashed his momentum. He sighed: "I really got it going around the turn there to get to four-under," adding, "And then I kept hitting good shots and had good looks at 11, 12 and 13, 15."

"Then I made two bogeys with a missed putt on 14, a three-putt. Yeah, there was a six-hole stretch there, seven-hole stretch where just sort of the putter cooled on me. Depending on what happens tomorrow, that's sort of the -- if I look back on the tournament, I may rue that six-hole stretch where I wasn't able to hole any putts."

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