AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am R2: Rory McIlroy climbs leaderboard

Defending champion Rory McIlroy climbed the leaderboard on day two of the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am but is still some way off the lead. 

The Northern Irishman looked solid in the opening round but was undone by sloppy mistakes on the greens, with the 36-year-old twice missing putts from inside three feet at Spyglass Hill.  

On Friday, McIlroy mixed five birdies, two bogeys and an eagle for a five-under 67 at Pebble Beach. 

He is on nine-under par overall, six shots adrift of 36-hole leaders Akshay Bhatia and the in-form Ryo Hisatsune. 

Rickie Fowler (64), Sam Burns (67) and McIlroy's European Ryder Cup teammate Matthew Fitzpatrick (66) are also inside the top 10. 

"I got off to a really good start again and then stalled on the back nine again," said McIlroy. 

"So I feel like I've been a little bit wasteful the last two days and maybe not capitalized on those great starts. 

"It's very low scoring, it's soft. Hopefully if I can get off to a good start again tomorrow and pick up a few shots early I'll be right in the mix. 

"Yeah, game feels pretty good actually, feels a little bit better than it did in Dubai a couple weeks ago. Just trying to keep building on that."

Elsewhere, world number one Scottie Scheffler bounced back from his opening 72 with a six-under 66. 

Scheffler, who has already tasted victory this season, looked visibly frustrated at times as he hit the turn in level par. 

He almost aced the par-three 15th but was denied after his golf ball clipped the flagstick and spun back off the green.

When his greenside chip narrowly missed the cup, Scheffler responded by giving the hole a sarcastic thumbs up. 

Three birdies and an eagle on his back nine cheered him up a tad and saw him inch up the leaderboard. 

"I'd say 'inched' would be the operative word there," Scheffler told reporters. 

"We'll see how it shakes out at the end of the day. I mean, it's going to take two pretty special rounds, really three special rounds, but you're never out of it. 

"We'll see what happens with the weather. I'll go practice a little bit and then rest up and get ready for tomorrow."

Scheffler said he felt as though he played better than he scored. 

"But was able to get some stuff going on the back nine. So at least a respectable score today versus yesterday, wasn't very respectable."

The aforementioned Fowler is looking for his first victory since the 2023 Rocket Classic. 

He told media he essentially played the entirety of last season hurt with a bad shoulder. 

Asked what he has liked about his game so far this week, Fowler said: "I would say a little bit of everything. 

"I wouldn't say there's a specific part of the game that has either held me back or pushed me forward.

"Everything's been fairly solid."

The AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am is the first signature event of the 2026 PGA Tour season. 

It features 18 of the top 20 players in the OWGR and has a total purse of $20m.