BMW Bogey-Fest: Only McIlroy, Cantlay Under Par Through 36

And then there were two.

After two trips around more-than-challenging Olympia Fields, there are just two men under par at the BMW — Rory McIlroy and Pat Cantlay.  It’s that hard a test.

“It’s really tricky,” McIlroy said as he spoke of the difficulty of this final playoff event before the Tour Championship next week.  “I was talking with Harry (Diamond, Rory’s caddie) and it seemed like every 30 minutes it gets tougher as we kept going.  You noticed a difference.  Par is a good score out there.  I’ve put myself in good position going into the weekend.”

McIlroy followed up his opening 70 with a 69 on Friday while Cantlay improved on his 71 with 68.  First round leader Hideki Matsuyama wasn’t as effective on day two.  His opening 67 was followed by a 73.  The only other player in at even par 140 was world’s No. 1 Dustin Johnson, who’s in with 71-69.

Here’s how things stack up behind those four:

One-Over Par (141):

Adam Scott (72-69); Brendon Todd (73-68); Louie Oosthuizen (72-69); Tony Finau (70-71); Billy Horschel (70-71);  Oosthuizen was the last man in the field at No. 70.  He’s already up to No. 42 and he’s got a shot at making the top 30.

Two-Over Par (142):

Mackenzie Hughes (69-73); Kevin Kisner (72-70); Bubba Watson (72-70).

Things are pretty jammed up after that.  A total of 10 players are in at three-under par, including Bryson DeChambeau (73-70) and Matt Wolff (72-71).

Two big names you won’t see near the top are Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods.  Thomas found a lot of trouble on Friday.  He shot 74 and was in at seven-over.  Woods had an anemic short game.  His putter continued to drag him down and he finished with a 75 that left him eight-over and unless he has a miracle weekend, this will be the end of the line as far as the playoffs go.

Going into the weekend, Dustin Johnson appears focused enough to make it two straight wins but he’ll have to beat a very, very tough golf course.

BMW Scoreboard: