Wet and windy conditions scuppered Adam Scott and put McIlroy in contention at Open

BULLISH Irish star Rory McIlroy believes he can end the title streak of Adam Scott - and his own year-long drought - after firing himself into contention at the Australian Open.

A day after Scott's record-breaking opening round, McIlroy went on his own birdie blitz to shoot a seven under 65 and move into a share of the lead after his Friday morning round.

As wet and windy conditions grew worse in the afternoon, a battling Scott briefly fell into second before rallying to finish with a two-shot lead, courtesy of a bogey-strewn 70.

The world's second and sixth-ranked stars will go head to head in a dream pairing Saturday, and after it seemed Scott's tournament alone on Thursday, the snakes-and-ladders events of Friday have thrown it wide open.

McIlroy has suffered through a year of poor form and introspection but the peacock strut was back on display after a nine-birdie haul, and the former world No. 1 wasn't afraid to thrown down the gauntlet to Scott.

Asked if he felt he could beat the US Masters champ (prior to Scott's round), McIlroy said: "I feel like I have the game to do that, as long as he doesn't get too far ahead and I'm within striking distance going into the weekend.

"I feel like I can shoot a couple more scores similar to today and have a great chance."

"I feel like I'm playing well. I'm hitting the ball well off the tee and giving myself plenty of chances."

McIlroy credited easier morning conditions than expected and rain-softened greens for his round, but as was the case on day one, Scott and the later groups were buffeted by up to "five club" winds in the afternoon at Royal Sydney.

Though he made seven birdies, the tricky conditions elicited three bogeys and a double-bogey from Scott as well.

"It was really blowing … it was always going to be a day where you have to just hang on," Scott said.

"Bogeys out there easy to come by today, if you were just slightly off. Probably most scorecards would have looked similar this afternoon."

The majority of the afternoon scorecards did, at least. Hampered by a stiff back, Jason Day shot a 74 to finish even and only just avoided the cut. Robert Allenby birdied the last to get to one over and do likewise.

Former Australian Open champions Peter Senior - who shot 81 - and Greg Chalmers weren't so lucky, and both missed out.

Richard Green aced the par 3 sixth on his way to a 66 and finished third on the leaderboard at 9 under, ahead of Australia's dominant Asian Tour star Matt Jones (8 under).

Leigh McKechnie (65) equalled McIlroy for the round of the day to finish in a share of equal fifth in six under; alongside Alistair Presnell, Josh Younger and star amateur Brady Watt.

Geoff Ogilvy turned a day one 74 into a strong 66 yesterday and fifteen-year-old sensation Ryan Ruffels showed his unlimited potential by rallying from a horror first day to shoot a 67 - the sixth best round of the day - and, remarkably, make the cut on debut in the Australian Open.

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Richard Green scores hole-in-one at Australian Open

THE first thing Richard Green did after hitting a hole-in-one at Royal Sydney was spin around to see what he'd won.

As usual, it was nothing. There was no car, no speedboat and no big novelty cheque so Green had to be happy with an ace that kicked him up the to third on the Australian Open leaderboard.

"They're always nice to get," Green said.

"I had a bit of a quick glance around to see if there was a car or something there but no, unfortunately. In New Zealand I was a day short of $100,000 or something. But anyway, it's just the luck of it, isn't it?"

After a steady opening round, Green had moved into the top five when he arrived at the 143m, par-three sixth. Using a brand new set of clubs, the left "flushed" an eight iron and watched it bounce twice and curl into the hole.

It was his fourth professional ace.

"I had one in the New Zealand Open years ago, one in the American Express Tournament I think it was, one of the world golf championships in San Francisco probably about nine years ago now is the last one and then this one is the one I can remember. I think the other couple that I've had have just been in social golf," Green said.

There is a Volvo is up for grabs for a hole-in-one at the tournament but at the 14th, and only on the last day.

But Green, who plays on the European Tour, was more than content with a round of 66 that felt as clean as he'd hit the ball in years.

"It's nice to build a bit of confidence from hitting good shots again," Green said.

"It was a very nice day. I've been struggling a little bit of late with my game and changed a few things, changed my clubs, changed my driver; just about everything this week and it's just started to show some good signs again. I haven't hit shots like I have the last two days for a long time, probably about three years. It's building, confidence is building."

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Ryan Ruffels, 15, makes the cut in his Australian Open debut

MOST kids his age will get driven to Saturday sport this morning.

Fifteen-year-old Ryan Ruffels will be doing all his own driving at Royal Sydney this weekend, however, after the amateur golf prodigy defied expectation and made the cut in his Australian Open debut.

Ruffels, who played practice rounds with Adam Scott and Rory McIlroy over the past fortnight, looked long odds to join the big boys on moving day after a "horrendous" opening round saw him blow out to seven over from seven holes.

He clawed back to four over and a superb five-under-par 67 from the teenager on Friday saw Ruffels climb up the leaderboard and past the cut mark of one over.

"I am really proud of myself that I have been able to (make the cut)," Ruffels said.

"I was pretty nervous coming into today because I didn't want to embarrass myself. It was pretty embarrassing yesterday. I wanted to grind out and see if I could show I had a bit of heart and make the cut, and I was able to do that even though I wasn't hitting it well."

A hot putter helped resolve some wayward ball-striking, Ruffels added, including several long bombs that gave him birdies and even an eagle on the par 5 16th.

Ruffels said the tournament thus far had done wonders for his confidence, but on any measure of the teenagers' remarkable maturity, self-belief isn't a quality he lacks.

The son of former Aussie tennis professional and coach Ray Ruffels isn't satisfied to simply make the cut in the Australian Open; he is computing what he needs to do to be in contention tomorrow.

"I just need to start hitting it a bit better. If I putt the way I did today and hit a few more greens, I will be for a low one tomorrow," he said.

"I will have to have a really low one to get in contention but if I can shoot five under and not play great, if I can start hitting the ball well I can possibly get myself up there.

"Yesterday was horrendous for confidence but to fight back those last 13 holes and to have that sort of round today was awesome. It is going to do wonders for my confidence and has done wonders for my confidence."

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Scott leads but McIlroy lurks

Adam Scott struggled to a two-under par 70 at the Australian Open on Friday and leads the event by two shots from Rory McIlroy after two rounds.

The Masters champion battled with the wind at Royal Sydney during the later stages of his round after picking up two birdies in the first three holes.

As the driving rain and strong wind started to take its toll, the Australian world number two carded three bogeys and one double bogey during his two-under par round, although those were cancelled out with five more birdies.

McIlroy benefited from the milder conditions earlier in the day after carded a 65 to finish his second round on 10-under, two shots behind Scott, who broke the course record with a 62 on Thursday.

"It was a tough afternoon, plenty of good stuff in there but made a few mistakes in the tricky conditions," Scott told reporters after the round.

"At times, it was extremely difficult and I think I held it together pretty well.

"It was going to be a day for hanging in. I made lots of birdies but bogeys were easy to come by if you were just slightly off and probably most scorecards would have looked similar this afternoon."

McIlroy, who has dropped down to number six in the world after starting the year as the world's top player, seemed to be growing in confidence as his round progressed and made up some ground on the leader after starting the round seven shots behind.

"As seven-unders go, I think it was a pretty comfortable one. I don't think I did anything really spectacular out there," the Northern Irishman admitted.

"It feels good, I played well, putted much better today than I did yesterday too, so that was a big positive. I'm in a great position going into the weekend."

A host of Australians make up the rest of the leaderboard, with Richard Green another stroke behind McIlroy on nine-under following his second round 66.

In fourth place is Mathew Jones on eight-under after carding his second 68 of the tournament on Friday, while Leigh McKechnie (65), Alistair Presnell (71) and Josh Younger (69) are two strokes further behind on six-under.

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Dane leads at Leopard Creek

Denmark's Morten Orum Madsen has taken a one-shot lead at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at Leopard Creek where he carded a 7-under 65 to set the pace.

Orum Madsen was crowned SA Open Champion just four days prior to this tournament where he drained eight birdies in the first round that featured only one drop shot.

He will start day two with a one-stroke advantage over South Africa's Allan Versfeld and Portugal's Ricardo Santos.

Versfeld carded an eagle and four birdies in a bogey-free round, while Santos finished with an eagle to add to four birdies.

''I have a lot of confidence right now,'' the Dane told reporters.

''I really believe I am going to hit good shots on pretty much every shot.''

"I wasn't expecting to go out and shoot 65 today. I knew I was playing well, so I wanted to put a decent round together.

"I won last week and I'm over the moon happy, so everything that happens this week is icing on the cake. I'm just trying to enjoy the ride."

Defending champion Charl Schwartzel was four off the pace following the 68 he carded on the day.

Schwartzel cruised to a 12 shot victory last year and would be very disappointed with his back-nine after he started the day with five birdies on his first six holes.

Meanwhile American John Daly shot a 72 for a tie for 48th in his second tournament back from right elbow surgery in July.

Daly made his return to golf at the BMW Masters in China last month after surgery to repair a damaged tendon in his elbow. He struggled for consistency Thursday with two bogeys and a birdie going out and two birdies and a bogey coming home.

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Rory McIlroy insists he is close to kind of form which saw him win two major titles

Rory McIlroy was delighted by his second round of 65 at the Australian Open which saw him close to within two shots of leader Adam Scott.

The two-time major champion admitted he had started to feel despondent during Thursday's opening round as he saw Scott disappearing into the distance on the back of a stunning course record 62 at the Royal Sydney Golf Club.

But, 24 hours later, it was McIlroy's turn to shine as he produced a joint best-of-the-day 65 to catapult himself into contention, making up five shots on the Australian.

"It would have been very easy for me to get frustrated yesterday, and I was a little frustrated, because I bogeyed 10 and 11 to go back to even par, and I'm thinking to myself, 'I'm 10 behind, not just 10 behind anyone, I'm 10 behind Scotty," McIlroy told reporters.

"When you see someone like that at the top of the leaderboard already with a low score, it's tough not to think about it. It's tough not to sort of press the issue... but golf tournaments are long and there's lots of time to chip away."

"You saw me in 2010 (at The Open), it can evaporate very quickly," added the Northern Irishman, referencing the 2010 Open Championship where he opened with a course record 63 at St Andrews, only to follow it with an 80.

For weeks McIlroy has been talking positively of his game and now believes he is very close the kind of form which saw him win no fewer than five times last season.

"I'm hitting the ball well off the tee and giving myself plenty of chances. It was good to see a few putts go in today," he continued. "As I've said for the last few weeks, the game is feeling much better and I'm much more comfortable now.

"It's the end of the season and I want to finish the season off well. It's a big tournament for me so, in terms of satisfaction, going out there and shooting a good score and putting myself in position for the weekend, yeah, I'm very happy.

"After not making the Tour Championship in the States, it was all about trying to build momentum for 2014 and that's what I feel I've started here.

"I think (my game) is just about in the same shape (as when he won his two majors)... it's all mental.

"When you get a run of events where you play well, your mindset going into tournaments is going under par, winning, getting onto the top of the leaderboard as soon as possible, and when you're not playing well, it's a bit different... if you're not playing well it's a bit different, you're hoping to do well, but not really expecting to."

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Australian Open: Adam Scott keeps Triple Crown dream alive

Adam Scott remains well-placed to complete the Australian Triple Crown although his lead at the top of the leaderboard in Sydney was cut to two shots.

Scott is aiming to add the Australian Open titles to the PGA and Masters crowns he has already claimed - with Robert Allenby, in 2005, the only other player to complete the feat.

Scott, though, faces stiff competition from Rory McIlroy, with the Northern Irishman carving his way through the field.

Scott had been the star performer in the opening round after a course record 62, however he found the scoring on Friday tougher as storms had an impact.

A mixed round, including seven birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey at the fourth, left the Masters champion to sign for second round 70.

And Scott, who is on 12-under for the tournament, will be casting an anxious look over his shoulder after McIlroy made his move to highlight his return to form.

"It was always going to be a day where you just had to hang on," Scott said.

"He (McIlroy) is one of the best players in the world so I'm going to have to bring my best game."

McIlroy, taking advantage of the calmer conditions early on, picked up nine birdies and two bogeys on his way to seven-under for the round - and 10-under overall.

"The weather wasn't as bad as we thought it was going to be and the wind didn't pick up," he said.

"So I knew we could take advantage of that, and the greens were a little bit softer as well."

Richard Green is a shot further back after his round off 66, while, Matthew Jones is on eight under.

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Denmark's Morten Orum Madsen is on course for back-to-back wins in South Africa

Denmark's Morten Orum Madsen is on course for back-to-back wins in South Africa after taking the lead in the first round of the Alfred Dunhill Championship.

Four days after winning his maiden European Tour title in the South African Open, the 25-year-old from Silkeborg carded a seven-under-par 65 at Leopard Creek to finish one ahead of local favourite Allan Versfeld and Portugal's Ricardo Santos.

Madsen carded eight birdies and one bogey as he continued his remarkable start to only his second full season on Tour, having finished 81st in last season's Race to Dubai.

Versfeld returned a flawless 66 thanks to an eagle and four birdies, while Santos did likewise and finished in style with his eagle coming on the signature par-five 18th.

Defending champion Charl Schwartzel was two shots further back on four-under alongside England's Richard Finch, Scotland's David Drysdale and France's Victor Riu.

"Today it seemed easy but it definitely wasn't, it was pretty tough out there and the course was playing long with the wind," Madsen said after his round.

"I played really solidly, I gave myself a lot of looks at birdie and a lot of shorter ones which was nice.

"I have a lot of confidence right now, I really believe I am going to hit good shots on pretty much every shot. I don't pull off all of them - I hit my tee shot on the seventh in the water - but the majority of them came off well and I rolled in some nice putts.

"I'm really, really happy with how I played, I heard it's tough to come out the week after you have won and play well but I felt pretty relaxed in the days leading up to the tournament and I just wanted to go out and see if I can put some solid shots together and I managed to do that today and put myself in a good position. Hopefully I can keep it up.

"I wasn't expecting to shoot 65 today, I knew I was playing well but I won last week so everything that happens this week or next week is going to be icing on the cake. I am just trying to enjoy the ride."

Schwartzel was five-under for his first six holes and annoyed at not capitalising on such a blistering start, declining to speak to reporters afterwards.

The former Masters champion won his first European Tour title at Leopard Creek in 2005 and triumphed by 12 shots last year, just a week after winning the Thailand Open by 11 strokes.

The 29-year-old has also finished second four times in what he unsurprisingly describes as his favourite event - an event in which he was a cumulative 81 under par before Thursday.

That total soon improved as Schwartzel started from the 10th with five birdies in his opening six holes, before a bogey on the 17th saw him reach the turn in 33.

A double-bogey on the first then dropped him back to just two-under par and revived painful memories of last week's South African Open, where he held a three-shot lead early in the final round, but ran up a triple-bogey six on the sixth and also took a double-bogey on the 10th.

The world number 21 did make three birdies in the last eight holes at Glendower to finish joint fourth and also responded quickly here, holing from 12 feet for a birdie on the second and from around 50 feet for another on the par-three seventh.

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