MELBOURNE – After navigating some suspenseful moments on Royal Melbourne’s back nine, Rory McIlroy secured his spot in the weekend rounds of the Australian Open. He posted a solid 3-under 68 on Friday, ensuring he made the 36-hole cut.

With a tournament standing of 2-under, McIlroy found himself seven strokes behind the frontrunners, Daniel Rodriques, who shot a 64, and Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson, who carded a 66. Both leaders boasted impressive 9-under totals of 133.

Just a shot behind the leading duo, Min Woo Lee claimed third place with a 65 on Friday. Close on his heels were Adam Scott, who recorded a 66, and Cameron Smith, who managed a 65, thus breaking his streak of seven consecutive missed cuts, leaving them tied for fourth.

McIlroy’s journey began Friday at 1-over following a 72 in the opening round on Thursday. Tied for 57th and trailing the leaders by seven strokes, he was precariously positioned just one stroke above the projected cut line of 2-over.

On the front nine, McIlroy achieved one birdie alongside eight pars. The back nine was steady until a bogey on the par-5 14th, where he missed the fairway to the right, found himself beneath a tea tree, and his club snagged on a branch. Nevertheless, McIlroy managed to recover, finishing the hole with a 6.

That put him outside the 36-hole cut, but he birdied the next hole, the par-3 15th, to put himself back at even-par and safe, at least at that stage.

He parred the 16th to stay at even-par then perhaps made his shot of the tournament — from the patchy rough on 17, swinging through a small bush this time, where he tapped in for birdie after a long eagle putt went just wide.

That moved McIlroy to 1-under on the tournament and up about 20 places on the leaderboard, leaving him safe for the weekend, particularly after he birdied the 18th.

“With the wind, it played like a different golf course today,” McIlroy said. “I certainly haven’t played my best over the past couple of days but it was nice to finish the way I did. Delighted to be here for the weekend . . . seven isn’t too far back.”

On his whiffed shot from under the trees, he said: “Not one of my finer moments but nice to be able to come back over the last few holes.”

Co-leader Neergard-Peterson missed the cut last week at the Australian PGA Championship.

“Certainly I feel like I’ve proved over the last year or so that I have the level to compete out here and be in the thick of things on Sunday,” Neergard-Petersen said.

McIlroy, whose pre-tournament news conference included comments that Royal Melbourne was not the best sandbelt course in the city, had a wild opening round containing six bogeys and five birdies.

McIlroy, the Race to Dubai winner, is making his first appearance at the Australian Open since 2015 — he won it in 2013.

The winner of the Australian Open, which is the second event on the European tour’s new schedule of tournaments for late this year and 2026, receives a Masters exemption next year. And the top three finishers not already exempt will qualify for the British Open in 2026 at Royal Birkdale.

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf