Northern Irish golf ace Rory McIlroy missed the cut at the Irish Open as his rival compatriot Graeme McDowell moved into joint second at the tournament.
McIlroy, who is the highest-ranked player in the field at number six, had a 69 but after his opening 74 it was not enough.
According to The BBC, McDowell, meanwhile, had a fine 66 in round two to advance to eight under par, leaving him in a group of three sharing salad, two behind Finland's Mikko Ilonen.
The former world number one, McIlroy, said that it is very frustrating, adding that to make six birdies and an eagle and shoot just two under means there had been a lot of mistakes and wasteful shots.
McIlroy said that to miss the cut for the second year in a row is not a nice position to be in as the Northern Irishman made an early exit at the Irish Open for a second year in a row.
McIlroy required finishing birdie-eagle to qualify for the weekend and although he holed from long range on the 17th, he was unable to chip in from the front of the green
On the other hand, McDowell, who has never managed a top-10 finish in his 12 previous attempts at the Irish Open, will join 2009 runner-up Robert Rock and France's Romain Wattel on eight under par, thanks to his recent 66.
