Robert Allenby maintained his lead at the MasterCard Masters in Melbourne with a four-under-par second round 68.
McIlrory thrives alongside Baddeley
Collated Scores
Robert Allenby maintained his lead at the MasterCard Masters in Melbourne with a four-under-par second round 68.
The Australian - who opened with a 67 on Thursday - is a shot clear of fellow countryman Aaron Baddeley, who carded a best of the day 66.
Teenage sensation Rory McIlroy is in a group of four players four shots off the pace in a tie for third.
The 19-year-old from Northern Ireland had a 69 on Friday and reckons he has his playing partner Baddeley to thank for helping him relax.
Relax
McIlroy, who qualified for this season's European Tour after earning enough money in his first two events playing on sponsors exemptions, said: "It was fantastic. He's a really good guy. I met him on Tuesday night at the gala dinner and he gave me a lift home, which is pretty cool. He is a great player.
"As I said, he played very well today and I fed off that, trying to keep up with him. We got off to a good start. I think that whenever you play with players who are better than you, you try and up your game a bit. That's what I tried to do today," he said.
Baddeley was an 18-year-old amateur when he won the Australian Open, so what he told McIlroy about his career path was of great interest to the Irish youngster.
"Yesterday we chatted about how he spent the year on the Nationwide Tour and then got onto the PGA Tour. We were talking about stuff like that and what he learned over the course of seven years as a pro.
"We were chatting about normal stuff and that cropped up in conversation a couple of times," he said.
Impressed
Baddeley seemed equally impressed by McIlroy's approach to the game, and said there were aspects of it which were already superior to his own.
"He has a great game. He has a lot of good things in his golf swing. He is a really nice putter. He hits a lot of good putts. If they don't go in, they are burning the edge. He is a great kid. We had a great time out there together," he enthused.
"He is a better ball striker than I was at that age. He has a really good golf swing. I really like it."
McIlroy's visit to Australia is all part of a learning curve that will also take in South Africa and the Middle East over the next few months.
"I've got to travel a lot over the past couple of year playing amateur golf. I have been down in Melbourne once and in Sydney last year for the Aussie Open. The more experience you can get on different courses in different grasses and different conditions, the better.
"As a golfer you need to experience different conditions. That has been beneficial for me over the past couple of years," he added.
