Rory McIlroy closed to within five shots of the lead at the halfway point of the US PGA Championship.
The 37-year-old’s round of 67 was enough to not only ensure he made the cut, which was far from certain after a four-over opening round which he described as “s***”, but kept alive potential of a victory push.
Two birdies in his first four holes raised hopes of a Friday charge up the leaderboard for the six-time major champion at Aronimink Golf Club in south-west Philadelphia.
A number of chances came and went but only two players have shot lower than McIlroy’s round this week and he will resume his quest for back-to-back majors on Saturday at one over par, five adrift of Americans Alex Smalley and Maverick McNealy at the top of the leaderboard.
World number one Scottie Scheffler earlier battled to a one-over par round to keep himself in contention on a congested leaderboard, while the best round of the championship was delivered by Chris Gotterup – who surged into the mix with a superb 65.
McIlroy started his round eight off the clubhouse lead, needing to make a move, and began well as excellent approach shots yielded his two early birdies.
He clung on well to par at the eighth after chipping out of the rough but birdie chances slipped away, McIlroy visibly frustrated after missing at the par-five ninth.
The pace of play was agonisingly slow all day and McIlroy took an opportunity for a sit down as he waited to tee off on the 10th.
The Northern Irishman was chipping away and picked up another shot at the 12th. A golden birdie chance slipped away at the par-five 16th as he was unable to make further inroads.
The morning starters had battled a strong breeze which made the challenging greens even more of a test, but that dropped as the evening drew in and yielded birdie chances.
One man who was taking his opportunities was McNealy. He eagled the 16th before making birdies at one, two and five to stretch the leading mark to six under for the first time.
But he came back to the pack with a couple of late bogeys to join Smalley, who began the day in a seven-way tie for the lead and posted a one-under round of 69.
There is a six-strong group a shot back at three under, including Gotterup and former Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama, with 15 players within two shots of the lead at halfway for just the third time in major history.
European Ryder Cup star Ludvig Aberg shot the second-best round of the opening two days, with a sparkling 66 bringing him back into the frame at two under – alongside an illustrious group including Scheffler, Justin Thomas and Cameron Young.
It was a chastening day for a host of European stars. Shane Lowry began it just one off the lead but a dire morning, including inexplicably finding the water at 17, resulted in a round of 76 as he just clung on to the cut.
Justin Rose made two double bogeys but a moment of magic on his final hole, chipping in from the rough for eagle, ensured he will tee it up again on Saturday at three over.
Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre did not make the cut after rounds of 73 and 75 respectively.
