McIlroy plays his way into contention at Scottish Open
· RTE.ieRory McIlroy continued his slow-but-sure return to form ahead of next week's 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush with a tidy five-under-par second round 65 at the Scottish Open this morning.
After a three-birdie finish to an otherwise ordinary opening round on Thursday, the Masters champion carried on where he left off when he got his second round under way this morning.
McIlroy raced through his opening seven holes in five under to at one point grab a share of the lead.
His pace slowed considerably after that racy start and, following a sixth birdie at the par-four fifth - his 14th, having started on the 10th - he would drop his only shot of the day on the eighth.
McIlroy ended the second round among a handful of players tied for sixth on seven under, while American Chris Gotterup soared to the top of the leaderboard by equalling the course record.
World number 158 Gotterup carded nine birdies in a bogey-free 61 to finish the second round on 11 under.
England's Harry Hall sits two strokes off the lead after posting a 64 to finish the day in second place.
Compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick, the 2022 US Open champion, is joint third alongside Marco Penge following respective rounds of 63 and 67 and Swede Ludvig Aberg, who made eight birdies before bogeying the last for a 65.
US Open champion JJ Spaun is set to miss the cut after three bogeys in a 72 left him two over, while world number one Scottie Scheffler is tied in 21st place after shooting a second round 68 to sit five under.
Pádraig Harrington, who opened with a 69, followed up with a 70 and just made the cut on one under.
Speaking after his round, McIlroy told reporters: "The conditions were so good for us this morning. It felt like if you didn't play that first nine in three or four under, you were losing strokes to the field.
"I did a lot of good things today, a couple of loose shots here and there but overall it was a good day.
"I’m excited for the weekend, right in contention going into the last two days, and you know that's where if there is anything you need to work on in your game, that's where it's going to show when you're under that sort of pressure trying to win a golf tournament."