Rory McIlroy believes he is in a "great position" as he sits within touching distance of the leaders after two rounds at the US Open, while Tiger Woods is set to miss the cut after a disappointing second round. (More Sports News)
McIlroy ended Friday꧂'s action at three-under, keeping himself in contention behind Ludvig Aberg, Matthi๊eu Pavon, Patrick Cantlay and a host of other big names.
McIlroy, the 2011 champion, was amon🧔g the early starters and bogeyed two of his first six holes to fall from the lead after starting on the 10th tee.
However, he🐟 steadied the ship on the back nine and the leaderboard might hav💃e looked rosier had he not bogeyed his last hole of the day, the par-three ninth, having found the bunker.
"I was not quite as good with the pu༒tter [compared to round one] but still, overall in a great position going into the weekend," McIlroy said to Sky Sports.
"Some of the hole l♍ocations were definitely a little tougher and you sort of had to have your wits about you. I did a pretty good job at keeping some of the mistakes off the scorecard.
"I wish I had converted a couple more of the chances. I hit the ball pretty♉ well and think I only missed one fairway, so I had plenty of opportunities.
"I was two over pretty🌄 early. My goal going into thꦆat second nine was if I could get it back to even for the day, I would have been pretty happy.
"Got that birdie on three, I was trying to claw one back there,𒊎 then ultimately I gave one back again [on nine].
"With the way the golf course is and the way some of tho♏♏se hole locations are, I don't see anyone running away with it."
Aberg, Pavon and Cantlay were among the leaders a𝔍s Friday's action drew to a close, with Bryson DeChambeau one shot ahead of McIlroy, alongside Thomas Detry.
DeChambeau had a typically eventful round by mixing four bogeys with ꦺfive birdies, the last of which saw him finish with a flourish on the 18th.
Detry made a splash as✤ he carded an impressive 67. At one stage, the Belgian held the lead after reaching six-under for the day through 14 holes, though he slipped back slightly with two bogeys in his last four.
Hideki Matsuya🍨ma went one better than Detry with a four-under 66 at Pinehurst No.2 to ensure he sits in the top 10 heading into the weekend, on꧃e shot behind McIlroy.
Mean✃while, Woods followed up his opening round of 74 with a second round of 73, putting him on c🦩ourse to miss the cut at seven-over.
One of the shots of the day sawᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ Francesco Molinari avoid the same fate, though, as he sank a hole-in-one on the 18th when he required an eagle to make📖 the weekend.
PGA Championship winner Xander Schauffele is at one-under after posting a 69, but it was a 🎀tougher day fo🍎r world number one Scottie Sheffler, who faces an anxious wait to see whether he made the cut after ending Friday five-over.
