Sungjae Im takes halfway lead at Quail Hollow as McIlroy makes his move

The reigning Masters champion carded a four-under-par 67 to sit four shots behind halfway leader Sungjae Im.

McIlroy looked well off the pace early in his round. After making the turn at one under for the day and eight strokes adrift of the lead, the Northern Irishman found momentum with consecutive birdies at the 10th and 11th holes.

That sparked a run of scoring chances on Quail Hollow's back nine, with McIlroy adding further birdies at the 13th, 15th and 16th. His round ended on a sour note, however, after a bogey at the last when his par putt narrowly spun out following a bunker shot from beside the green.

"It was a good day to get myself back in the hunt, and feel like I have a real chance going into the weekend," McIlroy said. "I started to make some good swings, especially with the irons."

Tommy Fleetwood also stayed in the hunt after matching his opening-round 67 to sit one shot behind Im, while former PGA champion Justin Thomas was two strokes off the lead.

One of the surprise names near the top of the leaderboard is Alex Fitzpatrick, the younger brother of Matt Fitzpatrick. The PGA Tour rookie continued his impressive run of form after recently securing his tour card following victory at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.

Rickie Fowler made the biggest move of the day with a sparkling eight-under 63, the lowest round of Friday's play. Fowler rolled in nine birdies to climb to five under overall, alongside McIlroy and four shots behind the leader.

Cameron Young, already a two-time winner on the PGA Tour this season, posted a 70 to remain within striking distance at five shots back.

Im, meanwhile, backed up his opening-round 64 with a two-under 69 to maintain control of the tournament as he chases his first PGA Tour title since his 2021 victory in Las Vegas.

"I know this course very well, so I'm taking advantage of that," Im said. "And then the scrambling, because of the play with the Presidents Cup, I know where to miss the greens, I'm very familiar with this golf course. But I didn't putt very well today, but I'm happy with where I'm at."