Hideki Matsuyama will take a one-shot lead into the third day at the BMW PGA Championship after carding a superb second-round 64 at Wentworth.
The Japanese’s eight-under score for the day included two eagles, five birdies and one bogey to leave him 12-under for the tournament, one stroke clear of Justin Rose, Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg and Norwegian Viktor Hovlund.
Rory McIlroy’s charge through the back nine saw him escape the threat of missing the cut, but untidy play continued to plague him as he carded a level-par 72 to end the day on three under, nine shots behind Matsuyama.
Rose and Hovlund – the latter eagled the 18th for the second day running – followed their opening-round scores of 67 with respective 66s, while Aberg carded a 69 after bogeying the 17th.
Matsuyama said: “It’s my first time playing Wentworth. I wasn’t expecting that I would play this good, so I’m very happy with my round today.
“It wasn’t anything specific, it was more about flow. I had a really good flow since yesterday, so everything went well.
“Obviously, I would like to achieve something really big here. But the conditions are going to be changing and hopefully I can adjust to that. I’m looking forward to the weekend.”
Rose said he was delighted to be in contention at a tournament he had always wanted to win.
He added: “It would mean a lot (to win). I’ve always said it’s a bucket list event for me. I can’t deny it or hide from it.
“I’ve got a great weekend ahead of me. More choppy weather coming, so it’s going to be little bit see what happens. But I’m feeling comfortable. You’ve got to stay aggressive. Hammer down.”
Spain’s Pablo Larrazabal made it back-to-back rounds of 67 to finish the second day in outright fifth on 10 under, one shot ahead of Scottish pair Ewen Ferguson (68) and Richie Ramsay (69), England’s Aaron Rai (67) and Ryder Cup vice-captain Alex Noren (68), who are tied in sixth.
Three successive bogeys from the third had left the Masters champion and last week’s Irish Open winner McIlroy two shots outside the projected two-under mark required to progress to the final two rounds.
A birdie at the eighth – his first in 10 holes – started him heading back in the right direction and four in five holes immediately after the turn moved him to five under and far more comfortable.
However, having carved his drive out of bounds at the last, he finished with a double-bogey seven and sits among a clutch of 15 other players, including Shane Lowry (74), tied in 44th place.
Tommy Fleetwood also avoided the cut after a birdie-par-birdie finish in his second round 69 that left him two under at the halfway stage.
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