Matt Kuchar moved into a tie for the lead after the second round of the Memorial Tournament in Ohio on Friday after posting a second successive round of 66. He stands in first place at 12-under par with his fellow American Brendan Steele, who has only one US tour win in his career - in 2011.
Kuchar, who won this event in 2013, posted seven birdies on day two at Muirfield Village for his eight-under par round, while Steele also took advantage of the calm conditions with six birdies in his total of 67.
Another American, Gary Woodland, was in a tie for third place at 11-under with Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo.
Rory McIlroy shot 66 to move up to five shots off the leaders after switching back to a more conventional putting grip. Nonetheless he professed himself slightly annoyed with his day’s work, mainly because he was six under par with seven holes to go. “I thought it had the potential to be something quite special after 11 holes,” he said. “I don’t think you can ever be too disappointed with a 66, but at the same time, it had the potential to be a little bit better.”
World number one Jason Day was also five shots off the pace after finishing an erratic day with a 71, with Jordan Spieth a shot further back on six under. First day leader Dustin Johnson also had a 71, putting him in fifth place, three shots off the lead.
Among those to miss the cut were England’s Paul Casey and Argentina’s Angel Cabrera. Rickie Fowler also went home early – for the second straight tournament – despite a respectable 69 on the second day. He has now missed the cut three times in his last five starts.
