Rory red hot in Memphis

Rory McIlroy finished with three birdies in his last four holes and held a one-shot lead as the second round of the FedEx St Jude Classic drew to a close last night.

With his US Open title defence due to get under way in six days, McIlroy’s decision to search for form under tournament conditions here this week following three straight missed cuts was vindicated as he reached seven under par at TPC Southwind.

Having begun the day two off the four-under-par first-round lead of Jeff Maggert around the par-70, 7,244-yard Tennessee layout, the 23-year-old world number two was in red-hot form as he birdied the par-four second hole and then eagled the par-five third, following up with a birdie two at the 11th.