PGA Championship: Rory McIlroy Up and Running

Rory McIlroy will begin Friday’s PGA Championship second round five shots off the pace but satisfied to have come through a testing examination of the left ankle he injured just five weeks ago.

Dustin Johnson leads the final major of the season having set the pace at Whistling Straits with an opening round of 66, six under par, good enough for a one-stroke advantage over Sweden’s David Lingmerth.

World number one and defending champion McIlroy, playing competitively for the first time since June’s US Open having damaged ankle ligaments playing football on July 4, had to be content with his one-under 71. He had missed an opportunity to close the gap on the lead at the 18th when he missed first the green with his approach shot at the 520-yard par four hole and then a 16-foot par putt.