Rory McIlroy survives putter stutter

Rory McIlroy is hot in the chase for the $10 million Tour Championship prize after overcoming a mid-round blip to lie two shots off the lead at East Lake last night.

Failure to maintain momentum has cost the Irishman dearly in all but two tournaments this year — the Irish Open back in May and the Deutsche Bank on the PGA Tour in August — and he was up to his worst tricks last night over the opening holes when even he hardly seemed to know what was coming next, before a brilliant run of birdies got him back on track.

McIlroy is two under after a round of 68.