Rory McIlroy five off the Open lead after second-round 69

IN THE HUNT: Rory McIlroy during day two of The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile.

Rory McIlroy sits five shots off the Open Championship lead after signing for a two-under par 69 at a Dunluce course that had been offering low-scoring opportunities in mostly sunny and only slightly breezy conditions on the Causeway Coast on Friday.

The 2014 champion golfer again struggled off the tee, and saw a few scoring opportunities slip by, but he is still very much in this tournament led for now by another former champion in 2023 winner Brian Harman who sits on eight-under par.

McIlroy, as was the case the day before, just couldn’t get enough momentum going early on. He shot birdie, par, bogey, birdie, bogey, par through the first six holes and that summed it up.

Every time he did something, threatened something, he stuttered again.

The opening birdie made for the perfect start, and there was a fine save on the second hole after a penalty drop off the back of another wayward tee shot, but he was left with an awkward lie beside the lip of a bunker on the par-3 third and couldn’t rescue himself.

The birdie to follow, on the brutally tough and superb fourth hole, was utter class. An opening drive dead centre of the fairway to 348 yards, a superb iron approach to five feet and the birdie putt to finish it off.

Chants of ‘Rory, Rory, Rory’ sprouted instantly from the enormous cavalcade of supporters that again attached itself to Northern Ireland’s favourite son, only for the following fifth to turn pear-shaped for him straight after.

One of the most scenic holes in golf, the sun was blazing as McIlroy’s group teed off, but the Masters champion found a bunker short and to the left on what is a drivable par-four and again couldn’t save himself further hardship on his card.

Six pars followed to leave him where he started the day, on one-under par, before a birdie at the par-five 12th put him into the red for the day’s work.

That was followed by another birdie on the par-four 14th. There were no bogeys from the 6th onwards.

The weather turned mid-afternoon, torrential rain pounding down as McIlroy made his way down 18 and Shane Lowry, who carded a one-under par 70 on Thursday despite catching the worst of Thursday’s conditions, was on the first green.

Rory McIlroy plays a shot from the rough on the 11th. Pic: ©INPHO/Ben Brady.

The wind was turning too. What had been a southerly was now coming in from the north with the forecast suggesting that it would dip as the evening wore on but it is what promises to be persistent rain that will concern the late starters.

Rasmus Hojgaard, off form most of the summer, posted the clubhouse lead at lunchtime with a second-round 68 that left him five-under at the halfway mark.

The Dane carded six birdies and three bogeys but was overtaken early in the afternoon by Harman.

The American hasn’t posted a top-20 in a major since winning the Claret Jug two years ago but this is a course that suits his game, not least his putting skills, and the 38-year old put together a superb round after a first-day 69.

A bogey-free 65, topped off with his sixth birdie of the day on the tricky par-four 18th, left Harman on eight-under par and one ahead of Haotong Li who started the day four-under and had leapfrogged up to seven-under after five holes.

Fine rounds were coming thick and fast.

Robert MacIntyre hit a brilliant 66 to finish on five-under, US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley carded a blemish-free 68 and Bryson DeChambeau may slip inside the cut with a superb 65 after a round one 78 that has him at one-over par, right on the current cut.