Rahm takes off at CJ Cup but McIlroy still in the hunt

Jon Rahm shot a stunning nine-under 62 in the second round of The CJ Cup in South Carolina to tie Kurt Kitayama for the lead on Friday, but Rory McIlroy remains very much in the mix.

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Rahm and Kitayama are at 11-under after two rounds, one ahead of Cam Davis of Australia and Aaron Wise and two ahead of defending champion McIlroy.

McIlroy posted a 67, recovering from two bogeys on the front nine by shooting five-under 30 on the back nine. He had roughly seven feet for his sixth birdie of the day at No 18.

"I know if I just keep hitting good golf shots, even the tough holes are birdieable if you hit your ball well enough. There's plenty of chances out here," he said.

McIlroy won last year's CJ Cup, but at a different course in Las Vegas.

Shane Lowry is also sitting quite nicely on seven-under, one ahead of Seamus Power.

Rahm poured in four straight birdies at holes three to six at Congaree Golf Club to get his round going. His approach at the par-four 17th trickled just over the lip of the cup and left him a one-foot birdie, his third in a row and his 10th of the day.

"I thought I was 20 feet short," Rahm said. "I thought it wasn't moving because it was a shadow and we couldn't really see it. Then obviously the crowd let us know. That was a really good feeling swing."

The world No 5 had a faint chance at 59, needing an eagle on the final hole. But Rahm missed the green and had a long three-putt bogey, the only blemish on his card.

Kitayama shot a six-under 65 to reach 11-under for the event. He had three birdies and two bogeys through 10 holes before coming alive with a birdie-eagle run at 11 and 12, followed by birdies at the 16th and 18th holes.

At the par-five 12th, Kitayama holed out for eagle from a greenside