Scott blunder opens the door for McIlroy and Lowry

Rory McIlroy lies just two shots off the pace - with Shane Lowry a further shot behind him - at the halfway stage of the BMW Championship following a late blunder by Australian Adam Scott.

Scott enjoyed a three-shot lead until making a double bogey on the 17th which left the top 32 players separated by just five shots on a top-quality leaderboard.

LEADERBOARD

"Overall I felt really in control today," Scott said after adding a 69 to his opening 65 at Wilmington Country Club to reach eight-under-par.

"When you're playing that way it always could be a couple better and a poor shot on 17 was quite costly.

"It's a good reminder for the weekend that I've really got to keep it under control and don't want to have too many get off the map and get out of position around here.

"I kept it in position really well all day and had so many good looks and was cruising there for a while. But I'm in great shape going into the weekend. I don't even know when the last time I led a tournament was."

Scott ended the day with a one-shot lead over world number one Scottie Scheffler, Jordan Spieth, Cameron Young and Corey Conners, with McIlroy part of a five-man group on six-under.

McIlroy, who chipped in for a birdie on the 18th to card a second consecutive 68, said: "It's funny, I probably didn't play quite as well today as I did yesterday but ended up shooting the same score.

"I'm probably coming off the golf course a lot happier than I was last night after dropping a few those last few holes and today picking a couple up.

"It's getting tricky. It's getting firm. It's only going to continue to get that way over the weekend, so it's nice to be in position."

Lowry had started the tournament with a five-under 66 for a share of third place.

He followed that