Updated McIlroy stays patient at testing Royal County Down

Rory McIlroy will head into the weekend within touching distance of the lead at the Amgen Irish Open at Royal County Down.

The Holywood star added a second-round 70 to his opening 68 to sit at four-under-par overall, just one behind early halfway leaders, Englishmen Laurie Canter and Todd Clements, who shot 68 and 71 respectively on Friday.

Playing the back nine first, McIlroy enjoyed a steady round with just the one birdie and two bogeys, but his day did burst into life - albeit briefly - when he rolled in a superb eagle put on the first hole, his 10th.

"I would have liked to have taken advantage of the easier conditions this morning," McIlroy admitted.

"Those first nine holes, you're not going to see RCD playing any easier. Then when the sun went it got a little colder and the wind started to come out of a different direction.

"It fooled me on that tee shot on the fourth and five, seven, eight and nine played tricky with that wind.

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"But it was just a matter of making sure I was here for the weekend and give myself a chance. Sort of job done for the first two days and turn my attention to the weekend.

"It’s much better than nine years ago here when I was watching the third round on TV. Happy to be here for the weekend and happy to give myself a chance."

Canter's round began with a bogey on the 10th - his first - but he dropped just one more shot all day and found five birdies to get to five-under-par overall.

Clements, who carded a superb 66 on Thursday, had a more ordinary day on Friday with two bogeys cancelling out his two birdies for an even-par round, leaving him alongside Canter on five-under-par.

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