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The putter hauled out of the garage was a cold implement for Rory McIlroy, as the Northern Irishman’s play on the greens at Caves Valley in the suburbs of Baltimore proved costly as he posted a second round 70 to add to his 64 for a 10-under-par midway total of 134 that left him cast six shots adrift of midway leader Bryson DeChambeau.
DeChambeau overpowered the Tom Fazio design with a stunning second round 60 – his birdie putt for a 59 on the 18th was never on line – that gave the American the 36-holes lead on 16-under 128, a stroke clear of fellow American Patrick Cantlay who used his putter like a magic wand in also making a significant upward move with a 63 for 129.
McIlroy never quite got into the same rhythm as his opening round 64, following up with a 70 that featured four birdies and two bogeys as he was left in the wake of DeChambeau.
On the front nine, McIlroy looked set to make a move with a birdie on the par-five second and, after a bogey on the par-four fifth where he drove into rough and then into a greenside bunker, he responded with back-to-back birdies on the sixth (from 18 feet) and seventh (from eight feet) to turn in 34.
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A bogey on the 10th was offset by a birdie on the par-five 16th, in tied-seventh position as he signed his card.
DeChambeau had a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th to sign for a 59 but misread the line. As he put it, “It was an awesome opportunity. I’d birdie opportunities on 17 and 18 and it didn’t happen.
“But I’m still really proud of the way I handled myself and it’s great to feel some pressure again . . . I was saying on the [18th] fairway, ‘one more, come on’ and I hit a great shot, just misread the putt.”
Playing either side of a weather-delay, Shane Lowry got to finish his second round before darkness ended play for the day.
Four under through 14 holes when the players came off the course, Lowry birdied the par-three 17th after a beautiful iron to six feet but a bogey on the tough 18th saw him sign for a four-under 68 to move to five under for the tournament.
Patrick Cantlay is a shot behind DeChambeau on 15 under after a brilliant 63, while world number one Jon Rahm returned to the course early on Saturday to finish off his second round, a bogey on the last leaving him two shots off the pace after a 66.
LEADERBOARD
Par 72, US unless stated
128 Bryson DeChambeau 68 60
129 Patrick Cantlay 66 63
130 Jon Rahm (Esp) 64 66
132 Sergio Garcia (Esp) 65 67, Sung Jae Im (Kor) 67 65
133 Abraham Ancer (Mex) 66 67, Hudson Swafford 67 66
134 Sam Burns 64 70, Rory McIlroy (N Irl) 64 70
135 Lucas Glover 68 67, Sebastian Munoz (Col) 67 68, Xander Schauffele 67 68, Aaron Wise 69 66, Erik van Rooyen (Rsa) 67 68
136 Paul Casey (Eng) 68 68, Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn) 67 69
137 Dustin Johnson 67 70, Brooks Koepka 70 67, Kevin Na 72 65, Charl Schwartzel (Rsa) 71 66, Alexander Noren (Swe) 71 66, Harold Varner III 67 70
138 Brian Harman 69 69, Kyoung-Hoon Lee (Kor) 69 69
139 Daniel Berger 68 71, Harris English 69 70, Tony Finau 67 72, Viktor Hovland (Nor) 70 69, Matt Jones (Aus) 69 70, Shane Lowry (Irl) 71 68, Maverick McNealy 69 70, Scottie Scheffler 73 66, Webb Simpson 67 72, Justin Thomas 68 71, Jhonattan Vegas (Ven) 69 70, Harry Higgs 72 67
140 Corey Conners (Can) 70 70, Cameron Davis (Aus) 73 67, Talor Gooch 69 71, Emiliano Grillo (Arg) 67 73, Charley Hoffman 69 71, Mackenzie Hughes (Can) 69 71, Cameron Smith (Aus) 68 72, Tom Hoge 69 71
141 Patton Kizzire 69 72, Jason Kokrak 73 68, Jordan Spieth 71 70, Kevin Streelman 71 70, Lee Westwood (Eng) 71 70
142 Chris Kirk 71 71, Joaquin Niemann (Chi) 68 74, Carlos Ortiz (Mex) 68 74, Keith Mitchell 72 70
143 Keegan Bradley 67 76, Stewart Cink 69 74, Billy Horschel 71 72, Kevin Kisner 72 71, Ryan Palmer 68 75
144 Cameron Champ 70 74, Max Homa 72 72, Robert Streb 73 71, Cameron Tringale 73 71
145 Russell Henley 72 73, Si Woo Kim (Kor) 74 71, Marc Leishman (Aus) 69 76, Phil Mickelson 68 77, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa) 71 74
146 Branden Grace (Rsa) 75 71
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