Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Rory McIlroy would have been happy with par after today's round, as he speaks to us at the Sky Cart

Rory McIlroy kept himself firmly in contention at the halfway stage of The 147th Open despite having to abandon his aggressive approach in the second round.

McIlroy used his driver as often as he could in his opening 69 at Carnoustie and vowed to continue to attack the course throughout the tournament, but the wet conditions on Friday morning forced him to adopt "more conservative" tactics.

The 2014 champion was again errant with his driver early on in his round, but he scrambled hard to save pars before switching his focus to getting his ball in play from the tee.

Rory McIlroy was forced to use his driver more sparingly in the rain

The move paid off at the seventh as he struck a good approach to eight feet and converted the putt for his first birdie of the day, and he picked up another shot at the 10th to move to within a shot of the lead at the time.

McIlroy was unable to get up-and-down after a blocked approach to the 12th, but he responded with a good tee-shot in close to set up birdie at 13 and he added another at the long next despite finding a fairway bunker with his drive.

He faltered again after pulling his second to 15 into the greenside rough, and he did well to save par at the tough 17th after pitching to four feet before a 15-foot birdie putt at the last shaved the edge of the hole.

McIlroy had to adapt to the conditions and focus on finding fairways

After signing for his second straight 69 which lifted him to four under and two off the lead, McIlroy said: "Under those conditions, I would have taken that score today going out.

"It wasn't that bad, but it was just damp enough and cold enough that the game plan that I was trying to adapt to be aggressive and hit driver a lot, I just couldn't do it. All the bunkers were in play, and then with it being wet, with the ball being wet and the club face, the spin rate goes right on on the driver, and it could start to go either way.

"So I hit a lot more irons off tees and I was a lot more conservative, but ended up being the same score. So I'm pretty pleased with that.

McIlroy battled hard to stay within two of the lead

"There was a lot of patience. I was going really well through 11 holes and I hadn't made a bogey. I would have loved to have had a bogey-free round, but I made enough birdies to cancel them out on the back nine.

"I got a few good up-and-downs when I needed to today. On a day like that, you just need to scramble and keep yourself in it."

Asked how he assessed his chances of ending his four-year wait for a fifth major title, McIlroy was keen not to get ahead of himself and declared his satisfaction at having maintained his challenge in the tough conditions.

McIlroy was proud of how he played in the tough conditions

"There's still a long way to go, depending on what happens tomorrow going into Sunday," he added. "Then over 36 holes, a lot of stuff and a lot of things can happen, but I'm in a great position going into the third day.

"I was probably top 10 going into the third day at Birkdale last year, so it's similar enough, but I'm happy. I feel like I played in the toughest of the conditions, and definitely our side of the draw, we had to sort of tough it out a little bit. It was a little more difficult. So I'm happy to be in with a shot."