PGA Tour: Rory McIlroy two behind halfway leaders Jon Rahm, Kurt Kitayama in CJ Cup title defence

Jon Rahm holds a share of the lead at the halfway stage of The CJ Cup in South Carolina, with Rory McIlroy two strokes back as he chases a return to world No 1.

Rahm carded 10 birdies and a lone bogey in a brilliant second-round 62 at Congaree Golf Club, lifting him to 11 under and tied at the top of the leaderboard with American Kurt Kitayama.

Cam Davis and Aaron Wise are a shot off the pace in tied-third after back-to-back 66s, while a four-under 67 leaves McIlroy - who can leapfrog Scottie Scheffler at the top of world rankings - two strokes back and in fifth spot.

• The CJ Cup: Latest leaderboard
• McIlroy's year since CJ Cup success
• PGA Tour: Latest schedule, results

McIlroy was over par at the turn but moved back into contention with a 30-foot birdie at the 10th and back-to-back gains at the 12th, with further birdies at the 15th and 18th bolstering his hopes of a third victory of the year.

"I didn't take advantage of those first five holes, only playing them in one under," McIlroy said. "Then once you turn for that tough stretch, six through 11 really, it was nice to birdie 10 and birdie 12 to get back to even par. Then after 12, I finished really well with a few birdies coming in."

Live PGA Tour Golf

Rahm made four consecutive birdies from the third and holed out from the sand at the par-four eighth to turn in 31, with the Spaniard holing from 35 feet at the par-three 10th and 25 feet at the 13th to move seven under for the day.

The former US Open champion followed a birdie at the 15th by chipping in at the next and firing his approach at the 17th to tap-in range, leaving him requiring a hole-out eagle at the last for a sub-60 round, only for him to finish with a closing bogey.

Kitayama joins Rahm at the top after a six-under 65, with his highlight being a bunker hole-out for eagle at the par-five 12th, while Aaron Wise also reached 11 under until bogeying his penultimate hole.

England's Tyrrell Hatton and Ireland's Seamus Power are in the large group tied-sixth on seven under, with Seamus Power and former Masters champion Danny Willett a further shot back. World No 1 Scheffler posted a three-under 68, putting him eight behind in the group tied-31st also containing Matt Fitzpatrick and Tommy Fleetwood.

Watch The CJ Cup throughout the week live on Sky Sports. Live coverage continues on Saturday from 8pm on Sky Sports Golf.

Get the best prices and book a round at one of 1,700 courses across the UK & Ireland

Enter Course, City, or Postal Code

Search