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Rory McIlroy described his second round in the US PGA Championship at Valhalla as “a job well done”.
The 25-year-old Northern Irishman followed up his opening 66 with a four-under 67 to move to nine under at the halfway stage.
World number one Rory McIlroy shot 67 to lead the US PGA Championship after round two.
McIlroy, who is bidding to complete a hat-trick of victories after his wins in The Open and the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational, made a slow start in torrential rain in Louisville.
He bogeyed the 12th, after starting at the 10th, but got back on track with birdies at the 13th and 15th and missed from six feet for another on the 16th.
But he made amends by holing from 30 feet for an eagle on the 18th and could have had another eagle on the seventh, missing from eight feet after a stunning five-wood approach.
That birdie took him to eight under and another birdie at the ninth left him two shots clear of the field when he completed his round.
“I think it was a job well done,” McIlroy told Sky Sports. “The conditions were very tricky whenever the rain was coming down, obviously, and you sort of just had to wait for the moment when you had a break in the weather and you could sort of take advantage of the soft conditions.
“But I would have taken 67 going out this morning so yes it’s a job well done.
"The golf course was pretty wet so the ball is not running anywhere and whenever it's like that and no rain coming down it is very playable and you could make a score."
The world No 1 insists he is not thinking about lifting the trophy at this stage and is just concentrating on his game.
“Honestly, I am not thinking about winning,” added McIlroy. “I am just trying to think about trying to play solid golf and every shot at a time.
“I am sticking to my couple of little thoughts I have out there, a couple of little sort of trigger words that I have, and it has been working well. So I just need to keep doing that for the next two days.”
