RORY McIlroy had moved to within a shot of the lead at the Emirates Australian Open last night, despite not having hit a ball in his second round.
The world number one is defending his title in Sydney this week and was two shots off the pace, set by Jordan Spieth, after a grinding two-under-par round of 69 in poor conditions on the opening morning at the Australian Golf Club. However, that gap narrowed early in the second round as Spieth went to the turn in one-over to drop to three-under for the tournament and into a tie for the lead with Aussie Aron Price.
That left McIlroy (right) well in the mix before his second round got underway in the early hours of this morning.
McIlroy, who edged out rival and home hope Adam Scott on the 72nd hole at neighbouring Royal Sydney last year, was slightly short of his best in his opening round, shooting level-par for his opening nine holes, where his birdie at the 14th was immediately given back at the next hole, but improved after the turn.
The 25-year-old birdied the first and picked up further shots at the fifth and ninth, either side of his second bogey of the day at the seventh.
McIlroy admitted he was hoping to improve as the week goes on and revealed he is still adjusting to the time difference. "I feel like there's a better score out there for me," he said. "I'm feeling a bit jetlagged."
Before the start of the event, world number three Scott was seen as McIlroy's chief danger in his bid to end a remarkable 2014 on a high, and while Scott slumped to a three-over round of 74 first up, he was rapidly making up lost ground last night.
The 2013 Masters champion played the first nine holes of his second round in four-under-par, with an eagle three at the par-five 14th followed by birdies at the 16th and 18th to leave him just two off the leaders.
This year's Masters runner-up Spieth set the round one pace, with a round of 67 which included six birdies and two bogeys, but he struggled to keep that up on the resumption, trading two bogeys with a birdie in his first nine holes last night.
Aussies Adam Crawford, Geoff Drakeford, Richard Green, Rhein Gibson and Scott Gardiner were alongside McIlroy on two-under late last night.