Rory McIlroy was glad to be in a strong position heading into the weekend at the Amgen Irish Open despite feeling he was not at his best in round two at Royal County Down.
The home hero carried some momentum into day two having finished his opening round with three birdies and, sitting just two off the lead in perfect conditions, the huge crowds gathered were ready for fireworks.
But Royal County Down is not for the faint hearted and the four-time Major winner dropped a shot on the 14th before picking it straight back up with a long putt on the next.
An eagle at the first after a second to 13 feet got the crowd cheering but the wind arrived on the way in and a bogey on the fifth left McIlroy with a 70 and a four under par total.
"The conditions were quite benign for the first probably 11 or 12 holes," he said. "Felt like I could have done a little more to take advantage of them.
"But then you know, once the sun sort of went away, it got a little colder again and the wind picked up and then those last few holes are playing quite difficult.
"So sort of felt like I played pretty good on the way in. Dropped one shot but overall, another under-par round, pretty pleased with it.
"Felt like I left a couple of shots out there but still in a good position heading into the weekend.
"Much better than nine years ago when I was watching the third round on TV. Happy to be here for the weekend and happy to give myself a chance."
McIlroy will continue to have huge crowds following him over the weekend as he looks for a second title at the island of Ireland's open and he is relishing the atmosphere on home soil.
"It's been amazing," he said. "I felt like even the crowds today were maybe a little bigger than they were yesterday and it was great. It's fun to play in an atmosphere like that."
