Rory McIlroy frustrated as Scottie Scheffler threatens to make the Tour Championship a procession

World number one Scottie Scheffler (-19) threatened to make the FedEx finale more of a procession than a contest as he continued to set the pace at the Tour Championship at East Lake golf club. The identity of his closest challenger flip flopped during the second round with Spain’s Jon Rahm (-13) surging through the field to claim second place before Xander Schauffele (-17) took up the gauntlet.

It would have been quite some tournament without Scheffler, the Masters champion, given the bunched leader board in his slipstream but he continued to keep his pursuers at arm’s length. Rory McIlroy endured one of those days where the goal of picking up shots remained frustratingly elusive. He finished his second round three under par and 10 under overall.

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Given the nature of his hooked tee shot in Thursday’s first round, one that disappeared over a fence and out of bounds and a precursor to a triple bogey seven, it was hardly a surprise that McIlroy pushed his opening drive on Friday into the right rough. Despite coming up short, he demonstrated an assured touch with a well-weighted chip to guarantee a par.

He missed long birdie chances on two and four but a failure to convert a 10-foot opportunity at the third might have irked a little. While McIlroy was becalmed in scoring terms others pushed through. Rahm got off to a fast start with three birdies in the first four holes, so too Max Homa who was five under for his round through 11 and eventually shot a 62 to move to nine under for the tournament.

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It was the Spaniard that provided the most zealous pursuit of Scheffler, six birdies through the first dozen holes moving Rahm to 12 under for the tournament. However, Scheffler still nurtured a comfortable six-stroke lead, as he picked up three shots to the turn.

McIlroy failed to make any inroads, having to rely on his scrambling ability to counteract errant driving. He also could not buy a putt — he missed a handful of chances inside 15 feet in marked contrast to his accuracy with the blade in the first round — managing just a single birdie through the first 12 holes.

Meanwhile on the DP World Tour it was a disappointing day for the Irish challenge — play was delayed for three hours due to thunderstorms with the result that the second round could not be completed — as none of that contingent is likely to play the weekend. Northern Ireland’s Jonathan Caldwell (-2) is closest but his second-round level par, 70, left him one shot outside the projected cut mark at three under.

David Carey (+2) is four shots adrift with eight holes still to play when golf resumes. It was more clearcut for the remaining Irish contingent, James Sugrue (+3) and Paul Dunne (+4) signed for four-over-par 74s respectively, Niall Kearney (+9) had a 73, while Cormac Sharvin withdrew from the tournament following an opening round of 79.

First round leaders Alejandro Canizares and Thriston Lawrence are three shots clear of third place with four and five holes respectively of their second rounds to complete.