Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has stormed into the clubhouse lead at the BMW PGA Championship after a seven-under 65 in round two at Wentworth.
The world number eight, 29, who won the title in 2014, is on 12 under par, with England’s Sam Horsfield, 21, his nearest rival on nine under.
McIlroy holed four birdies in a row on the back nine in his bogey-free round.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Ian Poulter are among the later starters at the European Tour’s flagship event.
England’s Robert Rock shot a 68 to move to seven under alongside Sweden’s defending champion Alex Noren and Thailand’s Kiradech Aphibarnrat and that trio are the closest contenders in the clubhouse.
Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell is a shot back from that trio, after his 67 took him to six under alongside South Africa’s Branden Grace and overnight leader Lucas Bjerregaard of Denmark.
Former world number one Lee Westwood’s 69 took him to five under, level with fellow Englishman Andy Sullivan. Scotland’s Richie Ramsay, England’s Chris Wood and Ireland’s Shane Lowry are at four under, while Paul Casey is on two under.
Horsfield, the world 285, only turned professional last year and is playing his debut season on the European Tour.
Orlando-based Horsfield, who was born in Manchester, bogeyed the 17th and holed a par on the 18th to card a 68 to add to Thursday’s 67.
McIlroy’s ‘best’ round of 2018
Four-time major champion McIlroy had trailed by two shots overnight, and missed short putts on the first three holes.
But he led by the turn after three birdies and extended his advantage by gaining shots on the 12th, 13th, 14th and 15th.
He was unable to birdie the 16th or 17th and had to settle for another par on the 18th after his approach to the par-five green plugged in a bunker.
“On the first three holes I hit it to six to eight feet and none of them went in and I thought ‘Here we go,”‘ said McIlroy. “But I played great after that. It was one of the best rounds of golf I’ve played this year, ball-striking-wise.
“I had everything sort of firing today and it was nice to take advantage of the opportunities I gave myself.
“There’s a lot of guys still to go out but hopefully I keep the lead and will be in the final group tomorrow. It will be nice to go out and feel that.”
He added: “It’s nice to live up to the billing [as pre-tournament favourite].”
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