Rory McIlroy at Players Championship 2016: Friday Leaderboard Score, Reaction

Despite a pedestrian opening round, Rory McIlroy willed his way into contention at the Players Championship by firing an eight-under 64 during Friday’s second round at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedre Beach, Florida.

The Northern Irishman improved upon his first-round 72 drastically and entered the clubhouse in a tie for sixth place, just two strokes behind leaders Jonas Blixt and Alex Cejka.

Here is a look at the leaderboard with full results available at PGATour.com:

McIlroy began on the back nine Friday and came out firing with a seven-under 29 during his first nine holes. Here is a rundown of the four-time major champion’s entire scorecard:

According to ESPN Stats & Info, McIlroy’s performance on the back nine tied a record set by Shane Lowry Thursday:

Rory McIlroy: 29 on the back 9 at #THEPLAYERS, tying the record for the back 9 – set Thursday by Shane Lowry

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 13, 2016

The 27-year-old star stepped onto the course with purpose on Friday, as he birdied each of his first four holes.

That included this well-struck putt on the par-four 12th:

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McIlroy’s putter was nearly automatic on the back nine, but as seen in this video of his approach on the par-three 13th courtesy of PGATour.com, his iron play was on point as well:

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After carding a score of four-under on his first four holes of the round, McIlroy finally had to settle for a par on the 14th, …

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