McIlroy excited to be in Shanghai contention

Rory McIlroy is one shot off leader Matthew Fitzpatrick at the halfway stage of the WGC-HSBC Champions in Shanghai. Fitzpatrick managed a bogey-free second round of 67 and sits on 11-under par, one shot ahead of McIlroy. The world numbr two did card two bogeys during his second round but the Northern Irishman finished off with an eagle as he also signed for a 67. The 30-year-old was happy with his performance over the first two rounds and hopes he can sustain his challenge for the title over the weekend. “Delighted with the first two rounds,” said McIlroy. “To put myself right in contention going into the weekend is something that I wanted to do. “It’s something that I haven’t done a lot of over the last few weeks. I’ve sort of had bad starts and then clawed my way back into a good position at the end but to be right in the tournament after two days, I’m excited.” Defending champion Xander Schauffele of the USA shares third place with Australia’s Adam Scott and South Korea’s Sung-Jae Im on -9 while Victor Perez and Haotong Li are a further shot back.