2024 Irish Open scores: Rory McIlroy in contention heading into the weekend at Royal County Down

Another under-par round at a difficult Royal County Down has Northern Ireland's very own in position to claim the 2024 Irish Open halfway through the event. Following up an opening 68 with a 1-under 70 on Friday, Rory McIlroy heads into the weekend at 4 under and only one off the pace set by the early 36-hole leaders Laurie Canter and Todd Clements.

"The conditions were quite benign for the first probably 11 or 12 holes," McIlroy 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."

Beginning his day on the second nine at Royal County Down, McIlroy meandered into his round. A left miss off the tee handcuffed the world No. 3 on the par-5 12th before another left miss — this time with an iron in hand — on the par-3 14th led to his second consecutive bogey on that hole.

Unlike Thursday when he followed up his bogey on No. 14 with another on No. 15, the 35-year-old made amends immediately. Connecting from just outside 25 feet, McIlroy put a circle on his scorecard and started maneuvering his way towards the top spot on the leaderboard.

An eagle on the par-5 1st from 12 feet helped the cause, but a dropped shot a few holes later on the par-4 5th ultimately put McIlroy at least one stroke behind heading into the weekend. While it may not be the pole position in which McIlroy wishes to find himself, it is a position he is all too familiar with as he attempts to grab his 41st professional victory and his 18th on the DP World Tour.

"I felt like the course was there a little bit for the taking this morning," McIlroy said. "We started on the back nine, too. So we had the two par 5s and the drivable par 4s, so to only play the back nine in even par, I was a little disappointed with. But I turned and made eagle on [No.] 1 and that made me feel a little bit better and played pretty solid on the way in. Felt like I left a couple of shots out there but you know still in a good position heading into the weekend."

One of the men McIlroy must track down is a winner already this summer in Canter. The Englishman strung together three birdies in a row around the turn and looks to solidify his place in the Race to Dubai. A former member of LIV Golf, Canter has a chance to become the first to play on the rival circuit and then earn a PGA Tour card.

Should he finish the DP World Tour season inside the top 10 among those who are currently not otherwise exempt, Canter will do so and set of a chain of events not yet seen should he accept it. A win would go a long way in doing so, but not even Canter is looking that far ahead as his attention rather turns to the large object in his rearview mirror.

"Taking Rory on at County Down is going to be a bit of a task," Canter said. "But let's give it a go."