Rory McIlroy has slipped off the pace at the BMW Championship in St Louis after a lacklustre second round, dropping five shots behind new leader Wyndham Clark. The Masters champion, who had shared the lead following a superb opening 66, could only manage a one-under-par 69 on Friday, leaving him tied for seventh going into the weekend at this key FedEx Cup play-off event.

Wyndham Clark produced a bogey-free round to move to 12 under par, taking a one-shot lead over Gary Woodland, with JJ Spaun a further shot back in third. McIlroy, on seven under, said his ball-striking was not as sharp as the previous day and that he planned to head to the driving range to work on his game before round three. He credited some strong par saves, particularly on the back nine, for keeping him in touch with the leaders despite his only bogey coming at the par-five eighth.