August 29 - September 01
Crans-sur-Sierre GC, Crans Montana, Switzerland
€2,500,000
Live leaderboard
Round 1, Round 3, Round 4

Rory McIlroy produced a blistering finish to day two of the Omega European Masters to sit one shot off the lead heading into the weekend at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

“Going out this afternoon eight shots off the lead, you know there are scores out there but you don't want to push too hard. Getting myself much closer to the lead going into the weekend was nice.

“I felt like I swung it a bit better today than yesterday. I hit the driver better, definitely hit better iron shots. The confidence that gives you throughout the round to take on that pin on 16 for example. If I hadn't hit the shots I hit previously, I might have gone a bit left of it.

“I'm excited to give myself another chance to win. Would have been easy for me to take my foot off the gas after last week, but I really wanted to come here and play well. Hopefully two more good days of golf left in me, give myself a chance to win this tournament, which I've had a great chance to win before. I would love to add this title to the list.”

Malaysia's Gavin Green posted a round of 64 from the very first group of the day to set the target at 11 under par, and while nobody could catch him, McIlroy whipped the crowds in Crans Montana into a frenzy as he picked up five shots in his last five holes in a second round 63.

“The atmosphere and views are amazing," said Green. "In Malaysia we don't have anything like this. I've been here a couple of times now and the views never get old. 

“The altitude is similar to where I went to university in New Mexico, Albuquerque, it's a few thousand feet too. I'm pretty used to how altitude works. It's just when it's cold it gets a little tricky. But adjustments made and it's been really fun.”

The Northern Irishman came within a whisker of claiming his maiden European Tour victory at this event in 2008, and in his three appearances in the Swiss mountains has never finished lower than seventh. The World Number Two looked right at home from the moment he teed off eight shots behind Green in round two.

The 2017 Race to Dubai winner Tommy Fleetwood is also in the group at ten under par alongside McIlroy, Wade Ormsby of Australia, Austrian Matthias Schwab and Argentina's Andres Romero - whose round of 61 was the lowest of the week so far.

“I've worked on the putting green the last couple of days on my stroke, so it's just nice to see some roll in," said Fleetwood. "I feel like we've read them well and not given anything away on the greens, which is a massive key to scoring. Hopefully I can keep that up for a couple of days.

“Out here you are playing against 156 of the best players in Europe. Every week there will be ten, 20 guys at least playing really well. To make the cut these days you've got to play really well. And then there's the guys who are playing really, really well. 72 holes is a long time to keep concentration.

“When you tap in on the first on Thursday morning it's equally as important as when you finish on Sunday. It's just nice to keep putting myself in positions and hopefully I'll start winning more. Maybe that will start this week.”

Italian Lorenzo Gagli and Hideto Tanihara of Japan are two shots further back at eight under par, a shot clear of 55-year-old 2010 champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez, his fellow Spaniard Adri Arnaus and another Italian in Renato Paratore.