Charley Hoffman leads Deutsche Bank Championship, Rory McIlroy struggles

Charley Hoffman stormed into a three-shot lead at the halfway stage of the Deutsche Bank Championship as Rory McIlroy struggled to make the cut after a torrid back nine at TPC Boston.

Hoffman took advantage of benign early conditions to fire a superb eight-under 63, and his clubhouse target of 12 under was never under serious threat throughout the second day.

Scoring was significantly higher among the later starters, including McIlroy, as the world No 1 stuttered a 74 to slip to two over, while Jordan Spieth missed the cut for the second event running and Justin Rose also crashed out after missing a three-foot birdie putt at the last.

But Hoffman cruised into the 36-hole lead, picking up two birdies in four holes after starting at the 10th and then reeling off three in a row to turn in just 30 blows.

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The 2010 champion kept his momentum flowing with further birdies at the second, fourth and fifth holes, and he hit back from his only blemish at the eighth with his ninth birdie of the round at his final hole.

"This is one of those courses that when you get up on the tees it sets up well visually for me," the American said. "I also tend to make a few more putts on these greens. I'm in a nice position after two days, but obviously we have a lot of golf left."

Hoffman holds a three-stroke advantage over first-round leader Brendon de Jonge, who birdied three of the four four holes before struggling for consistency for the remainder of his round as he settled for a 68.

Johnson on the move

Open champion Zach Johnson leapt into contention on eight under after returning a flawless, six-birdie 65 to move to eight under alongside Rickie Fowler, Kevin Chappell and Matt Jones, who all fired 67s.

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Henrik Stenson (68) is a further shot adrift, while PGA and The Barclays champion Jason Day moved to six under after mixing four birdies with a lone bogey in a solid 68.

McIlroy got off to an encouraging start with a birdie at the long second, but he gave the shot back after finding water at the sixth and then failed to convert a series of makeable birdie chances before his round started to unravel at the 13th.

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A three-putt bogey prompted a dreadful run of four dropped shots in five holes which left him right on the cut mark at three over, although he regained his composure to get up and down from a greenside bunker for a welcome birdie at the last.

Luke Donald, needing a top-11 finish to guarantee a place in the 70-player field for the BMW Championship, remained on four under after carding one birdie, a bogey and 16 pars in his 71, while Ian Poulter took seven at the second and also bogeyed the last in a 72 that left him on three under.

But Spieth's poor form continued as he parred the opening 12 holes and then dropped three shots over the next five before a closing birdie was little consolation.

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