Shane Lowry is just inside the top-20 after carding a one-under-par 69 in his second round at the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto.
After carding a blemish-free 65 in his opening round, Lowry made more unsteady progress on Friday.
Starting on the 10th, Lowry began with seven successive pars and then fell back to three under with back-to-back bogeys on 17 and 18, the former following a three-putt and the latter a consequence of a wayward drive into the trees at the par-5.
Lowry gained back the lost ground in one swoop, pitching in for eagle at the par-5 first hole (his 10th).
There was further frustration on the greens, however, as a birdie opportunity lipped out on the sixth before he finally recorded his first and only birdie of the day at his penultimate, draining a 13-footer to reach the midway point at six under.
It’s been a memorable week for Ben James, who holds the outright lead on 10 under after a stunning round of 63.
The 23-year-old, making his first start as a PGA Tour member, opened with an eagle and carded five further birdies en-route to a round of 63.
James is one stroke clear of a quintet of players in second spot, US Ryder Cup player Sam Burns, Li Hoatong, Keith Mitchell, Jackson Suber and Sweden’s Jesper Svensson.
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka is two strokes off the lead on eight under after a colourful front nine.
Starting on 10, Koepka, who returns to the site of his last US Open triumph at Shinnecock Hills next week, posted an outward nine of 32, which included an eagle, a double-bogey, four birdies and a bogey. This gave way to a more sedate and underwhelming inward nine, with a dropped stroke at second and eight pars.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood is also part of the group on eight under, recording seven birdies with just two dropped strokes in his second round.
Lowry is part of a large grouping on six under which also includes his Ryder Cup team-mate Bob MacIntyre and Sahith Theegala.
Séamus Power missed the cut despite a bogey-less second round of 68 which brought him back to one under par for the tournament – one stroke outside the projected mark.
Pádraig Harrington also missed the cut after he finished four shots further back on three over after a 70.