Late birdies ensure Rory McIlroy makes cut as Scottie Scheffler leads in Houston

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Three late birdies moved Rory McIlroy inside the cut line as Scottie Scheffler tied the course record to take the lead at the Texas Children’s Houston Open.

McIlroy was outside the cut before three successive birdies from the 16th lifted him to four-under-par on a day disrupted by thunderstorms.

After a round interrupted by a two-hour stoppage, McIlroy finished with a 66 as play in the second round was called off for the day as darkness fell.

That leaves him seven strokes off the pace set by world number one Scheffler, who shot an eight-under-par 62 to lead by one from Canadian Taylor Pendrith and Colombian Nico Echavarria.

“I holed a couple of putts,” McIlroy said. “That was it. It was nice to see a couple putts go in and get finished.

“It was a little dicey there at the end. Nice to finish the round the way I did.”

World number one Scheffler produced his best round since returning from a hand injury sustained while cooking at Christmas as he prepares to defend his US Masters title.

Playing before the worst of the weather at Memorial Park, Scheffler opened with two birdies and missed just one green in regulation as he added six more birdies and completed 36 holes without a bogey.

“It was important for me to stay patient out there,” said Scheffler. “It was nice to get off to a good start and kind of hold the momentum and keep the card clean.”

Echavarria was nine-under-par for his round when play ended with him on the 17th and facing a chip from the edge of the green to save par, having driven into the water.

Australian Min Woo Lee and Ryan Gerard were a shot further back on nine-under-par with work to do to complete their second rounds.

English duo Danny Willett and Matt Wallace were among those left waiting for the completion of the third round on Saturday to see if they would play over the weekend.

They were in the clubhouse on two-under-par, one shot outside the current cut line.