WATCH: Rory McIlroy eagle at Genesis Invitational to aid recovery run with flawless second round

​McIlroy was left sitting on a two-under total tied in 32nd place after a recovery around Riviera Country Club to his opening 74.

The cut line was projected at one over past the top 50 on the leaderboard.

The Northern Irishman’s eagle delight arrived at the par five 11th to move him on to four under for the day bolstered by earlier birdies across the first and third holes of his second round.

McIlroy hit his 237-yard approach shot to nine feet before sinking the putt.

Another birdie then arrived on the 17th before he wrapped up his flawless round with a 14th par for 66 overall and a 32-place jump up the leaderboard.

Leader Patrick Cantlay was 11 under through the 13th hole in California, with McIlroy having started the day 10 shots back and at risk of the cut tied for 64th.

McIlroy suffered a string of setbacks across his opening appearance, dropping five shots alone across two late holes having entered the 12th on a three-under tally.

A birdie on the 10th had helped him build on a front-nine 33 which included birdies on the first and fifth plus run of pars.

But this was followed by a par at the par-five 11th before finishing with double-bogey and triple-bogey woes, respectively, on the 15th and 16th between bogey trouble over the 12th and 18th.

And Tiger Woods’ PGA Tour comeback ended prematurely after he pulled out during his second round.

The 48-year-old is still adapting to ankle fusion surgery, having undergone treatment in April last year. The 15-time major champion, tournament host this week, finished Thursday’s opening round at the Riviera Country Club on one-over par.

But he could not back that up a day later as he withdrew after six holes due to illness. Woods, who had suffered a back spasm in his first round, was yesterday driven back to the locker room by a rules official.