Rory McIlroy says he has got himself "back into the championship" after an impressive round of 68 on day two of the Open.

McIlroy was in danger of being cut from the tournament before reaching the turn on day one, having played the opening nine holes at Royal Birkdale five-over.

However, the Northern Irishman was in stunning form on the back nine, making birdies at the 11th, 15th, 17th and 18th to leave him just one-over going into Friday's play.

The four-time major winner, who is searching for a second Open crown, overcame the windy conditions to make birdies at the first, third and sixth to move to two-under for the tournament.

He did drop shots at the 13th and 15th to stall his progress but the 28-year-old birdied the par-five 17th, eventually signing for a two-under-par 68 to leave him one-under overall.

McIlroy is right in contention heading into Saturday and is hoping to keep the momentum going after giving himself a shout of picking up the Claret Jug for the first time since 2014.

"I got off to a good start, which was important. The back nine is playing really, really difficult, so to birdie three of the first six and give myself that little bit of a cushion to play with was nice. I made some key up-and-downs on the start of the back nine," he told Sky Sports.

"To be in after two days and be under par for this championship after the way I started, I'm ecstatic with that. I hit some quality shots out there, I saw a lot of better iron shots and I saw some really good putts going in. So, yeah, there was a lot of quality out there and I was happy to see that. I just have to try to keep that going for the next two days.

"I set myself a target of being in a better position today than I was yesterday. I finished the first round one-over and I wanted to be at least level par or under par if possible. And I've been able to achieve that goal that I set myself. They're both huge rounds for very different reasons, but this was definitely the round that got me back into the championship."