Leaderboard: Johnson keeps share of lead

PORTSTEWART, Northern Ireland (AP) — Defending champion Rory McIlroy looks set to miss the cut at the Irish Open in a blow to his preparation for the British Open. McIlroy shot 1-over 73 Friday in his second round over the links at Portstewart and was 1 over for the tournament, which he is hosting to benefit his foundation. He was four shots off the predicted cut mark. The No. 4-ranked McIlroy missed the cut at the U.S. Open last month and hasn’t had a victory in an injury-hit 2017 so far. Jon Rahm, playing in the same group as McIlroy, shot 67 and was a stroke behind leader Daniel Im (67) midway through Day 2. The British Open starts July 20 at Royal Birkdale.

Tiger Woods was watching the leaderboards, and he wasn’t alone. Woods returned to competition for the first time in 301 days, and just like his previous four comebacks from back surgeries, no one was quite sure what to expect. Matt Kuchar was among those who looked for Woods’ name whenever he passed a scoreboard at the Hero World Challenge. “Absolutely, we wanted the Tiger Woods update,” Kuchar said Thursday. “I think everybody was excited and couldn’t wait to see how he would do.” In his first tournament in 301 days — his first time competing since a fourth back surgery in April — Woods did fine. He made five birdies. He muffed two chips. He saved par. He twice dropped choice words. He once