FedEx Cup champion Rory McIlory raced up the mountains and the leaderboard with a second round 63 in the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

RORY McIlroy produced a blistering finish to day two of the Omega European Masters and sits just one shot off the lead heading into the weekend, at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club.

Malaysia’s Gavin Green posted a round of 64 from the very first group of the day to set the target at 11-under par.

And while nobody could catch him, McIlroy whipped the crowds in Crans Montana into a frenzy as he picked up five shots in his last five holes in a second round 63.

McIlroy said: “Going out this afternoon eight shots off the lead, you know there are scores out there, but you don’t want to push too hard. Getting myself much closer to the lead going into the weekend was nice.

“I felt like I swung it a bit better today than yesterday. I hit the driver better, definitely hit better iron shots,” McIlroy added.

“The confidence that gives you throughout the round to take on that pin on 16 for example. If I hadn’t hit the shots I hit previously, I might have gone a bit left of it.

“I’m excited to give myself another chance to win. Would have been easy for me to take my foot off the gas after last week, but I really wanted to come here and play well,” said last week’s winner of the $15million FedEx Cup at East Lake GC, in Georgia.

“Hopefully two more good days of golf left in me, give myself a chance to win this tournament, which I’ve had a great chance to win before. I would love to add this title to the list.”

The Northern Irishman came within a whisker of claiming his maiden European Tour victory in Crans in 2008.

And in his three appearances in the Swiss mountains McIlroy has never finished lower than seventh.

The World No. 2 looked right at home from the moment he teed off eight shots behind Green, who represented Malaysia in the 2016 Rio Olympics, in the second round.

Green, who is looking for his maiden European Tour victory having won 21 times as an amateur, said: “It was just a little bit of misjudgment on the first, and then things got hot.

I played well, hit a lot of greens, made some putts. Just kept the ball rolling. I’m just trying to enjoy it and play as well as I can. That’s all I can ask for.

“The atmosphere and views are amazing. In Malaysia we don’t have anything like this. I’ve been here a couple of times now and the views never get old.

“The altitude is similar to where I went to university in New Mexico, Albuquerque, it’s a few thousand feet too. I’m pretty used to how altitude works. It’s just when it’s cold it gets a little tricky. But adjustments made and it’s been really fun.”

Tommy Fleetwood, the 2017 Race to Dubai winner, is also in the group at 10-under alongside McIlroy, Australia’s Wade Ormsby, Austrian Matthias Schwab and Argentina’s Andres Romero – whose round of 61 was the lowest of the week so far.

Fleetwood said: “I’ve worked on the putting green the last couple of days on my stroke, so it’s just nice to see some roll in.

“I feel like we’ve read them well and not given anything away on the greens, which is a massive key to scoring. Hopefully I can keep that up for a couple of days.

The runner-up at the Open at Royal Portrush added: “Out here you are playing against 156 of the best players in Europe. Every week there will be 10, 20 guys at least playing really well.

“To make the cut these days you’ve got to play really well. And then there’s the guys who are playing really, really well. Seventy-two holes is a long time to keep concentration.

“When you tap in on the first on Thursday morning it’s equally as important as when you finish on Sunday.

“It’s just nice to keep putting myself in positions and hopefully I’ll start winning more. Maybe that will start this week,” said Fleetwood, whose last win came in Abu Dhabi at the start of 2018.

Schwab, looking for his maiden win in Europe, said: “Bogey free after two rounds is great.

“Other than that, I played really well yesterday and I played solid today, not as good – my irons and my long game wasn’t as sharp – but still I didn’t make too many mistakes and I’m happy with where I’m at.

“I worked out a schedule for the last 10 or 11 events which fit me and my game. I was trying to include enough rest time as well,” said Schwab, who has two top fives this season.

“It worked well in Prague, last week I had a nice week at home, and I guess it’s working well again this week.

“I’ve watched Rory on TV growing up, so it’s awesome that he’s up there. But in the end it doesn’t really matter who’s around me or who’s in the lead, I’ll just try to do my best to play good golf.”

Italian Lorenzo Gagli and Hideto Tanihara, from Japan, are two shots further back at eight-under.

The pair are a shot clear of 55-year-old 2010 champion Miguel Ángel Jiménez, his fellow Spaniard Adri Arnaus and another Italian in Renato Paratore.

For live scoring click here.

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Rory McIlory admitted if he could have one last round back it would be his first appearance at Crans-sur-Sierre when the rookie lost a play-off. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

NEWLY-crowned FedEx Champion Rory McIlroy has had many incredible highs in his stellar career… but if he could take one tournament back, it would be the Omega European Masters of 11 years ago.

The Northern Irishman was playing his rookie European Tour season and while he had put in some excellent performances, the then 19-year-old had yet to claim that maiden win.

After three days at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club he held a four-shot lead and while that had been narrowed on Sunday, he stood over a five-foot par putt on the last that would have seen him lift the trophy.

His effort slid by and Frenchman Jeff Lucquin went on to win the play-off and claim his only European Tour title.

The four-time Major winner and Ryder Cup star has gone on to savour some sensational moments over the years, earning €36million in prize money in Europe alone since 2007.

After the high of last week at East Lake in Atlanta when he claimed the $15million prize, his next target is to reclaim the World No. 1 spot, starting with a positive performance in Crans Montana.

McIlroy, the current World No. 2, said: “I had a wonderful opportunity to win my first event on Tour here.

“I was leading going into the last day, had a one-shot lead playing the last and wasn’t able to make par from there.

“I was beaten in the play-off. It’s still to this day the one event I think of that I would like to re-do – get a mulligan.

“The first time I was here I fell in love with the place, the people, the atmosphere. I’m glad that it worked out this year that I could be here.

“I would like to give myself another chance at least,” said McIlroy, who saw-off World No. 1 Brooks Koepka, who had put Rory to the sword in the WGC Fedex St Jude Invitational in Memphis last month, when the two went head-to-head in the last group in Georgia, on Sunday.

“I think Brooks (Koepka) has got about a three-point lead on me. I don’t know if that’s attainable with the tournaments I have left.

“I saw somewhere that there are more world ranking points on offer here than there have been for eight years,” added McIlroy, who was keen to prove a point by beating Koepka to claim his second FedEx Cup after his victory in 2016.

“Wentworth is obviously big for world ranking points. There’s a WGC coming up. There’s still a lot to play for. That’s my focus for the rest of the year, getting closer to that number one spot.”

Matthew Fitzpatrick is driven by two targets of his own as he goes in search of a third consecutive win at the Omega European Masters.

The Englishman is aiming to become the first player to win the title three years in a row and match the great Seve Ballesteros as a three-time winner of the event in the Swiss Alps.

Another victory at the breathtaking Swiss venue would also ensure the five-time European Tour winner has been victorious in every full season he has been on Tour – and in what could be a good omen, he has Ballesteros’ former caddie Billy Foster on his bag.

Fitzpatrick, from Hallamshire GC, in Sheffield, said: “I’m definitely thinking about winning again. Having won here the last two years, it is a big thing for me.

“I absolutely love coming to back this place, I have since I first came here in 2014. I try to win at least once every season. Obviously, winning five seasons in a row would also be a big deal for me.

“There is a stronger field this year. Also, the course has had a few changes to it. But if I can play my own game and play the way I’ve played in this place, there is no reason I can’t get a good result.

“I think he (Billy Foster) is feeling the pressure more than me. He’s interested in seeing how I play and how I see the course.

“We’ve got a good relationship and had a good season so far,” added Fitzpatrick.

The stellar field also includes a man who is hoping home comforts can inspire him to a second victory in the mountains.

Sergio Garcia lifted the trophy in 2005 and has never finished outside of the top 20 in five appearances.

The Spanish Major winner is so taken with the stunning surroundings that he owns a house just 100 yards from the Ballesteros-designed golf course, where he has spent the last week with wife Angela and daughter Azalea.S

Garcia, the 2017 Masters winner, said: “It’s always fun to play here in Crans. We live here some part of the year so it’s nice to sleep in your own bed and be at home.

“We’re excited for it, of course it looks really nice and the views are always unbelievable. We’ve been here for just over the week so we’ve done a little bit of practice and it’s nice to have Angela and Azalea with me.

“I’ve always enjoyed these kind of golf courses – tight, not particularly long but you have to drive the ball well and you have to be accurate. That’s usually the courses that I thrive on.

“There’s no doubt it is the Seve Ballesteros golf course so it’s good to be here and we always remember him.

“It’s a shame that he’s not with us but it’s nice to be playing here at his designed golf course and hopefully we’ll make him proud.”

For live scoring from Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club, click here.

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Tommy Fleetwood is back in Crans after missing the event in the Swiss mountains in 2018 with an eye on the European No. 1 spot. Picture by GETTY IMAGES

TOMMY Fleetwood is ready for another exciting end of season run in as he arrives at the Omega European Masters for the first time since his 2017 Race to Dubai-winning season.

The World No. 13 has become a model of consistency in recent years and has missed just a single European Tour cut since his last appearance in Crans Montana two years ago.

His first three appearance in the Omega European Masters at Crans-sur-Sierre Golf Club all yielded top 20 finishes, with his best result a fifth place finish in 2014.

The 2018 Ryder Cup star is looking forward to recapturing his early form in this event as he aims to be crowned European No. 1 for the second time.

The 28-year-old is currently in fourth position in the Race to Dubai rankings, thanks to six top 20 finishes – including second place at The Open, his second Major runner-up finish in the last two seasons – and believes he has a realistic chance of replicating his 2017 banner year.

Fleetwood said in Switzerland on Tuesday: “With the opportunities coming up, if you’re in the hunt until the end you’ve got a realistic chance in the Race to Dubai.

“This definitely feels like the start to the run in to the end of the season. It’s nice to have this stretch coming up, where with some good golf I could be in there again.

“I missed this event last year and the last time I played was before my son Frankie was born.

“It’s always such a beautiful place to come, everyone says it. You could talk about the venue all week. I’ve been looking forward to it because I missed out last year.

“That’s the first time I missed it since I became a pro. I’ve struggled the last couple of times after it being somewhere that I had always played well.

“The first year when I finished top 20, it was the best result of the year so far for me, my first year on Tour. It’s nice to be back with a different status.

“This week is a lot busier for me but that’s something that I hope continues because I’m doing something right. It will be nice to come back with a clear mind and playing better again.

“The Race to Dubai is well ahead of most things. To be part of that Ryder Cup team with Francesco Molinari and beat an American team that was so strong was amazing.

“But on an individual level, the Race to Dubai is well up there. I realised last year how difficult it is to retain it and this year I will chase it again.

“To win one when it’s your time is so important. I can look back on that and be very happy.”

Fleetwood is part of a stellar field teeing it up in the 80^th edition of the Omega European Masters, with World No. 2 Rory McIlroy and his fellow Major winners Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett and 2020 Ryder Cup Captain Padraig Harrington joining two-time tournament winner and defending champion Matt Fitzpatrick at the stunning Swiss Alpine venue.

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