Rory McIlroy secured his place for the weekend at the Australian Open after carding a three-under 68 on Friday to finish inside the 36-hole cut line at Royal Melbourne.

McIlroy, two under after two rounds, trailed leaders Daniel Rodriques (64) and Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson (66) by seven shots.

The pair, on nine under, held a one-stroke advantage over Min Woo Lee, who fired a 65, while fellow Australians Adam Scott (66) and Cameron Smith (65) shared fourth. Smith, notably, avoided extending his run of seven straight missed cuts.

McIlroy began the day at one-over following a 72 on Thursday, tied for 57th and just a shot inside the projected cut of two over.

He opened Friday with one birdie and eight pars on his front nine, then added four more pars before stumbling with a bogey at the par-five 14th.

After missing the fairway right, his ball settled under a tea tree. His next swing caught a branch, resulting in a whiff, but he salvaged a six.

That briefly dropped him outside the cut line, but he responded with a birdie at the par-three 15th to return to even par.

He then steadied with a par at 16, then produced arguably his shot of the tournament on 17 - hitting from patchy rough through a small bush and tapping in for birdie after narrowly missing an eagle putt.

Another birdie at the 18th lifted him to one under, climbing roughly 20 spots on the leaderboard and ensuring his weekend survival.

"With the wind, it played like a different golf course today," McIlroy said.

"I certainly haven't played my best over the past couple of days, but it was nice to finish the way I did. Delighted to be here for the weekend… seven isn't too far back."

Reflecting on his mishit under the trees, he added: "Not one of my finer moments, but nice to be able to come back over the last few holes."

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