Intro:

Rory McIlroy discusses taking a strong Open lead into the weekend at Hoylake.

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English) Rory McIlroy, Open Championship leader on 12-under-par (asked if he feared another poor second round):

"It was just another solid round of golf. I didn't have that in my head at all. Going out there I just wanted to play another solid round of golf, stick to my game-plan, stick to…. doing what I do well, which is, take advantage of the par-fives, maybe take advantage of some of the other holes that are downwind and, that's all I was thinking about and I went out there and executed the game-plan the way I wanted to and, so just another really solid round of golf and I'll need two more of those again."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Rory McIlroy, Open Championship leader on 12-under-par (asked about his 'freaky Fridays' and the pheasant that walked across the green at the eighth hole):

"Yes, in a way it's nice to go out and shoot a good one today so I don't have to be asked about it again until…. I might shoot a good score (at the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational) in Akron and then people are asking me on Thursday afternoon, but no. It's understandable people ask. My second rounds this year have been terrible and there isn't really any explanation, but hopefully I put it to bed today. And the pheasant on the eighth hole, yes…. haven't really, haven't run into that before on the golf course. I might have had a swan or a duck or geese or something but never a pheasant. But, it was nice, I mean it didn't put me off, I was able to regroup and hole the putt for birdie, so it was fine."