Rory McIlroy is hoping he can find his rhythm at the Tour Championship after a mixed second round on Friday.

Four bogeys on the front nine saw the Northern Irishman tumble down the leaderboard at East Lake but he came back strongly with three birdies to eventually sign for a 70.

That was enough to leave him in a tie for fifth alongside Ryan Moore and Paul Casey on two-under, five behind leader Dustin Johnson who backed up his opening 66 with a 67.

Kevin Chappell is one shot behind in second, while Kevin Kisner and Hideki Matsuyama are joint third. A victory this week in Georgia could see McIlroy win the FedEx Cup series and take home the $10m jackpot.

The 27-year-old admits he has work to do if he is to rediscover his swing but says he remains confident about his chances, especially if he can go low over the weekend. “I struggled with my swing all day, even from the warm-up on the range,” the McIlroy Sky Sports.

“I just didn’t feel comfortable with my swing and sort of let that feed in to how I played, especially the first few holes. I made some really sloppy swings and poor shots.

“I got it together a little bit on the back nine. It was disappointing not to make a birdie on the last [after a drive of 359 yards] but it seems like everyone is finding it quite difficult out there so I’m not too far away and if I can straighten it out over the weekend, hopefully I still have a chance.

“If I can shoot a couple of scores in the mid 60s at the weekend, you never know.” McIlroy is priced at 9.50 to win at East Lake, with leader Johnson the outstanding favourite at 1.75.