PGA Championship: Michael Hoey aims to end run of missed cuts after opening 70
Last updated on .From the section Golf
Michael Hoey will hope to end a run of 10 missed cuts on Friday after a two-under-par 70 left him five off the pace at the PGA Championship.
Five-time European Tour winner Hoey, 37, is currently a lowly 228th in the Race to Dubai standings.
However, the Belfast man showed signs of a return to form at Wentworth as his only dropped shot came at the eighth.
Graeme McDowell shot a 69 but Europe's Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke slumped to a 79.
Hoey's last cheque came when he finished in a share of 66th place at the Abu Dhabi Championship in January and his total earnings for the 2016 season are a paltry 8,125 Euros.
The Northern Irishman suffered his 10th successive missed cut in last week's Irish Open at the K Club after rounds of 79 and 76.
However, Hoey's round on Friday left him in a share of 20th spot, five behind leaders Joost Luiten, YE Yang and Scott Hend, with Masters champion Danny Willett a stroke off the pace on 66.
McDowell avoided any mishaps in his opening 14 holes as he picked up birdies at the fifth, sixth and 11th and 14th but he followed a bogey at the next with three closing pars.
In contrast, Ryder Cup skipper Clarke looks unlikely to survive into the weekend after six bogeys and a double bogey saw him carding a 79.
Shane Lowry matched McDowell's round as he hit six birdies in his 69.
Europe's 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley finished with five straight bogeys to sign for a 78, with David Higgins on 75, Colm Moriarty carding a 76 and Clontarf club professional Eamonn Brady near the tail of the field after an 84.
