Here comes Rory McIlroy at the Arnold Palmer Invitational

For anyone who was concerned, Rory McIlroy looked Friday like a guy who was ready to take a crack at the career Grand Slam at the Masters.

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McIlroy, in his first start at Bay Hill, shot 6-under 66 in Round 2 of the Arnold Palmer Invitational that has him in the conversation for the weekend. At 8-under 136, McIlroy trails Morgan Hoffmann by five shots heading into Saturday.

The world No. 1 made his hay on his back nine of the round, the front side at Palmer’s Orlando club, making five consecutive birdies before dropping a shot on his 17th hole of the day. All told, McIlroy made seven birdies on the day with just the one bogey.

The winner of the last two major championships, McIlroy got out of the gate hot to start 2015, finishing runner-up in Abu Dhabi and winning in Dubai. However, McIlroy has been somewhat lackluster in the States this year. He missed the cut on the bad side of the draw at The Honda Classic and looked inconsistent — not to mention visibly frustrated — in at T-9 showing at Doral.

Perhaps McIlroy was boosted by being in the presence of the tournament host for dinner on Thursday night. The pair were together for almost three hours at Bay Hill, sharing stories alongside their respective managers.

“[He] made me have a banana split,” McIlroy said after his second round. “I’ll be going to the gym this afternoon.”

If McIlroy is superstitious at all, he’ll have another banana split tonight.

Ryan Ballengee is a Yahoo Sports contributor. Find him on Facebook and Twitter.

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