Rory McIlroy hit a round of 68 to stay in contention at the Northern Trust in New Jersey. It leaves him on nine under par, three off leader Dustin Johnson.
There was controversy however, as the County Down man was handed a two stroke penalty for touching the sand in the bunker on 14th.
The Northern Irishman bent down to remove what he thought was a small stone behind his ball but, when he touched it, McIlroy realised it was just a clump of sand.
McIlroy told rules officials what he had done, and he was originally given a two-shot penalty as it was considered he could have tested the surface. But PGA Tour rules officials later reversed the decision
"It's such a grey area and it came down to me," McIlroy said after his round, adding that he had accepted a two-stroke penalty on the New Jersey course because he did not want to hold up play.
"I thought it was a rock; it wasn't. I moved my hand away and then I was like, I don't know if I've done anything wrong here.
"The reason I called someone over is I don't want anything on my conscience, either.
"I feel like I play the game with integrity and I'm comfortable saying that I didn't improve anything."
Rory McIlroy thought he was removing a loose impediment from a bunker, but then realized it was just sand.
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 9, 2019
He alerted a rules official and was given a two-shot penalty.
He was three back of the lead at the time of the penalty. pic.twitter.com/Ayp8zWw9Ei
It was a good day for British Open champion Shane Lowry, who hit 68 to move to 6 under par, and comfortably make the cut.
Compatriot Graeme McDowell missed out after finishing on one over par, while Tiger Woods had to withdraw before he started his round due to a back injury.
Johnson shook off an opening bogey to make five birdies as the world number two shot a four-under par 67 in the afternoon at Liberty National to move to 12-under for the tournament.
Jordan Spieth dropped in eight birdies against a single bogey for sparking 64 in the morning for the early lead and ultimately outright second place in the opening event of the FedEX Cup playoffs.
Mexico's Abraham Ancer (65), overnight leader Troy Merritt (70), Patrick Reed (66) and Spain's Jon Rahm (68) were tied for third at 10-under on a tight leaderboard.
