Palmer, Day co-leaders at halfway stage

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American Palmer stayed top of the leaderboard at eight under through 36 holes thanks to his second-round 71 at TPC Boston on Saturday.

Palmer has company at the summit in the second FedEx Cup play-off event, with Australia's Day carding a three-under-par 68 for a share of the lead in Boston.

The pair are a stroke clear of American duo Matt Kuchar (66) and Billy Horschel (66) at the halfway mark.

Palmer - 43rd in the FedEx Cup rankings - teed off in the second round with a two-shot advantage ahead of the chasing pack and he made a good start on the front nine, holing a birdie at his first hole.

But the three-time PGA Tour winner's round threatened to unravel when he dropped successive shots at the second and third holes - via a double-bogey and a bogey respectively.

Back-to-back birdies at the fourth and fifth holes provided an immediate response, before additional putts at the 12th and 18th capped a solid performance after bogeys at the eighth and 10th.

Day - seventh in the rankings - is perfectly poised in Boston but will be unhappy with the finish to his second round.

The 26-year-old, who tied for second at The Barclays last week, went bogey-free through his first nine holes as he sunk five birdies, with two of those coming in succession at the sixth and seventh holes.

Day's back nine was a different story, however, with bogeys at the 12th, 14th and 18th holes preventing him from taking the outright lead.

Two shots off the lead are Americans Bill Haas (69), Russell Henley (66), Patrick Reed (68), Keegan Bradley (71) and Webb Simpson (71), who are tied for fifth at six-under overall.

A shot further back are Scotsman Russell Knox (70), South Korean Noh Seung-Yul (68), German Martin Kaymer (66), and American duo Jordan Spieth (70) and Ben Crane (68).

As for world number one Rory McIlroy, he is five shots off the pace after two rounds.

Northern Irishman McIlroy improved on his opening-round 70 with a two-under 69 that included five birdies.

Meanwhile, The Barclays champion Hunter Mahan fired a 71 to be two over for the tournament.

Out of the FedEx Cup race is Brandt Snedeker, among a small group cut at the halfway point - and he is not in the top 70 in the points list, ending his PGA Tour season prematurely.

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