After posting an eight-under 64 on the North Course on Wednesday, Ryder carded five birdies against a lone bogey to record the lowest score of the day among the 78 players who tackled the challenging South Course.

He is 12-under through 36 holes.

Former World No.1 Jason Day – twice a winner of this tournament – remains the highest-ranked Australian, seven shots off the lead and tied for 10th after a second-round 71.

"Everything was kind of clicking pretty well the last couple days and I'm just going to try and keep doing a lot of the same," 283rd-ranked Ryder, who is seeking his first career PGA Tour victory, said.

"I'm just doing everything pretty solid."

The lowest rounds of the day belonged to Argentina's Tano Goya and Spain's Jon Rahm, who each posted five-under 67s on the North Course.

Goya is third at seven-under, one shot ahead of a group that includes rising rookie Taylor Montgomery.

Rahm, who began the day on the back nine, was in danger of missing the cut when he arrived at his 14th hole of the day at one-over for the tournament.

He promptly eagled the par-5 5th hole and reeled off three consecutive birdies to get into the clubhouse at four-under.

Rahm, who is seeking to become the first player since Dustin Johnson in 2017 to win three consecutive events on Tour, battled his way back into contention and is eight shots off the lead.

"The goal is to win," Rahm said when asked if the cut line came into his mind during the round.

"It would have come into mind maybe in the last few holes had I been even par.

"I was playing with the mindset of catching up to the leaders as much as possible. That's it."

Rahm is one shot behind a group at five-under that includes Collin Morikawa and former champion Day.