Rory McIlroy refused to let a last-hole bogey ruin some ideal preparation for the The Open as Masters champion Danny Willett suffered more frustration ahead of the seasons third major.McIlroy carded a superb 66 in testing conditions at Le Golf National to claim a share of the halfway lead in the French Open as Willetts last competitive appearance before Troon ended in a second consecutive missed cut.Six birdies in the first 14 holes had taken McIlroy into the outright lead in his first event since missing the cut in the U.S. Open, only for the 27-year-old to drive into the water on the 18th for the second day running.The resulting bogey left the world No.4 in a five-way tie for the lead on five under par alongside Mikko Ilonen, Brandon Stone, Thongchai Jaidee and Wang Jeunghun, who won back-to-back titles in Morocco and Mauritius earlier this year.Its a really good days work, said McIlroy, who revealed after his opening 71 that he had whittled 17 swing thoughts down to about five as he worked on eradicating some bad habits from his game.I cant let a bit of a disappointing finish taint a really good day. I felt for the most part I controlled my ball well and holed some good putts. Even the ones that didnt go in looked like they were going to and Im in a great position going into the weekend.Its a work in progress and it doesnt feel very natural at the minute, its quite mechanical and I am concentrating a lot but if I set up well it tends to go where I want it to.McIlroy, who was unable to defend his Open title in 2015 after suffering an ankle injury while playing football with friends, added: Its ideal preparation for the Open, especially with the little breeze we have had as well.Its great preparation to have my last two competitive rounds before the Open in contention in tricky conditions. I cant really ask for much more than that.In contrast, Willett had earlier only been able to add a second round of 72 to his opening 75 to finish five over par and continue a disappointing run of form.The world No.9 finished third in the BMW PGA Championship at the end of May, but smashed the putter he used at Augusta in frustration during the U.S. Open and missed the cut in the BMW International Open in Germany last week.The last three weeks weve putted as bad as we ever have and things havent quite gone our way, Willett, 28, said. When you keep shooting the worst score you can its a tricky game.Just not done anything very well really. Missed a lot of putts, couple of bad shots that cost us and just one of those days again. S--- couple of weeks. Its fine margins and unfortunately we were on the wrong side of them.The last time Willett missed two cuts in a row was coincidentally in the U.S. Open and French Open last year, but he then bounced back to finish sixth in the Open at St Andrews a fortnight later.Defending champion Bernd Wiesberger had held a four-shot lead when he reached nine under par thanks to five birdies in his first eight holes, but then ran up a triple bogey on the treacherous 18th and also dropped shots on his last two holes.That left the Austrian a shot off the pace alongside Nicolas Colsaerts and Anders Hansen, the 45-year-old Dane who announced his retirement at the end of last season.I just came out to play four events, Hansen explained after a flawless 68. I need to play five to keep my status [as a European Tour member] and this week counts for two, so thats perfect.I never expected this and when I came down 15 and saw my name on the leaderboard I was laughing a bit. I thought This is just stupid. 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BOYDS, Md. -- The Washington Spirit prevented Seattle midfielder Megan Rapinoe from kneeling again during the national anthem by altering its pregame ceremonies rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent.The National Womens Soccer League team moved up the anthem, playing it while the teams were off the field at the Maryland SoccerPlex on Wednesday.We decided to play the anthem in our stadium ahead of schedule rather than subject our fans and friends to the disrespect we feel such an act would represent, the Spirit said in a statement. We understand this may be seen as an extraordinary step, but believe it was the best option to avoid taking focus away from the game on such an important night for our franchise.On Sunday before the Reigns match in Chicago, Rapinoe knelt during the anthem in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick -- the San Francisco quarterback who has refused to stand during the anthem to protest racial injustice and minority oppression. Rapinoe said at the time she planned to continue to kneel.To willingly allow anyone to hijack this tradition that means so much to millions of Americans and so many of our own fans for any cause would effectively be just as disrespectful as doing it ourselves, the Spirit said in the statement.Following the match, Rapinoe said she was saddened by the Spirits move.It was incredibly distasteful, four days before one of the worst tragedies in our country, to say I tried to hijack this event, The Washington Post quoted Rapinoe as saying.During the match, a group of supporters chanted Let Her Kneel!The Spirit said team owner Bill Lynch is a veteran who has lost friends in overseas conflicts, as had his close friends.The tradition of honoring our military and our patriotism before our games is very important to us, the statement said. We strongly feel that there are better ways to begin a conversation about a cause than tarnishing a tradition that is so important to so many.Earlier Wednesday, the Reign said they were standing by Rapinoe. In a statement, the team said it recognizes Rapinoes action was offensive to some and a source of inspiration to others.We will continue to encourage all Reign FC players to participate in the pre-match ceremony, which honors those who have served and made sacrifices on our behalf, the Reign said. We will also continue to allow players too participate in the pre-match ceremony in a manner consistent with their personal beliefs, reflecting our respect for the rights earned and defended by those fighting for our nation.ddddddddddddKaepernick drew attention when he remained seated on the bench before a preseason game against Green Bay. Last Thursday night in San Diego, he and safety Eric Reid knelt during the anthem before a preseason game against the Chargers.On Sunday night, Rapinoe kneeled during the anthem before the match against the Chicago Red Stars, in what she called a little nod to Kaepernick.I think its actually pretty disgusting the way he was treated and the way that a lot of the media has covered it and made it about something that it absolutely isnt. We need to have a more thoughtful, two-sided conversation about racial issues in this country, Rapinoe told the website American Soccer Now afterward.She went on to say: Being a gay American, I know what it means to look at the flag and not have it protect all of your liberties. It was something small that I could do and something that I plan to keep doing in the future and hopefully spark some meaningful conversation around it. Its important to have white people stand in support of people of color on this. We dont need to be the leading voice, of course, but standing in support of them is something thats really powerful.The 31-year-old Rapinoe has been with the U.S. national team since 2006 and has played in two Womens World Cups and two Olympics. She has played for Seattle since 2013.Rapinoe injured her knee last December during training and required surgery, but played in the Rio Games. The United States, which had won three straight gold medals in the sport, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Sweden.Since coming out in 2012, Rapinoe has been devoted advocate for LGBT rights and has worked with the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) and other organizations.Rapinoe also has been vocal about pay equity, and was among five national team players who lent their names to a complaint filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging wage discrimination. The players claim that members of the team make in some cases up to four times less than their male national team counterparts. ' ' '