Palmer, Day lead on second day as Poulter struggles at Deutsche Bank Championship

England golf ace Ian Poulter failed to build on his first round showing as he carded a 73 on the second day in Boston at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Poulter got in the mix by carding a 67 on Friday but the poor form that has dogged the Brit for much of 2014 returned on Saturday.

Ryan Palmer and Jason Day lead on eight under, with Poulter, who needs a captain's pick from Paul McGinley to make Europe's Ryder Cup team, six back, The BBC reported.

World number one Rory McIlroy shot a 69 to move to three under at halfway. The Northern Irishman, who is hoping to finish top of the FedEx Cup standings, had shot a 70 on the opening day.

Poulter is expected earn a wild card from Europe captain McGinley thanks to his previous success in the competition, but his form still appears fragile after two nightmare holes on Saturday.

A double-bogey at the first and triple-bogey at 16 saw Poulter tumble down the order.

Fellow Englishman Luke Donald - who also needs a wild card to make the Ryder Cup - was another to suffer a poor round, carding a 74 to fall to one over, the report added.