Red hot McIlroy takes largest Masters second round lead

World No 2 Rory McIlroy backed up his first-round 67, where he co-led with Sam Burns, with a 65 to take a six-shot lead at The Masters golf championships.

It is the largest second-round lead in Masters history as he made nine birdies, including six in his last seven holes, en route to a 7-under low round of the tournament through 36 holes.

The defending champion is now poised to join Jack Nicklaus (1956, 1965), Nick Faldo (1989, 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001, 2002) as players to successfully defend their title at the Masters Tournament.

McIlroy had now won any title this season, with his best coming at the Genesis Invitational, where he finished tied second.

First round co-leader Sam Burns is tied second with Patrick Reed, the 2018 champion.

Burns posted a 71 to get to 6-under. Reed joined Burns at 6-under with a second consecutive round of 69. Reed joins McIlroy as the only two players in the field with two rounds in the 60s.

Burns had a unremarkable opening nine, before he birdied three of his last four holes en route to his 1-under 71.

Following a 2025 playoff loss to McIlroy at the Masters, Justin Rose is also back in contention following rounds of 70-69. Rose made four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn and then added one more birdie on the par-5 15th hole.

But with McIlroy in sizzling form it is going to take a huge collapse from the Irishman and spectacular efforts from the chasing pack in the next two rounds.

Rose has finished runner-up two other times at the Masters, losing to Jordan Spieth by four shots in 2015 and falling in a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017.

Tied fourth with Rose, seven stroked behind McIlroy are Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood.

With rounds of 70-69, Lowry opened with back-to-back under-par rounds for the second time in his 11th appearances at the tournament.

Fleetwood, the defending FedExCup champion owns one top-10 result in nine prior appearances at the Masters, finishing tied third in 2024.

Two-time major champion Xander Schauffele stayed at 2-under with a round of even par. Schauffele started to pick up some momentum on the turn, but fell victim to Amen Corner with bogeys on Nos. 11-13.

Hideki Matsuyama, the 2021 Masters champion got it to 3-under before a closing bogey derailed any further scoring. Eight shots back of McIlroy, he’ll need to put it into gear to have a chance.

Collin Morikawa, after struggling with the aftereffects of a back injury in a first-round 74 that was “the toughest round” he’d played, the two-time major champion recovered with a 3-under 69.

Matt Fitzpatrick, the Valspar Championship winner, carried some serious momentum into Augusta, which made his opening 74 surprising to many. He fought back from a bogey on No. 8 with four birdies to get it to 1-under.

Despite starting Friday inside the cut line, Akshay Bhatia, the three-time PGA TOUR winner made an early exit after a trio of double bogeys on Friday’s second nine that led to a 77.

One year removed from a T12 finish at the Masters to qualify for this year’s event, Max Homa is back in contention. The six-time PGA TOUR winner turned in a second-round 70, bringing him to 2-under for the tournament.

Following questions about his form after a missed cut in his most recent TOUR start, Brooks Koepka is back in his typical major form. The five-time major champion carded six birdies to three bogeys, including birdies on two of the three holes at Amen Corner. After two runner-up finishes at the Masters (2019, ’23), he’s in prime position to hunt down his first green jacket.

he quest for his third green jacket in five years is starting to look dubious for Scottie Scheffler. He found the water in both of the par 5s on the second nine to squash any positive momentum.

John Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion kept his weekend hopes alive with a second-round 70 to move to 4-over par. With the sun shining and greens firming at Augusta, there’s a good chance the Spaniard will be sticking around for 36 more holes.

After a disappointing opening 74 that included two double bogeys, Swede Ludvig Åberg got his score back to even par with a second-round 70 that included five birdies to three bogeys. He’ll be looking to build on his solid course history here.

Justin Thomas, the two-time major champion hung on for a Friday 74 to finish at 2-over, safely inside the cut line. It’s his second made cut here in the past four years.

After an opening 72, Jordan Spieth, the 2015 champion here played the first nine in 1-under on Friday before closing with a second-nine, 2-over 38. He’ll need Rory McIlroy and the frontrunners to slow down to have a chance.

One of the more adventurous rounds of the day belonged to Chris Gotterup, who posted seven birdies against four bogeys for a round of 69. He heads to the weekend at 3-under, leading the pack of first-timers.

Tyrell Hatton, the European Ryder Cupper showed his major championship prowess on Friday in his 6-under effort and made a bit of history. Hatton hit all 18 greens in regulation in his round, becoming just the third player in the last 30 years to do so, joining Jim Furyk (R1, 2009) and Kevin Na (R1, 2020). He heads to the weekend in dangerous form and position.

For the second year in a row, no amateurs will play the weekend at Augusta after finishes at 8-over for Ethan Fang and Jackson Herrington, 9-over for Mason Howell, 11-over for Fifa Laopakdee and 15-over for Mateo Pulcini and Brandon Holtz.

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