Rory McIlroy Takes Control Of The Masters After Late Birdie Blitz At Augusta National

After the first round of The Masters, there wasn’t too much in it at the top end of the leaderboard, with Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns leading the way on five under and seven others within three of the duo.

But what a difference a day makes, as a scintillating 65 from McIlroy in the second round moved him to 12 under, giving him an incredible six-shot advantage over Burns and Patrick Reed.

The defending champion clearly had the bit between his teeth in the opening round, particularly with a run of birdies between the 13th and 15th, but even in his wildest dreams, he surely didn’t anticipate the lead he would establish on Friday.

McIlroy got off to a lightning-fast start with birdies on the second, third and fourth to sweep into a three-shot lead.

A bogey at the fifth pegged him back, and when a run of pars followed, ending with another bogey at the 12th, his advantage had evaporated, with Reed joining him at six under.

Perhaps another year, when he was still chasing his first Augusta National title, he would have wilted, but not this time.

Instead, McIlroy reeled off six more birdies in his final seven holes to leave his rivals chasing shadows.

A year ago, McIlroy was two back of Justin Rose at the halfway stage before beating him in a playoff, but with the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history, he seems set for a far more comfortable time of it this year, even with so much golf still to play.

Following his round, McIlroy spoke to the press, where he revealed his preparation for the tournament was reaping rewards.

He said: "I've spent a lot of time up here over the past three weeks. Even though I haven't played tournament golf, I feel like being up here a lot and playing, I've prepared as well for this Masters as any other that I've played.

"I think all that work around the greens over the last three weeks has certainly paid off over the last two days."

Of course, there is still work to do, and McIlroy insisted he would concentrate on his own game, rather than others, over the remaining 36 holes.

He said: "I think the next two days for me is really about focusing on myself. It's hard to avoid those big leaderboards out there, but like I know that I've got a lead. So I don't need to keep checking it all the time.

"So for me, just really focusing on myself and staying in my own little world out there is the best thing."

In the top 10 at the halfway stage, the likes of Rose, Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood and Tyrrell Hatton await an unlikely McIlroy slip-up, while two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is tied for 24th.

He followed up and even-par 72 on Thursday with a two-over on Friday after his putter ran cold, saying afterwards: “I would like to hole a few more putts. I felt like it was rolling nice today, but just - balls just weren't dropping.”

Another player up against it is 2023 winner Jon Rahm, whose two-under 70 on Friday repaired some of the damage of a 78 on Thursday.

While they can at least prepare for the rest of the tournament, that isn’t an option for some big names, who missed the cut.

That includes one of the pre-tournament favorites, Bryson DeChambeau, who appeared to have done enough until a disastrous triple bogey on his final hole of the day saw him slip two shots beneath the cut line.

Other big names leaving Augusta National two days earlier than they would have liked include JJ Spaun, Robert MacIntyre and Cameron Smith, whose run of consecutive missed cuts at Majors now stands at six.