Sensational McIlroy races clear of the field at Augusta

Rory McIlroy opened up a commanding six-shot lead at the halfway point after a scintillating back nine in his second round at the Masters in Augusta, while Shane Lowry is tied for fourth going into the weekend.

The defending champion separated himself from the field during a spectacular closing stretch in which he birdied six of the final seven holes.

The run commenced on the par-three 12th, when McIlroy was still tied for the lead with Patrick Reed on six under.

He subsequently birdied both par-fives on the back nine at the 13th and 15th, having been forced to lay up.

The 36-year-old then hit his tee shot on the 16th inside four feet to set up another birdie.

The signature shot during the run occurred at the penultimate hole, when McIlroy chipped in from a valley to the right of the 17th green, having driven into the trees initially.

Roars for Rory after a chip-in birdie on No.

17.

#themasters pic.twitter.com/g7dWFVTIf4 — The Masters (@TheMasters) April 10, 2026
By now, five strokes clear and in the groove, McIlroy played the 18th hole perfectly, rolling in a downhill six footer to climb to 12 under.

By the end of the run, McIlroy has established the biggest 36-hole lead in Masters history and is in pole position to become the first player to successfully defend the title since Tiger Woods in 2002.

At the midway point, he leads by six strokes from Sam Burns and 2018 champion Reed, who are tied-second on six under par.

There is strong Irish representation at the top of the leaderboard with Lowry tied for fourth after a blemish-free round of 69 on Friday, with late birdies on the 16th and 18th.

The 2019 Open champion, two under par overnight, began with a birdie on the opening hole for the second successive day.

He followed it up 14 consecutive pars, scrambling well on several holes to remain at three under.

He failed to avail of the two par-fives on 13 and 15 but drained a 20-footer for birdie on the par 16th having initially gone a touch too long with his tee shot.

There was a missed opportunity for birdie after a fine approach on 17 but he made amends on the final hole to get to five under.

By then, he only trailed McIlroy by three strokes until the leader's late surge.

One stroke further back on four under par is a sextet of players, including Tyrrell Hatton, Jason Day, Cameron Young and former US Open champion Wyndham Clark.

Two-time Masters champion Scottie Scheffler is still trying to rediscover his best form after a second-round 74 dropped him to level par for the tournament.

The world number one had two birdies and two bogeys through 12 holes but then found water trouble on the back nine's two par fives.

Tom McKibbin won't be around for the weekend after a second-round 76 saw him finish at seven over, three strokes outside the cut line.

Joining him among the absentees for the weekend will be Bryson DeChambeau, who carded a treble-bogey on his final hole to fall to six over par, missing the cut by two strokes.

However, another LIV standard bearer, the 2023 champion Jon Rahm, recovered sufficiently to make the cut on four over par with a round of 70.