Tormented on Thursday after a rotten three-hole spell, a radiant Rory McIlroy produced a stunning six-under par second round of 66 to reignite hopes of a Masters title.
Those two double-bogeys on 15 and 17 frittered away his tidy work in Round 1 and a sense of deja vu left his legion of fans cursing. The Northern Irishman slipped away from the property without even a word for the media, evidently livid after scuppering such a glorious opportunity to stake a claim for that elusive green jacket.
Seven shots behind Justin Rose was a concern, but perhaps four behind the champion, Scottie Scheffler, riled him further. After all, there’s only so much you can do when chasing the American if he continues to plot his way around this course with such ease.
Fireworks were required on Friday, then, yet beyond chopping down the par-five second for birdie, McIlroy displayed the patience and mental fortitude that evaded him on that costly opening back nine, making seven consecutive pars.
“You have to focus on executing the best shots you can,” Bryson DeChambeau, one shot better off than McIlroy at -7, said, echoing the unseen battle from within around this majestic yet torturous corner of Georgia. “It’s cliched, but you have to stay incredibly patient, hit it in the middle of the greens.”
And McIlroy then stirred on 10 after carefully negotiating a front nine without making a major move, and that birdie sparked him into life before tackling his nemesis: Amen Corner. A second straight birdie on the 11th, White Dogwood, sent a crackle of roars swirling around Augusta, yet the final hole of this legendary swing, the 13th, revealed just why the 35-year-old has proven so alluring to fans throughout his rollercoaster career. And, ultimately, the decisive decision and shot of this round, which could define his week, his year and even his career after clambering back into the chase.
A typically booming 331-yard drive leaked out to the right, nestling in the pine straw, leaving a daunting 214 yards to the flag.
The notorious creek stood between McIlroy and the green, ready to swallow his ball and derail his charge with one misstep. A lay-up was surely the smart play. Indeed, it was for the brawn of DeChambeau just a few minutes later, without reward, with just a par.
Yet McIlroy, with a sawn-off iron, whipping those hands out to the left, appeared to come out of the shot with a grimace, yet the distance was almost perfect as the ball settled pin-high and just nine feet away. Relief poured out of McIlroy, hunched over with his arms dangling down. And just a moment later he was able to roll in the eagle putt to get to five-under. And he would later admit there was an element of luck to his score.
“I think I had to remind myself this morning that I played really well yesterday,” McIlroy said. “Before what happened on 15 and 17, I played 16 really good holes. If I pushed too much at the start I knew I could make a few bogeys, so it was about letting the birdies come to me and then there was that really nice stretch through Amen Corner.
Roaring into contention. McIlroy eagles No. 13 and is now tied for fourth. #themasters pic.twitter.com/1i65HRkd33
— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 11, 2025
“Out of the pine straw two holes in a row, I rode my luck a little bit today. And on 14 I was lucky to get a backswing, I hit a good shot and was lucky to walk away with a par there, but I kept the momentum.
“I don’t think I proved anything, if anything just backed up the belief I have in myself and the belief that I’m as resilient as anyone else out here.”
But the gamble did pay off and evidently it was time to discard the patient approach to launch himself back into contention. Yes, the execution was not exactly how he intended, but the reward was too great to him in that moment.
Another birdie came at 15, banishing the demons of Thursday to reassert that superpower to score so fluently on those par fives.
That fine work almost unravelled on the way home again. Handed a testing six-footer on 16, the wind changed direction as he stood over the putt. Maturity and perhaps a lesson from Thursday ensured no damage though. McIlroy backed off, repeated his routine and then buried the putt.
A round of 66 in the bag, yet barely a smile spread over his face as he bounded away from the 18th green. Satisfied, yes, but aware of the colossal challenge that awaits him this weekend. Sometimes you need to know when to roll the dice.
Scottie Scheffler stumbles as Justin Rose retains lead at half-way stage in Masters
Scheffler appeared poised to hunt down McIlroy and leader Rose after reaching -6 through eight holes, but a sloppy back nine proved costly.
The defending champion sent one shot into the flowers at 12, before a miraculous chip-in for birdie, another into the water on 13 before a par save and then a final errant ball into the bushes on 18, resulting in a bogey, forcing the world No 1 to settle for a 71 to sit -5 and three shots back in a tie for fifth.
Tyrrell Hatton slipped off the pace with bogeys on 16 and 17 but remains in the hunt at -5 alongside Shane Lowry. While Jason Day, making his first bogey of the tournament on the 18th, is one shot further back on -4 alongside a rejuvenated Viktor Hovland.
Brooks Koepka endured a nightmare finish, making bogey before an eight on 18 to miss the cut by three shots at +5, though Nick Dunlap recovered from a disastrous 90 in round one to shoot a one-under par round of 71 in the second biggest score difference between first and second rounds in the tournament's history.
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