Rory McIlroy waves to the patrons after a birdie at 18 (Masters Images)
Friday By The Numbers
-12: Leading score of Rory McIlroy
30: McIlroy’s back nine score (birdies at 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18)
65: Low round of the day by McIlroy
4: Most strokes back over the last 14 years for an eventual winner after 36 holes
54: Players to make the cut (+4/148)
18: Greens in regulation hit by Tyrrell Hatton (-4/66)
72.846: Second round scoring (74.648 in round one)
6: Scottie Scheffler’s scores on the 13th and 15th holes
74: Only Scheffler’s third over-par score in 26 Masters rounds
18: Greens in regulation hit by Tyrrell Hatton (66/-4)
81: High score of the day by Angel Cabrera
2: Number of players 25-and-under making the cut (Brennan, R.Hojgaard)
8: Former champions to make the cut (McIlroy, Reed, Matsuyama, Johnson, Scott, Garcia, Rahm, Schwartzel)
+8: Score of Ethan Fang, the 2026 low amateur
0: Number of Amateurs who will make the cut
80: High temperature on Thursday with very little breeze
Rory McIlroy has yet to hit a fairway on Augusta National’s four par-5s
McIlroy’s only reached one of the eight three-shotters in two through 36-holes.
As for the par-5s he double-bogeyed twice last year and expedited plenty of premature gray with his wild 2025 ride to the Green Jacket?
McIlroy has managed to still be seven-under-par through 36-holes, the same tallly he finished wit through 72-holes last year.
McIlroy after birdieing the 18th for 65 and a six-stroke lead (Masters Images)
“There’s so many different ways to skin a cat,” McIlroy said after opening up the largest halfway lead in 90 editions of The Masters. “I’ve played well, I’ve hit good shots, but it hasn’t all been amazing. I’ve relied on my short game when I’ve needed it, and I’ve certainly hit enough good wedges into those par-5s to build the score that I have.”
After tweaking his back and pulling out of the PGA Tour’s Houston event, McIlroy revealed that he’s been jetting up to Augusta National a bunch over the last three weeks. He credited the quiet sessions for his record performance.
“I honestly just don’t like the three tournaments leading up to this event, I’d rather come up here,” he said after his 67-65-132 dismantling of Augusta National. “I did a couple of days where I dropped Poppy to school, flew up here, played, landed back home and had dinner with her [and] Erica.”
“I felt it was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio.”
With all love, heartfelt respect and…yeah, he did the right thing. Sorry Texas.
How does McIlroy explain hitting only 13 of 28 fairways (46.4%), 26 of 36 greens (72.2%), and leading the Masters by six over Sam Burns (67-71-138) and Patrick Reed (69-69-138)
“Becoming a wily old veteran,” McIlroy said. “Even go back to the final round in 2011 [Masters], hitting it in that bunker off the tee at the 2nd hole and, like, not panicking, but thinking, oh, this isn’t good. I can’t go for this in two.
“I walk up there today, and it’s like, no, I lay it up to a good number, and I’ll have a good chance to make a birdie.”
McIlroy tees off at the fifth hole (Masters Images)
His stunning nine-birdie round featured a back-nine 30 with six birdies over the final seven holes. Augusta National was doused watered overnight after things apparently turned just a bit too crispy.
“I was having lunch and watching a little bit of the coverage out there,” Mcllroy said. “I was quite surprised at some of the early groups, how easily they were stopping the ball on some of the greens. So I felt like that still allowed you to be quite aggressive when you did get the ball in play and were attacking from the fairway.”
When McIlroy missed another fairway at the 17th, he punched out to pin high right of the elevated, complicated green and faced a difficult up-and-down. Then he dropped the 29-yard pitch.
While some of the early starters lamented what they found because it was in such stark contrast to Thursday afternoon’s links-adjacent golf, the field had every opportunity to match McIlroy.
According to the numbers from Elias Sports Bureau, no side of the draw experienced even a hint of disadvantage.
As for what McIlroy will do until he’s back on the first tee with Burns at 2:50 p.m. ET Saturday, when the high will hit 86 degrees?
“There’s actually two really good semifinals at Monte Carlo in the tennis,” McIlroy said. “So I’ll watch that. I think it’s Sinner and Zverev and Vacherot and Alcaraz. So I’ll watch those. We’ve been watching the tennis early in the mornings. So I’ll do that.
McIlroy will arrive three hours before his time and then start thinking about round three.
“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.”