Rory McIlroy pulls away with birdie
binge and sets Masters record with 6-shot lead at halfway mark
[April 11, 2026]
By DOUG FERGUSON
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The only thing that stopped Rory McIlroy in the
Masters was running out of holes to play Friday.
McIlroy stood on the 12th tee in a tie with Patrick Reed and with a
dozen other players bunched together in what was shaping up to be a
compelling chase for the green jacket.
Six birdies over his final seven holes for a 7-under 65 left
everyone to wonder if they were playing for second. McIlroy's fourth
straight birdie to close out the best round of the week gave him a
six-shot advantage, setting the Masters record for largest 36-hole
lead.
“I knew I had some chances coming in when I was standing on the 12th
tee, but I didn’t think I’d birdie six of the last seven,” he said.
“It just shows what you can do around here.”
He did it in spectacular fashion. McIlroy twice made birdie on the
par 5s after laying up from the trees. He twice had short putts on
the par 3s. And if all that wasn't enough, he chipped in from 30
yards up a slope so steep he couldn't even see the hole.
The final hour of a fascinating day started to look like a victory
lap for McIlroy, who spent 17 years trying to win the Masters and
now looks like he can't wait to do it again.
His tee shot over Rae's Creek on the dangerous 12th hole landed 7
feet behind the flag. He birdied both par 5s after having to lay up
from the trees. He took advantage of the lower pin at the par-3 16th
for what amounted to a tap-in birdie.
And then he really sent the gallery into a frenzy when he chipped in
from 30 yards on the 17th. McIlroy knew it was good because “I could
see everyone in the grandstand start to stand up.”
And there was one more to go — another perfect approach that came
down the slope to 6 feet for one last birdie.
That put him at 12-under 132, six shots clear of Reed (69) and Sam
Burns (71). The previous record for the largest 36-hole lead at
Augusta National was five shots by six players, most recently
Scottie Scheffler in 2022. The first was Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper
in 1936, the only player in that position who did not win the
Masters.
If McIlroy holds on, he would become the fourth player to win
back-to-back at the Masters, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and
Tiger Woods.
He had a two-shot lead after 36 holes in 2011 and stretched it to
four shots going into the final round before he famously imploded
with an 80. That was the start of his Masters heartache that lasted
until a year ago, when he triumphed in a playoff to finally prove he
could win at Augusta National.
Maybe he should start thinking about next year’s menu for the
Masters Club dinner.
“I know what can happen around here, good and bad,” McIlroy said
with a smile. “You don't have to remind me not to get ahead of
myself. There's a long way to go. I got off to an amazing start.”
Augusta allowed for that. It was warmer, brighter, drier. The wind
wasn't quite as strong and the gusts didn't swirl as much. And there
was much better scoring in part because of more generous pin
positions, including on 16 and 18, where cleanly struck shots could
feed toward the hole.
The scores were nearly two shots lower than Thursday.
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Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, hits his tee shot on the 16th
hole during the second round of the Masters golf tournament at the
Augusta National Golf Club, Friday, April 10, 2026, in Augusta, Ga.
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
That didn't help everyone, least of all Bryson
DeChambeau. He fought back from an opening 76 and was one shot below
the cut line when it took him two shots to get out of a greenside
bunker on the 18th, the second shot rolling off the false front back
down to the fairway. He made triple bogey and missed the cut.
Reed was bogey-free until failing to save par on the final hole.
That also cost him a spot in the final group Saturday with McIlroy.
They were paired together in the last group in 2018, with seemingly
all of Augusta on McIlroy's side, only for Reed to win handily.
Burns birdied his last two holes to salvage a 71 and will be paired
with McIlroy.
Justin Rose, the playoff loser to McIlroy a year ago, had a rough
day with the putter and still shot 69 to be part of the group at
5-under 139 — now seven shots behind — along with Shane Lowry (69)
and Tommy Fleetwood, who had two eagles in his round of 68.
McIlroy took three weeks off heading into the Masters — no one since
Adam Scott in 2013 won the Masters coming off a break that long —
and felt it was to his advantage.
He took multiple trips to Augusta — sometimes day trips to get home
for dinner — and spent most of his time working on his short game,
which has been superb.
“I felt like I was part of the furniture,” McIlroy said of all his
visits to the course.
He also had a six-shot lead at the Congressional in the 2011 U.S.
Open, the major after he blew his big lead at the Masters, and he
went on to win by eight. He learned that week to push on instead of
protect, the same approach he plans for the weekend.
“Look, I’ve built up a nice cushion at this point,” McIlroy said. “I
guess my mindset is just trying to keep playing well and keeping my
foot on the gas.”
Scheffler, the world's No. 1 player who has won two of the last four
Masters, is now 12 shots behind. Scheffler twice hit into the water
on the par 5s on the back nine, made bogey on both, and shot 74 for
his first round over par at the Masters in three years.
The players in what looked to be the B-flight had all finished
before McIlroy went on his astonishing run of birdies. Cameron Young
and U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell had a front-row seat to
McIlroy in full command at the Masters.
“You've got to stay in your own lane, but it’s hard not to watch
that,” Howell said after missing the cut. “That chip-in on 17 was
unreal. That was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in sports, and
I got to witness it in person. So that was awesome.”
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