McIlroy Takes Commanding Lead at The Masters

Rory McIlroy has significantly boosted his chances of a successful title defence at The Masters, achieving a historic six-shot lead heading into the weekend at Augusta National. Following his career Grand Slam victory over Justin Rose the previous year, McIlroy continued to push for more major success with an impressive round-of-the-day 65 on Friday afternoon. He broke the record for the lowest 36-hole score by a defending champion, moving to 12 under and becoming the firm favourite to join Jack Nicklaus, Sir Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods as a back-to-back winner of The Masters. McIlroy birdied six of his last seven holes, charging ahead of Sam Burns and former Masters winner Patrick Reed, while Rose and Shane Lowry posted second-round 69s to share fourth place with fellow Ryder Cup teammate Tommy Fleetwood. McIlroy's momentum was evident as he told Sky Sports, 'This course allows you to get on a roll, and when you're feeling it, you can gain momentum and the crowd gets behind you, and you can just keep it going.' Tyrrell Hatton moved into a tie for seventh with a six-under 66, while Bryson DeChambeau missed the cut after triple-bogeying the final hole of his two-over 74. McIlroy briefly gave the chasing pack hope when he missed a six-foot par save at the fifth but quickly regained control, firing three consecutive birdies and reclaiming the solo advantage with a seven-foot birdie on the iconic 12th hole. He took advantage of the par-five 13th and 15th, just as he did on the opening day, and moved four clear of the pack with a stunning tee shot to kick-in range at the par-three 16th. Reed bogeyed the last to fall back to six under with Burns, who finished his one-under 71 with three birdies in his last five holes. McIlroy recovered from an errant drive at the 17th to finish just short of the green, where a sensational 30-yard chip-in pulled him further ahead, before a closing eight-foot birdie capped off a memorable Friday in style. The lead matches the same halfway advantage McIlroy held at the 2011 US Open, which he went on to win and claim a maiden major. Every player this century who has held a 36-hole buffer of six or more shots has gone on to win. McIlroy added, 'I desperately wanted to win here so I could come back each year, and thankfully I was able to do that last year. So, doing that, when I miss fairways, it's fine. When I miss greens, it's fine. I feel like I'm playing with the house's money, which is a nice feeling to have. If I can just keep thinking well and making good decisions, and really just keep putting one foot in front of the other, hopefully, everything works out.' Only 19 of the 54 players who made it through to the weekend are under-par at the halfway stage, with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler on level-par and 12 off the pace after a two-over 74. Can McIlroy defend his title at The Masters? Watch the opening major of the year exclusively live on Sky Sports.