McIlroy Makes History with Dominant Masters Lead

Rory McIlroy has taken a significant step towards defending his title at The Masters, achieving a historic six-shot lead heading into the weekend at Augusta National. One year after securing the career Grand Slam with a playoff victory over Justin Rose, McIlroy continued his pursuit of further major success with an impressive round-of-the-day 65 on Friday afternoon. By doing so, he broke the record for the lowest 36-hole score by a defending champion, moving to 12 under and establishing the largest halfway lead in the tournament's history. This places him as the firm favorite to join the likes of 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 shared fourth place with Tommy Fleetwood after posting second-round 69s. 'This course allows you to get on a roll,' McIlroy said in an interview with Sky Sports. 'I didn't envision birdieing six of the last seven, but I've always felt that when you're in the zone here, you can gain momentum, and the crowd gets behind you, and you can just keep it going. This afternoon was one of those moments.' Tyrrell Hatton moved into a tied-seventh position with a six-under 66, while Bryson DeChambeau, who played in the final group last year and was among the pre-tournament favorites, missed the cut after triple-bogeying the final hole of his two-over 74. McIlroy initially shared the overnight lead after equalling the second-lowest round by a defending champion at The Masters. He quickly took control of the tournament by firing three consecutive birdies from the second. The defending champion provided the chasing pack with a glimmer of hope when he missed a six-foot par save at the fifth, failed to capitalize on the eighth, and started his second nine with a bogey. McIlroy briefly found himself level with Reed, who followed a first-nine 34 with a birdie at the par-three 12th, only for McIlroy to reclaim the solo advantage and spark another birdie charge with a seven-foot birdie on the same iconic hole. He took advantage of the par-five 13th and 15th, just as he did on the opening day, and fired a stunning tee shot to kick-in range at the par-three 16th to move four clear of the pack. 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, while Fleetwood also ended up on that score until closing his three-under 68 with a bogey. 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 his maiden major. Every player this century who has held a 36-hole buffer of six or more shots has gone on to win. 'I desperately wanted to win here so I could come back each year, and thankfully I was able to do that last year,' McIlroy added. 'So, when I miss fairways, it's fine. When I miss greens, it's fine. I feel like I'm playing with house money, which is a nice feeling to have. If I can just keep thinking well and making good decisions with whatever is put in front of me, and really just keep putting one foot in front of the other - hopefully do that for the weekend and 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.