Scottie Scheffler in commanding position as he seeks maiden major at Masters

Scottie Scheffler took a record-equalling five-shot lead into the third round of the Masters (Matt Slocum/AP)

History was firmly on Scottie Scheffler’s side as he attempted to cement his position as world number one with a first major title in the 86th Masters.

A superb second round of 67 gave Scheffler a halfway total of eight under par and a record-equalling five-shot lead over defending champion Hideki Matsuyama, 2011 winner Charl Schwartzel, Ireland’s Shane Lowry and first-round leader Sungjae Im.