'Tough day' for Rory McIlroy as he hangs on at the Masters
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the seventh hole during second round at the Masters. Picture: AP Photo/Matt Slocum
It was the kind of day that prompted past Masters champion Zach Johnson to shout profanities from the middle of Amen Corner. Rory McIlroy was probably thinking similar thoughts if not vocalizing them.
As McIlroy tumbled further away from any reasonable hope of winning a green jacket this year, he avoided falling completely out of the weekend with a birdie-free 77 on a brutally difficult Friday at Augusta National.
McIlroy started in the late afternoon at 1-under par, a figure that would eventually be tied for eighth at the end of the day. But the world No. 2 failed to make a birdie all afternoon, making three bogeys and a double that left him languishing 10 shots behind the threesome at the top.
“Tough day, really tough day,” said McIlroy. “Just hard to make a score and just sort of trying to make as many pars as possible. I felt like I did okay. … I mean, most of the field couldn't really get anything going. It was just a matter of trying to hang in there as best you could.”
Max Homa joined Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler at 6-under overall to pace the field at the midpoint of the 88th Masters. It’s the first time three Americans have led after 36 holes since 1985 when Tom Watson, Craig Stadler and Payne Stewart sat on top.
Augusta debutante Nicolai Højgaard sits alone in fourth at 4-under with two-time major winner Collin Morikawa and Cameron Davis at 3-under and Ludvig Åberg – whose 69 was the lone score below 70 Friday – is alone seventh at 2-under in his major championship debut.
Seven other players are tied eighth at 1-under. In 37 Masters since Jack Nicklaus charged to win in 1986, 36 eventual champions have been inside the top 10 at the midpoint (Charl Schwartzel was T12 in 2011).
With swirling and gusting winds that Ireland’s Shane Lowry (T30 at 3-over) called the trickiest he’s ever experienced, the 89-player field combined to make 380 bogeys, 50 doubles and eight “others” in the second round with a scoring average of 75.079.
McIlroy failed to break par for the second consecutive day on the par-5s – something he hadn’t done in his 15 most recent rounds at Augusta. Heading to the last at 4-over, his drive fortunately bounced out of a magnolia tree and allowed him to save par with a 17-foot putt to shoot 77 and sit tied 35th.
“I won from 10 back in Dubai at the start of the year, but obviously the Dubai Desert Classic and the Masters are two very different golf tournaments,” McIlroy said. “We’ll see. Hopefully the conditions are a little better (Saturday). Yeah, I still think I can go out tomorrow and shoot a low one, get back into red numbers, and have half a chance going into Sunday.” While Thursday leaders DeChambeau and Scheffler battled to hang onto their positions in the most trying conditions you’ll ever see at Augusta National, Homa moved into the mix with his second consecutive under-par round.
Homa finished strong in the morning to complete a 5-under 67 and then shot 71 in the second round to put himself near the top of the leaderboard for the first time in five career starts at Augusta National. He’d only broken par twice previously in 12 previous rounds.
“I wrote something in my journal yesterday that said however good I am is however good I am,” said Homa, ranked No. 11 in the world with only one career top-10 finish in 17 majors starts – a T10 at the 150th Open at St. Andrews. “I don’t need to try to be better than I am, and just see where that takes me. Maybe it’s winning this and maybe it’s not, and I’m okay with that. I know what I put into this game, trying to get every ounce back doesn’t really work, and I’ve tried that part.” DeChambeau had chances to extend his first-round lead after making an incredible birdie on the par-5 13th to reach 8-under, but he bogeyed 14 and 18 and missed a short birdie chance at 17 to fall into a three-way tie.
“I’ve never experienced Augusta National in these conditions before,” DeChambeau said.
“Look, I felt like could I have finished birdie, par and been at 8-under. Didn’t happen. That’s in the past. Playing great golf. Golf swing is in an awesome place. Putting is in a great place. Chipping is in a great place. Just have to be smart around this place and give myself an opportunity come the back nine on Sunday.” Scheffler bogeyed 13 after hitting into the creek in front of the green and parred his way in to retain a share of the lead.
“I think even par this afternoon was a really good score,” said Scheffler of his 72.
Lingering seven shots off the lead after enduring a long 23-hole day, Tiger Woods shot a roller-coaster 72 to sit 1-over for two days work and into the Masters weekend for the 24th consecutive time. He now holds the cut streak record alone, leaving behind Freddie Couples and Gary Player at 23.
“I’m here. I have a chance to win the golf tournament,” Woods said. “I don’t know if they’re all going to finish today, but I’m done. I got my two rounds in. Just need some food and some caffeine, and I’ll be good to go.” The cut line kept falling from 3- to 4- to 5- and finally 6-over par as the carnage piled up. Among the worst train wrecks was Justin Thomas, who crashed at the finish for the second consecutive year. In 2023, Thomas bogeyed three of the last four holes to miss the cut by a shot. This was worse, as the two-time PGA champion was sitting comfortably at even par with only four holes to play and went double-double-bogey-double to finish 7-over and a shot out again.
Wyndham Clark was another victim of collapse, as the reigning U.S. Open champion was even par through 23 holes and made seven bogeys the rest of the way including three of the last five holes to miss the cut.
The Thomas and Clark collapses allowed 11 players at 6-over into the weekend tied 50th, including past Masters champions Jose Maria Olazabal, Adam Scott and Hideki Matsuyama.
Defending champion Jon Rahm survived the cut at 5-over after a Friday 76 that included birdies at 15 and 16 to offset a double at 14 and bogey at 17 that threatened to force him to sit around for two days to present the green jacket to a new winner.
“It was a last-ditch effort at the end to try and make the cut,” Rahm said. “Luckily I was successful in doing so.” Eight of LIV Golf’s 13 players in the field made the cut, but only DeChambeau and Cameron Smith (1-under) are among the top 10 in red figures. Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters winner, lurks at level par with Tyrrell Hatton and Brooks Koepka at 2-over, Phil Mickelson and Joaquin Niemann at 4-over and Rahm at 5-over.
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