After a shaky start to the Masters, Rory McIlroy put himself into contention for his first green jacket by firing a second-round 6-under 66 at Augusta National. McIlroy is tied with Corey Conners and two-time major winner Bryson DeChambeau at 8 under.
McIlroy had a chance to increase his lead on the back nine, but hit a drive into a tributary of Rae’s Creek and made a double bogey. He had another birdie on the par-five 13th, but missed a putt from three feet at the next hole and dropped back to a tie with Rose.
The Northern Irishman was able to steady himself with a birdie on the 14th and eagled the par-four 15th, giving him a two-shot lead entering Sunday. He was unable to capitalize on several more birdie opportunities on the front and back sides of the course, but his wedge into 3 feet for birdie at the 18th put him in position for an epic finish at golf’s greatest theater.
On the other side of the leaderboard, Scottie Scheffler and Ludvig Aberg both shot four-under 68s to build some separation from the rest of the field. Aberg is the defending champion and is looking to become just the sixth player in history to win back-to-back Masters titles.
Two-time PGA Tour champion and former U.S. Open champion Nick Dunlap had a remarkable turnaround after a disastrous start to the tournament, finishing with a 1-under round of 71. It is the largest round-to-round improvement in Masters history and he is now just five shots off the cut line.