Rory McIlroy surged back into contention for Masters glory – and with it the chance to enter the pantheon of golfing greats.
A landmark, bogey-free second round 66 catapulted the Northern Irishman up the Masters leaderboard on day two at Augusta, less than 24 hours after a back nine implosion that threatened to dictate the discourse.
2025 Masters Leaderboard
After two rounds
-8 Justin Rose
-7 Bryson DeChambeau
-6 Rory McIlroy, Corey Conners,
-5 Matt McCarty, Shane Lowry, Scottie Scheffler, Tyrrell Hatton
-4 Rasmus Hojgaard, Viktor Hovland, Jason Day
The world no 2 had played beautifully on Thursday to sit at four under par with four holes left to play.
But two double bogies in those final four holes meant rather than being nestled behind Ryder Cup teammate Justin Rose, he was in fact seven shots adrift of the first round lead and snubbed media duties.
A far cry from the heartwarming scenes during Wednesday’s Par-3 competition where McIlroy’s daughter Poppy stole the show.
Both Rose and McIlroy were among the early starters on Friday and while Rose carded a one-under par round 71 to take the halfway lead – and with it eclipse Masters greats – McIlroy was spectacular.
Four birdies and an eagle, no bogies and a round of 66 put Thursday’s scruffy end in the rear view mirror – and with it made a little slice of Augusta history for McIlroy.
Per golf statistician Justin Ray, McIlroy has now fired more bogey-free rounds (6) than any other player since making his debut in 2009.
For McIlroy there was more to it.
“I think, overall, just proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night,” he told Sky Sports after his round
“I wasn’t going to let two bad holes sort of dictate the narrative for the rest of the week…yeah, ultimately just proud of how I got back into it.”
Now, the four-time major champion stands on the brink of greatness and the chance to join Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Gary Players, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazan as men to win all four majors at least once.
There’s plenty of golf to be played, McIlroy knows that more than most but he bristled at the thought of Thursday’s dropped shots costing him dear.
“I don’t think I proved anything. If anything, I just backed up the belief that I have in myself,” he said.
“I’m as resilient as anyone else out here.
“Once I left the property I tried to leave what had happened here. I rushed home to see (daughter) Poppy before she went to bed and I feel like I did a good job of resetting.
“I had a good conversation with [sports psychologist] Bob Rotella about not pushing too hard too early, just tried to stay really, really patient and that was rewarded with a nice little stretch in the middle of the round.”
It seems barely believable that McIlroy is more than 10 years and 38 majors since his last success in golf’s biggest events.
Millions in prize money, FedEx playoffs, signature events, DP World Championships and Ryder Cup triumphs have ensured success has been in constant supply.
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But the golfing elite are judged on major success and the 35-year-old is desperate to add a Masters to the PGA, Open and two US Opens he has already placed on the McIlroy mantelpiece.
Nine of the top 16 at the halfway stage already have a major title as a high calibre field enters the weekend.
Former US Open champions Rose and Bryson DeChambeau will be the last pair out on Saturday, while McIlroy will be alongside Canada’s Corey Conners in the penultimate group.
World No.1 Scottie Scheffler is in the mix at five-under par, where McIlroy’s great friend Shane Lowry finds himself as the island of Ireland await a first Masters champion.
No-one who made the cut has more than McIlroy’s four major wins, but perhaps no-one carries as much scar tissue.
Famously, McIlroy has this year spoken about wanting to have your heartbroken if you want to put yourself in the mix for the majors.
Even more famously, McIlroy imploded 14 years ago on the back nine on Sunday when poised to claim the title.
At the halfway stage, heartbreak remains a possibility but tantalisingly golfing greatness also lies in touching distance.
