AUGUSTA, Ga. — Rory McIlroy delivered a strong finish at the Masters on Friday, looking like someone who has done this before. Six birdies over the final seven holes gave him a 7-under 65 and a six-round lead that set the Masters record through 36 holes.
The last hour of an interesting day began to look like a triumphant episode.
McIlroy, who made three straight birdies early in his round, found himself locked in a duel with old foe Patrick Reed, the 2018 champion who birdied the par-3 12th to win. McIlroy was coming off a few loose turns when he came to the heart of Amen Corner.
“Standing on the 12th, I didn’t think I’d be six shots ahead,” McIlroy said.
Before long, he was alone.
His tee shot over Rae’s Creek on the dangerous 12th hole landed 7 feet behind the flag. He ate the birds in both stages 5 after sleeping in the trees. He hit the bottom pin on the par-3 16th par for a birdie.
And then he sent the gallery into disgrace when he slotted in from 30 yards on the 17th. McIlroy couldn’t see the hole on the top of the hill on the green, but he knew it was good because “I could see everybody on the stage starting to get up.”
“That’s a bonus,” he said.
And there was one more to go — another nice downhill tee shot to 6 feet for the final birdie.
That put him at 12-under 132, six shots clear of Reed (69) and Sam Burns (71). The previous record for the largest 36-hole lead at Augusta National was five shots by Jordan Spieth (2015), Raymond Floyd (1976), Jack Nicklaus (1975), Herman Keizer (1946) and Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper (1936).
All but Cooper went on to win.
McIlroy is tied for the third-most 36-hole lead in major tournament history, trailing only Henry Cotton who scored nine at The Open in 1934 and Brooks Koepka who scored seven at the PGA Championship in 2019, according to ESPN Research.
If McIlroy holds on, he will become the fourth player to win back-to-back Masters, joining Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.
He was two shots behind in 36 holes in 2011 and extended a four-shot lead going into the final round before famously posting an 80. That was the start of his Masters heartbreak that lasted until last year, when he won the tournament at Augusta National.
Maybe he should start thinking about next year’s Masters Club dinner menu.
“I know what can happen here, good and bad,” McIlroy said with a smile. “You don’t have to remind me not to get ahead of myself. There’s still a long way to go. I’m off to an amazing start.”
Augusta allowed that. It was warm, sunny, dry. The wind wasn’t that strong and the storms weren’t moving that much. And there have been better scores in part because of the many pin locations, including 16 and 18, where well-hit shots could feed toward the hole.
The score is almost two shots lower than Thursday.
That didn’t help everyone, least of all Bryson DeChambeau. He battled back after opening with a 76 and was one shot under the cut when it took him two shots to get off the green on the 18th, the second shot off the lead back into the fairway. He made three bogeys and missed the cut.
Reed was bogey-free until he bogeyed the final hole. That also cost him a place in Saturday’s final group with McIlroy. Paired together in the final group in 2018, it looked like it was all Augusta on McIlroy’s side, only for Reed to win handily.
Burns bogeyed his final two holes to shoot a 71 and will be paired with McIlroy.
Justin Rose, who lost to McIlroy last year, had a tough day with the putter and shot a 69 to join the group at 5-under 139 — now seven shots behind — along with Shane Lowry (69) and Tommy Fleetwood, who had two eagles in his round of 68.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player, is now 12 shots behind. Scheffler twice hit the water on the par 5s on the back nine, made bogey on both and shot a 74 for his first even-par round at the Masters in three years.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
