Rory sets record for largest 36-hole lead in Masters history

Rory McIlroy is turning Augusta National into his own personal playground.

The 2026 Masters is unfolding like last year's event, with McIlroy again asserting his dominance over the field and the iconic course.

After claiming a green jacket and completing the career grand slam, McIlroy is doing his best to replicate his finish from 2025.

The five-time major champ rode one of the most absurd heaters in Masters history Friday, birdieing six of his final seven holes to turn a packed leaderboard into another emphatic chapter of the Rory story.

The blitz vaulted McIlroy to a Masters record six-shot lead after 36 holes, pulling one clear of a mark previously matched five times.

Six birdies in his final seven holes suggest McIlroy was in full flight around Augusta. While there's some truth to that fact, he hasn't been firing on all cylinders. Through the opening two rounds, McIlroy ranks 90th of 91 players in driving accuracy and has failed to hit a fairway in eight chances on par 5s. However, that hasn't affected his scoring, as McIlroy has used his veteran experience to keep his ball out of trouble.

"The only way I can describe it is everything that you see or any situation that you come across, you can find a positive in it," McIlroy said. "Then you see birdies, and you can see ways to make birdies. So hit it in the trees at 13, fine, I can make a birdie doing it this way. Hit it in the trees at 15, same thing.

"Then you get your spots where you can attack, like the 16th, and feed it in there. Yeah, I think that's the best way I can describe it. You reel off some birdies, and even when you find yourself out of position, you can still somehow see yourself make a birdie some way."

The explosive end to the day took plenty of steam out of a valiant charge by several players, including 2018 winner Patrick Reed, who posted a 3-under 69. Reed tied the lead at one point on the second nine before McIlroy hit the gas and sped away from his former rival.

Reed sits alongside first-round co-leader Sam Burns, who utilized a strong finish to flip a negative day into a positive. Burns birdied three of his last four holes to scoot into the tie for second.

Tommy Fleetwood made two eagles during his push Friday, flying into a tie with Augusta stalwart Justin Rose. Both sit tied with Shane Lowry at 5-under.

But for all the quality golf played at Augusta, there were also plenty of shaky moments. Scottie Scheffler essentially dominated the leaderboard at Augusta the last three years, but he faltered Friday with shockingly poor play. Although the 29-year-old has struggled with putting before, his approach game used to be considered his biggest guarantee. However, Scheffler ranks 54th out of 91 players in that area at this year's Masters, finding the water with his second shot on both the par 5s on the second nine.

Add in a tough day on the greens in which he sits 81st in putting, and not even the World No. 1 can put up a solid score with that combo. By the time the dust cleared, Scheffler sat in 24th place and will see his streak of consecutive rounds in the top 10 at the Masters end at 10.

For as bad as Scheffler looked, his issues paled in comparison to Bryson DeChambeau. The LIV superstar crashed out of the event in dramatic fashion with a triple-bogey on the 18th hole to miss the cut by two. DeChambeau would've played the weekend with a bogey on the closer, but he left his third shot in the bunker and then missed the green with his fourth. It's his first missed cut at Augusta in three years after top-6 finishes in the past two Masters.

However, this day will only be remembered for McIlroy's brilliance. The 36-year-old said he'll try not to watch the leaderboard over the weekend with such a large lead, a stark contrast to the heart-stopping action during last year's win.

"I think the next two days for me are really about focusing on myself," McIlroy said. "It's hard to avoid those big leaderboards out there, but I know that I've got a lead. So I don't need to keep checking it all the time. So for me, just really focusing on myself and staying in my own little world out there is the best thing."