[ Rory McIlroy finds redemption as patience pays off in spades at AugustaOpens in new window ]
[ Breakfast club meeting puts McIlroy and Lowry on the right track at AugustaOpens in new window ]
That’s all we have for you tonight folks. Join John O’Sullivan tomorrow as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry look to continue their surge up the leaderboard on moving day.
And here’s leader Justin Rose’s take on his second round:
Rory McIlroy: “Overall, I’m just proud of myself with how I responded today after that finish last night. I just had to remind myself that I played really good golf yesterday, and I wasn’t going to let two bad holes dictate the narrative for the rest of the week. I probably need to get to somewhere between -12 and -15 to win this tournament and there’s plenty of time to do that.”
There are currently 59 players at +2 or better.... and +2 is the projected cut. Squeaky bum time for a heap of the field.
Holy Moses, Viktor Hovland .....
Scottie Scheffler misses a very gettable putt on the 10th and falls back to -5.
LEADERBOARD
- -8 Justin Rose (F)
- -7 Bryson DeChambeau (F)
- -6 Rory McIlroy (F), Tyrrell Hatton (9)
- -5 Matt McCarty (F), Shane Lowry (F), Corey Connors (12), Jason Day (10), Scottie Scheffler (10)
Here’s Rory’s verdict on his second round:
Shane Lowry winds up a very tidy round of 68 with a par on the 18th.... although it was agonisingly close to a birdie. No matter, he’s on -5 going in to the weekend, just three shots off the lead. Offaly won’t get a wink of sleep.
Leaderboard:
-8 Justin Rose (F)
-7 Bryson DeChambeau (F)
-6 Rory McIlroy (F)
-5 Matt McCarty (F), Shane Lowry (F), Corey Connors (10), Jason Day (8), Scottie Scheffler (7)
McIlroy completes his round with a par on the 18th, a 66, featuring six birdies, leaving him just two shots adrift of Justin Rose going in to the weekend. He struts off the green like a man decidedly happy with his day’s work - he’s most certainly in the running.
LEADERBOARD
- -8 Justin Rose (F)
- -7 Bryson DeChambeau (17)
- -6 Rory McIlroy (F), Corey Connors (8), Scottie Scheffler (6)
- -5 Matt McCarty (F), Shane Lowry (16)
Ominous, indeed.....
A birdie for Bryson DeChambeau at the 17th, he’s back to within a shot of Justin Rose.
LEADERBOARD
- -8 Justin Rose (F)
- -7 Bryson DeChambeau (17)
- -6 Rory McIlroy (17), Corey Connors (8)
- -5 Matt McCarty (F), Viktor Hovland (17), Shane Lowry (16), Scottie Scheffler (5)
Steady as she goes, pars for Shane Lowry in his last two holes. He stays at -5.
LEADERBOARD
- -8 Justin Rose (F)
- -6 Rory McIlroy (17), Bryson DeChambeau (16), Corey Connors (8)
- -5 Matt McCarty (F), Viktor Hovland (17), Shane Lowry (16), Scottie Scheffler (5)
Ominous.... he’s on -5, picking up one birdie so far in his first five holes today.
A par for McIlroy at the 17th, which caused him a world of trouble in his first round. Phew.
While he chills out in the clubhouse, Justin Rose’s lead extends to two shots, Bryson DeChambeau suffering a bogey on the 16th.
We spoke too soon about Viktor Hovland’s smokin’ hotness - he’s just dropped a shot at the 17th.
LEADERBOARD
- -8 Justin Rose (F)
- -6 Rory McIlroy (16), Bryson DeChambeau (16), Corey Connors (8)
- -5 Matt McCarty (F), Viktor Hovland (17), Ludvig Aberg (16), Shane Lowry (14), Scottie Scheffler (4)
Viktor Hovland is smokin’ hot - he’s birdied the 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th and joins Rory McIlroy in a share of third on -6.
McIlroy makes par at the 16th, he stays on -6, two shots behind Justin Rose. Lowry birdies the 14th so he’s on -5. This is turning in to a a very useful day.
A birdie for McIlroy at the 15th! He’s on a roll, up to -6 and just two shots off the lead.
Palpitations. McIlroy’s approach at the 15th looked like it might end up in the water, but calamity averted, it’s on the green, 90-ish feet from the hole.
Evening all, Mary Hannigan here stepping in for Malachy who’s off for a breather after his mammoth round two shift. He saw plenty of splendid golf through it all and, very happily, some of it has been produced by Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry.
McIlroy, ably assisted by an outstanding eagle on the 13th, is now just three shots off the lead. “He’s like the stock market at the moment, he’s up and he’s down,” as Paul McGinley put it.
Lowry is just a stroke further back, helping himself to three birdies in his round so far.
It’s been a steady-ish day for leader Justin Rose following his first round of 65 - at one point he had a four shot lead over the chasing pack, but that’s now down to one after his 71. Bryson DeChambeau is just a stroke behind, Sungjae Im one more back.
No one has had a more eventful day than Arizonan Matt McCarty - he dropped three shots in his first two holes, but went on to pick up eight birdies. As recoveries go, that’s decent. He finished with a 68.
This is the current state of play:
- -8 Justin Rose (F)
- -7 Bryson DeChambeau (12)
- -6 Sungjae Im (14)
- -5 Matt McCarty (F), Rory McIlroy (13), Corey Connors (5), Scottie Scheffler (2)
- -4 Rasmus Hojgaard (16), Viktor Hovland (14), Ludvig Aberg (13), Shane Lowry (12)
McIlroy’s putt just misses on the right and that’s a par. He’s tied for third, with only Rose and DeChambeau ahead of him. Nor for the 15th, the scene of yesterday’s crime.
Up on the 18th, Rose finishes out for par and will sign for a 71. The clubhouse lead is -8 - if McIlroy and Lowry can get to the house within three of that, they’re right in the mix.
Rose has played one those little four-woods from off the green and left himself with eight feet for par on the last. And oh my word - Rory has played a stunning recovery on the 14th to find the middle of the green and leave himself with 17feet for birdie. He couldn’t, could he?
And wouldn’t you know it? McIlroy wangs one away right off the 14th tee into god knows where. He’ll need another break to get that to the green. Easy there, Rory. He’s four under for his last four holes - this is not the time to drop a shot.
Rose has 168 yards to the pin on 18. The wind is tricky though and he hoikes it into the crowd on the left. That’s going to be a tough up and down.
Now Rory - what have you got? You’ve got an eagle!! Centre cup, not a bother on him. That was a big break but he’s taken advatage of it and he’s right back in this. That moves him to -5 and a tie for fourth!
Rose was wobbly on the final tee yesterday but that’s a perfect drive on 18. Right side of the fairway, no worries. Should make a par from there.
Lowry has posted a nice par at 12. He had a birdie chance but it was a fiddly one down the hill and just ran out of speed. DeChambeau doesn’t manage a birdie either and they move to the 13th.
Rory is in the pine straw on 13 - and he pulls off a stunner! What the hell was he doing even going for it??!! He laughs it off but that could be just the break he needs. He’s nine feet away for eagle. Can he make it?
Rose looks like he’s going to pat for going in the bunker - he splashes out to 18 feet and walks out of the sand in disgust. This would be a careless shot to drop after a terrific drive. It comes up short and he’s back to -8 heading up the last. Could do without a jittery finish here.
Scottie Scheffler is on the course and has played a very Scottie Scheffler first hole. Middle of the green with his second shot, two putts and a regulation par. He’s on -4.
Shane has left himself a seven-footer for his par at 11. He could do without this one slipping by and stalling his momentum. He makes it! Great save.
Rose plays his approach to the 17th and shouts “Careful!” at it as it flied through the air. It comes up short in the bunker - that’s going to be slightly tricky, with the pin right at the front.
Yikes! DeChambeau has flirted with disaster on the 11, pulling his approach short and left and almost spinning into the pond. If he gets out of the without dropping a shot, he’ll have been extraordinarily lucky. Lowry has gone the safer route, out to the right.
McIlroy takes out his putter from off the back of the 12th and bumps it up to three feet before polishing it off for par. Nicely done. Meanwhile, Matt McCarty’s fine round comes to an end with a bogey on 18. He signs for a 68 and has the clubhouse lead at -5.
Rose has played a towering iron into 16 and kept it on the top shelf, leaving himself seven feet for birdie. He’s had a quiet few holes so this would be a big one to hole. It’s a slippery one but he’s equal to it! That moves him back to -9.
Shane Lowry is putting a fantastic round together. He’s belted an arrowstraight drive down the 11th, albeit he still has 200 yards to the green. He’ll hardly be able to birdie it like McIlroy did but he should be okay from there.
Ah here, Rory. As soon as the ball left his clubface on 12 he was shouting “Sit! Sit!” He’s got a break though - the ball rolled up into the azaleas but then rolled back out. It’s a tough up and down from there but at least he has a shot at it.
BOOM! McIlroy rolls it in on 11. That’s birdie-birdie around two of the toughest holes on the course. He’s on -3. And also BOOM! Lowry holes his putt on 10. He moves to -4. Both of them are inside the top 10 now.
Rose did indeed get out with his par on 15. DeChambeau is in a bit of bother on the 10th after pulling his approach to the left of the green. But Lowry has stuffed one to five feet there and can move to -4 if he makes it. This is starting to boil up!
Oh my giddy aunt Rory! He rightly and magnificently ignores our entreaties and nails one to five feet on the 11th. That’s a stunning shot. If he holes that...
Rose has played his approach to 20 feet at the 15th - looks like he’s aiming to get another par and get out of Dodge.
A McIlroy special off the tee on 11 has left him with 160 yards to the pin. On the one hand, it’s another fantastic drive. On the other, it might tempt him to go for the flag. Please don’t Rory. Please don’t.
Im and McCarty are still rolling, all the way to the house. McCarty has birdied four of the eight holes on the back nine, Im has posted five birdies in his first 12 holes. They’re both on -6, two off Rose’s lead.
Rose has laid up on 15 - the wind is back into their faces today so you’d imagine that will be a popular tactic, especially given yesterday’s travails.
Shot of the day from Rory McIlroy! From a hanging lie on the 10th, he’s whizzed one in to a couple of feet. That will be a gimme birdie! McIlroy moves to -2, six off the lead and plenty of scoring holes to come.
Rose cosies his fourth one up to two feet and that’s a shot gone. He had a four-shot lead at one stage a couple of hours ago. Now he leads by just one.
Rose has made his first mistake in a while with that second shot and he pays the price. He can only scramble it to 25 feet - his chip doesn’t quite get up the hill. In fact, he’s lucky it doesn’t roll back to his feet. That’s a long one for par but he’ll take bogey after that effort, you’d imagine. Seems certain to drop at least one here.
Rose might be in a little bit of a jam on the 14th here. He’s pulled up short with his approach to the bumpy green and it’s going to take real wizardry to get up and down. Maybe the door is slightly ajar for the others?
Lowry and DeChambeau have the flag surrounded on the eighth. DeChambeau has 20 feet for eagle, Lowry has eight feet for birdie. DeChambeau comes up just short with hhis effort but that’s a kick-in birdie and he moves to -7. Lowry holes his and that’s him up to -3! Up on the 9th, Rory’s effort pulls up just on the right of the hole and that’s a bogey-free 35 on the front nine. Plenty happening!
Now Rory. A stonking drive down 9 has left him with a 101 yard second shot. But he puts too much spin on it! It looked fantastic in the air but these greens are zippy as all hell now. That looked like it would end up stone dead but now he has 20 feet up the hill for his birdie.
On the 13th, Rose two-putts for his par. He’ll feel he should have made birdie but stays three clear of DeChambeau so you’d imagine he’ll get over it.
Rasmus Hojgaard is tearing it up! A stunning iron shot into the 10th green leaves him 10 feet for birdie and he ratlles it in!. That’s five birdies and five pars in his opening 10 holes. After a 73 yesterday, he’s up to -4 and a tie for fourth.
Rose has played a percentage lay-up and has 74 yards left for his approach to the 13th. But that’s a scruffy attempt and it doesn’t get up to the right level. He’ll have around 30 feet there for birdie. Untidy.
Hmm. The first head shake of the day from McIlroy. As predicted, the birdie putt is a little too squirelly for him on eight and he walks off with a par. That started with the tee shot and didn’t get any better. Needs to buck himself up here - Rose isn’t showing any signs of coming back to him.
Some fine scores out there today, clearly. Sungjae Im has reached the turn in 32 - and could very easily have made it 31 as his approach on the ninth almost went in. Matt McCarty (-4) and Rasmus Hojgaard (-3) are flying too.
McIlroy has made the eighth just a smidge harder than he needed to. Out of the bunker, he went a little too far to the left of the fairway and left himself a shot over the trees to the green. He missed his landing spot by about two feet and though it has rolled back down towards the hole, he has around 15 feet for his birdie. It’s a chance but not as straightforward a chance as it should have been.
And he’ll need it - because Rose has applied the finish that approach at 12 deserved! That’s another birdie and he moves to -9.
Shane’s putt just misses and he’ll have to be happy with par. Rory’s drive on eight slives into the bunker, which will obviously take eagle out of the equation. Can still make birdie from there though.
Another good chance for Lowry on 7 - he’s played his second shot 15 feet past the hole. He’ll have that to move to -3.
What a shot from Rose on the 12th! After watching playing partner Max Homa sail over the green, he spears a beauty in to four feet. He’ll have that to move to -9. This is fantastic stuff from the veteran.
Matt McCarty has reeled off five birdies in seven holes and hoisted himself up into the rarefied air of the group on -4.
Rose has played another perfectly-judged putt on 10 - it looked slow as hell halfway there but ended up just inches from the cup. That’s 10 and 11 negotiated with no drama for the leader.
Sungjae Im is making a run at this - another one who has reeled off three birdies on his front nine. He moves to -4, level with Scheffler et al. And Rory’s putt on 7 just comes up a few rolls short. No need to get too frustrated - there won’t be many birdies on seven today. Par is fine.
McIlroy looks dialed in on seven, barrelling his approach to the middle of the green and leaving himself around 20 feet uphill for birdie. Should be another nailed-on par at worst.
Rose whips his second to 11 to the front right fronge of the green, which is exactly where he wanted it to go. That’s one of the most dangerous shots he’ll face today and he’ll be delighted with it.
And Lowry nails it! Second birdie of the day and he’s onto -2. Keep trucking, Shane.
Another stunning shot from Lowry, this time on the short 6th. He stitches one in there to 10 feet and has that to move to -2, which would take him inside the top 10. On the seventh, Rory zings a three-wood down the right side of the fairway and watches on as both his playing partners spray theirs into the woods on the right. Solid stuff so far.
Outstanding work from Rose on the 10th. His approach fell back off the green and left him with a 40-yard chip up the hill. He spun it to attention at kick-in length and marched off with another par. He’s making himself very hard to catch here.
The best round on thwe course belongs to Bryson DeChambeau. He’s just had three birdies in four holes from the second - there won’t have been many rounds in the history of the Masters where anyone has gone birdie-birdie at the fourth and fifth. But Bryson has done it and he moves to -6. Up ahead, Aberg makes a sloppy bogey on the sixth and falls back to -4.
Not good from Rory on the 6th - for the first time all week he has come up short with one of his irons, leaving him a very knotty chip up the green. Back on the 5th, that’s magnificent from Lowry, who rolls his putt to a few inches and snaps up his par. And a stunning chip from McIlroy too. No damage done by either of them.
Rose is playing exactly like a guy who is competing in his 22nd Masters. He’s not taking any needless risks and his driving seems to have clicked into the groove. He slings a nice one around the corner on 10 and finds the fairway. Back on 5, Lowry is in Aberg country, down at the front of the green. He’ll need to be as good as his Ryder Cup teammate to get out of it.
Another easy par for Rose on the ninth - middle fo the green, two putts. He turns in a faultless 35. Aberg finishes off - that’s excellent scrambling.
That’s a terrific effort from Aberg, in fairness to the lad. It’s so hard to get up that hill and reach the hole but he got there and he’s left himself with around five feet for par. Now Rory - what have you got? A slightly meek putt that comes up three feet short is what. Still, it’s a par on the fifth - he’ll take that every day of the week.
Good stuff from McIlroy on the 5th, taking advantage of his brilliant drive to find the middle of the green. He’ll have around 20 feet for his birdie. Aberg tries to follow him in but comes up short at the front of the green. He’s going to do very well to two-putt from there.
Lowry has done the best he could and has around 17 feet left for his par on the fourth. It’s downhill and slippery as all hell. It just slides by and that’s his first bogey of the day. Meanwhile, his playing partner DeChambeau has pulled off an outrageous bunker hole-out from a not-particularly-special tee shot. That’s him up to joint second with Aberg on -5!
Monoumental driving from McIlroy and Aberg on the fifth. It’s among the toughest drives anywhere on the course and they’ve both striped it down the middle, around 330 yards. Phenomenal.
Ouch. Shane Lowry has hoiked his tee shot at the long fourth well left of the bunker. That’s going to test his short game - over a bunker onto a hilly green with very little landmass to work with. He’ll need a bit of sorcery here to get out alive.
Up at eight, Rose has played the long par-five more or less to perfection. Two three-woods just short of the green and now he’s chipped up to five feet. He’ll have that for birdie. And there it is! Rose moves back to -8. Simple game.
The Augusta greens fairly test the old positive vibes, of course. McIlroy’s putt from the back fringe looked fantastic for most of the way but then as it got to the hole, it refused to slow down. He has eight feet back up the hill for his par. He should get it but it’s a testing one. He’s equal to it and that’s another solid par.
McIlroy has slightly overclubbed on the fourth and will have to chip down from the back of the green. Shouldn’t be a huge hassle - he doesn’t seem too annoyed about it anyway. Positive vibes, Rory.
Lowry is playing some lovely smooth stuff - he has 18 feet for birdie on the third. It’s downhill and he’ll be happy enough with his two-putt. But the very fact that he’s not having to scramble for pars is obviously good news.
McIlroy dribbles a careful putt down to the hole and leaves himself a sweatless tap-in for his par. One under after three - he’ll take that. Playing partner Ludvig Aberg takes birdie after a lovely chip and moves into solo second on -5.
Meanwhile, back on the second, Lowry only just misses with his eagle attempt but polishes off his birdie. That’s him up to -2. Alongside him, playing partner Bryson DeChambeau posts a birdie as well. That’s him into joint second on -4.
On the third, McIlroy had 50 yards left for his approach and took the safe option of hitting the middle of the green rather than going for the pin on the treacherous green. He’ll have 20 feet down the hill from there and should tidy away a par at worst.
An absolutely stunning shot into the second hole by Shane Lowry! He hit it 242 yards down the hill to finish just 22 feet from the hole. He’ll have that for eagle. Brilliant stuff.
Rose has pulled his tee shot on the 6th but he shouted at it in the air to be lucky and somehow, it listened. He’s left himself a 25-footer uphill for birdie. It slides by but he’s delighted with that - it was flirting with disaster in the air.
This already feels like a pretty crucial putt for McIlroy. Not so much from the scoring point of view - he still has plnety of holes left in the tournament to make up ground. But more from a gut-check point of view. If this goes in, he’ll bounce to the 3rd tee. If it misses, will the shoulders go down? That’s a lot to put on what is, after all, the 20th hole of 72 - but this is what the McIlroy rollercoaster does to us. And he holes it! Great up and down from where he was. Back to -1. Onwards!
McIlroy is scruffy off the tee on 2, finishing behind a tree on the right side of the fairway. He has chipped out to the far left side, leaving himself around 110 to the pin from the left rough. But clas is class - he drills a nice low runner to eight feet. He’ll have that for birdie.
Shane Lowry is on the course and has split the first fairway. He’ll have a nice look into the green from there and sure enough, his approach finishes 30 feet away. No hassles for Shane on the first hole. The same cant be said for Rose on 5 though - his putt slides by and he’s back to -7.
Rose is short of the green at the fifth and will need serious magic here to avoid a bogey. He chips up to around 15 feet. That’s going to be a slippery one coming back across the hill. If he gets out of this one, maybe it is his year after all.
McIlroy rolls it up to three feet and should be able to tidy it up from there. Not the worst start in the world, assuming he makes it. Meanwhile up on the 5th, Rose is in trouble off the tee again, pulling it left into the bunker. If he is to eventually fall back to the pack, it’s a fair bet that his driving is what’s going to catch him out. Rory cleans up for par.
Rory McIlroy is on the course, meanwhile. You wouldn’t say his opening tee shot is exactly awe-inspiring - it’s not great when he’s shouting “Fore left!”. But it wasn’t actually too bad and he’s able to get his second shot onto the front of the first green. He won’t be holing that but getting down in two shouldn’t be beyond him.
And he does it! Rose whips his second shot to five feet, rolls in the putt and gives a little fist bump as it hits the bottom of the cup. Great work from the leader.
First sign of trouble for Rose at the long par-3 fourth. He got under it with a metal wood and came up a good 50 yards short. “Lay-up,” he wisecracks to the gallery, who chortle along. That’s going to be some up-and-down if he gets out of it with a par.
Rose plays the third as simple as you like - middle of the green with his second shot, cosied up to the hole with his third. A no-fuss par. He stays four clear.
Rory McIlroy will be on the course at 2.58. Shane Lowry at 3.15. The afternoon is about to get a whole lot more interesting.
Ah, that’s fantastic from Rose. He left himself 14 feet for birdie - not the most amazing bunker shot you’ve ever seen but no chance of dropping a shot. From there, he poured it in for birdie and moves to -8, four shots clear of the field!
Rose is in the bunker at the front of the green on 2 - not the worst spot in the world, although he will be chipping back across the side of a fairly severe slope. He got away with a loose one there - his second shot caught a branch and bounced forward into the bunker when it could have gone any number of less enticing places. This is him a few minutes ago, attending to important business...
No fuss from rose there. He played a lovely chip up the hill, leaving himself just a two-footer for par. Makes no mistake and he’s up and running, off to the par-five 2nd.
Rose has split the fairway with his opening tee shot. No sign of having slept fitfully on the lead there anyway. Much as it won’t be great for the tournament if he turns this into a procession, he’s always seemed like pretty good egg, Justin rose. You wouldn’t begrduge him anyway. His approach is just off the right of the green though - that might be a testing up-and-down from there.
First move of the day belongs to Brian Campbell, the Masters debutant who shot a 72 yesterday and has birdied the second hole to move to -1. He’s one of 26 golfers under par for the tournament, with the leader Rose out on the course in around 10 minutes or so.
The leader is, of course, Justin Rose, who played a smashing round of golf yesterday for his 65. He has been leader or joint leader at Augusta eight times now without ever winning it. The closest he came was in 2017, when he got pipped by Sergio Garcia. Here’s his interview with Sky after his round.
Day Two of the Masters and we go again, whether we want to or not. At two minutes to 11 last night, it was all going to swimmingly. Rory McIlroy was four under par, driving the hell out of the ball and seemingly set to put his traditional first-day Augusta woes behind him for good. And then, disaster.
In the end, it was a decent day’s work from Shane Lowry, who couldn’t get anything going on the back nine and still made it to the house on -1. They’re out in successive groups again today, Rory at 2.58 and Shane at 3.15.
Fore please! The Masters liveblog now driving.
