2026 Masters: McIlroy takes off, Scheffler deflates and Rahm survives

(AFP) With a dream second round, Rory McIlroy on Friday extended his 2026 Masters lead to a record six shots, glimpsing the feat of a second consecutive green jacket.

The Northern Irishman's display contrasted with an unusual collapse by world number one Scottie Scheffler of the United States, while Spaniard Jon Rahm reacted in time to avoid an early elimination.

McIlroy, who shared the lead on Thursday with American Sam Burns, is alone in the lead with a cumulative 132 strokes, 12 under par.

His main pursuers are Burns himself and compatriot Patrick Reed, both six strokes back.

Before McIlroy, no player completed the first 36 holes with this lead in the 90 editions of the iconic Grand Slam tournament.

It is in his hand to become on Sunday the fourth Augusta champion to retain the title, after Jack Nicklaus (1965 and 1966), Nick Faldo (1989 and 1990) and Tiger Woods (2001 and 2002).

"There's still a long way to go," McIlroy warned. "I've had an unbelievable start but tomorrow we start again."

"I know what can happen here, both the good and the bad. I don't need to be reminded not to get complacent here," stressed the European star, who went through a decade of torment before winning the last Grand Slam trophy he was missing on this stage last year.

McIlroy will start the decisive weekend as the undisputed favorite thanks to his stratospheric second round of 65 strokes (-7).

The Northern Irishman quickly left Burns behind with three birdies in a row between holes two and five.

The reigning champion then stumbled with two bogeys, but he bounced back with one of the most amazing finishes the tournament has ever seen, stringing together six birdies in the last seven holes.

The penultimate of these, with a 26-meter birdie chip on the 17th hole, symbolized McIlroy's returning state of grace, whose other four major trophies date back to the period between 2011 and 2014.

End to Scheffler's streak

In parallel to his run, McIlroy watched with relief as the day went uphill for hitherto favorite Scottie Scheffler.

The American, champion in 2022 and 2024, made four bogeys and made two birdies to finish with 74 strokes (+2) in a very uncharacteristic performance of the great dominator of the circuit, especially on the biggest stages.

Scheffler, winner of four major titles, had only been under par in two of the 23 rounds he had played at Augusta National.

The American accumulated 11 straight rounds at par or above, a streak only surpassed by those of Tiger Woods (16 between 2007 and 2011) and Jon Rahm (15 between 2018 and 2021).

"Today I felt like I played a lot better than my score reflects," Scheffler qualified. "It was just a few things here and there, a couple of situations that didn't go in my favor, the margins are very small."

Ortiz and Echavarría, eliminated

Champion in 2023, Jon Rahm corrected course on Friday after a disastrous first round put him in serious danger of missing the cut.

Back on the course early in the morning, the Spaniard pulled out his pride to avoid an embarrassing elimination.

The Basque player made his first two birdies of this edition in the first five holes and closed the round in 70 strokes (-2).

The Basque player is in 47th place with a cumulative +4, the cutoff for players who made the cut.

"I know what I was doing wrong. I just couldn't correct it on the course," Rahm said of his unfortunate debut.

"Yesterday was just an anomaly where everything that could go wrong went wrong," recalled the Saudi LIV Golf Tour star.

Unlike Rahm, the Latin American representatives failed to bounce back from their drab debuts and were eliminated.

Mexico's Carlos Ortiz finished in 79th place, out of a total of 91, with a second card of 75 strokes (+3) and a cumulative score of 155 (+11).

Colombian Nico Echavarría, meanwhile, finished in 85th place after a second round of 78 strokes (+6) and a total of 157 (+13).