Augusta (United States) (AFP) – Defending champion Rory McIlroy battled England’s Tyrrell Hatton and Justin Rose for the lead in Friday’s second round of the 90th Masters at firm and fast Augusta National. McIlroy, a five-time major winner from Northern Ireland, sank a six-foot birdie putt at the par-five second hole to seize the solo lead at six-under par.
McIlroy, trying to become only the fourth golfer to capture back-to-back Masters titles, had shared the 18-hole lead with American Sam Burns after firing a five-under-par 67 on Thursday. Burns was still on five under through seven holes, sharing second with Hatton and Rose. Hatton matched McIlroy atop the leaderboard with birdies at the par-five 15th and par-three 16th, giving him seven birdies and no bogeys on the day as he chased a first major title.
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Hatton, who made four birdies on the front nine, landed his approach two feet from the hole at 15 and tapped in for birdie, then sank a six-foot birdie putt at the par-three 16th to grab a share of the lead. Rose, the 2013 US Open winner, dropped his approach to four feet at the par-five 15th and made the putt to share second. He had reeled off three consecutive birdies before a bogey at the par-three 12th after missing the green.
After early frustration, Rose made a 24-foot birdie putt at seven, a 10-footer for birdie at nine, a three-footer at 10, and a four-footer at 11. McIlroy beat Rose in a playoff last year to complete the career Grand Slam. Rose began Friday with a bogey after hitting his first tee shot under a right-side tree and missing a 10-foot par putt. The three-time Masters runner-up also missed seven-foot birdie putts at the par-five second and par-three fourth, tossing his putter into the air in frustration at the latter, before his rally.
American Wyndham Clark, the 2023 US Open champion, fired a 68 to hold the clubhouse lead on four-under 140. “Augusta can sometimes give you some opportunities to make birdies,” Clark said. “You find yourself getting into a groove and sometimes you shoot six-, seven-under and today I felt like I could have done that. But I’ll take four-under.”
World number one Scottie Scheffler, seeking his third Masters victory in five seasons, made bogeys at the fourth and fifth holes to fall back. His birdies at the par-five eighth and par-four 10th were followed by a bogey at 13, leaving him five adrift of McIlroy.
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