Rory McIlroy at Masters 2016: Leaderboard Score, Twitter Reaction from Friday
After a solid opening round, Rory McIlroy made some additional progress in Friday's second round at the 2016 Masters, shooting a one-under 71 that left him at three under overall entering the weekend.
The 26-year-old Northern Irishman finished his first round on a sour note with bogeys on two of his final three holes, and while his second round was inconsistent, with five birdies, two bogeys and a double bogey, he closed it out in a positive manner.
| Par | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 36 |
| Round 2 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 37 |
| Overall Score | -2 | -3 | -4 | -2 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Par | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 36 |
| Round 2 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | ||
| Overall Score | -1 | E | E | -1 | -1 | -2 | -3 | -3 |
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When the four-time major champion entered the clubhouse, he found himself in second place, two strokes behind leader Jordan Spieth. Here is an updated look at the leaderboard, with the full results available at the PGA Tour's official website:
McIlroy sat at two under at the beginning of the day after firing a 70 on Thursday, and while he was fairly pleased with that score because of the windy conditions, he also felt as though it could have been better if not for some late miscues, per the Press Association (h/t the Independent):
"If someone had given me a 70 for the first day I probably would have taken it.
The conditions were tough out there. They were tricky and it was tough to hole putts. The par threes were tough but I played the par fives the way I wanted to.
I was a little bit disappointed with the finish and the loose shot on 18 but I just need to go out there tomorrow and try and get those two shots back as quick as I can and then stick to my game plan, which is to take advantage of the par fives. If I can do that I won't be too far away at the end of the week.
"
Rory's plan to attack the par-fives paid dividends early, as he was more aggressive on the second hole Friday than he was in the first round, per the European Tour on Twitter:
That led to a birdie, which he built upon on the third hole with another birdie to pull to within two strokes of Spieth's six-under lead.
McIlroy seemed poised for a fantastic day and a potential run at the lead, but his good work was undone on the next two holes.
On the par-three fourth hole, McIlroy had to settle for a double bogey after bogeying it in the first round.
According to ESPN.com's Jason Sobel, the double was the latest example of Rory allowing things to snowball in a negative way on certain holes in 2016:
As Justin Ray of Golf Channel pointed out, McIlroy has struggled mightily at the Masters over the past seven years when it comes to avoiding devastating doubles:
Following the double bogey, McIlroy was unable to stop the bleeding, as he posted a bogey on the par-four fifth, which dropped him to one over on the day and one under for the tournament.
McIlroy's inability to maintain the progress he made toward the top of the leaderboard was reminiscent of what he did in the first round, according to Brian Wacker of the PGA Tour's official website:
He finally righted the ship on the sixth hole with a par and closed out the front nine with three additional pars after that to make the turn with a 37.
McIlroy also parred the 10th before dropping another stroke with a five on No. 11. That prompted Wacker to lament an apparent lack of focus or execution on the former world No. 1's part:
After a par on the 12th, McIlroy was able to get that stroke back by making a birdie from six feet out on the par-five 13th. That marked his second birdie of the day on a par-five hole.
McIlroy had another chance to do some damage on the par-five 15th, and he put himself in an ideal position with a fantastic approach to reach the green in two, which thoroughly impressed ESPN's Mike Greenberg:
While the 30-plus-foot eagle putt wouldn't go for Rory, he was able to convert an easy birdie to get back to even for the day and two under on the tournament.
McIlroy showed his range on the next hole by hitting a long putt for his third birdie in four holes to suddenly move into second place, which the PGA Tour celebrated with a fitting GIF:
Following that great run, McIlroy was able to avoid what plagued him Thursday by parring each of the final two holes to enter the clubhouse in second place.
Rory had his issues over the course of the second round, but with the conditions making it difficult for the rest of the field as well, he was able to put himself in a great position to challenge for his first career green jacket this weekend.
Spieth was dominant in the first round but showed signs of vulnerability during McIlroy's time on the course, which suggests the door is open for Rory to make a run Saturday and Sunday.
There is no question that McIlroy will have to clean up the mistakes that limited him in the first and second rounds to ascend to the top of the leaderboard, but if he plays like he did down the stretch Friday, he will be a threat.
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