Rory McIlroy 7 Strokes Back After Shooting 1-Under 71 in Masters 2019 Round 2

Rory McIlroy is going to need a massive weekend charge if he's going to complete the career Grand Slam this week after shooting a one-under 71 in Friday's second round of the 2019 Masters.

McIlroy, who's at even par for the tournament, entered the week as the betting-line favorite to win the season's first major after recording seven straight top-10 finishes, including a win in The Players Championship. His ball-striking hasn't been nearly as pure at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, though. He tallied an eagle, two birdies and three bogeys Friday.

He'll enter moving day seven strokes behind Francesco Molinari, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen, who are all tied for the lead at seven under.

It's hard to believe McIlroy isn't in the mix based on his play in recent months and that nobody has been able to run away from the field after two tough scoring rounds at Augusta.

The 29-year-old Northern Irishman has been making too many minor mistakes to keep pace, though. He carded six bogeys in the opening round Thursday and added three more Friday, making it a surprise he's only six shots behind the leaders.

His ability to still be at even par is a testament to a risk vs. reward approach best showcased by his par-five scores in Round 2: bogey, eagle, bogey, par.

There are too many potential pitfalls around Augusta to play that style of golf unless you're locked in off the tee and hitting every fairway. That hasn't been the case for McIlroy, and he'll enter the weekend needing to make up a lot of ground in a hurry as a result.

That said, it's too early to count him out.

McIlroy played 12 weekend rounds in 2018 and posted a sub-70 score in eight of them. Two straight rounds of around six-under 66 would likely be enough to put him in contention late Sunday.

While that's far easier said than done, his form throughout the season's first three months suggests it's well within the realm of possibility.

His comeback hopes start and end with cutting out the myriad mistakes he's made through two rounds.