AUGUSTA NATIONAL — Rory McIlroy shot a seven-under-par 65 in the second round of the 2026 Masters on Friday, reaching 12 under par and opening a record six-shot lead after 36 holes at Augusta National. The defending champion, ranked world number two, shared the overnight lead with Sam Burns before pulling away with a late burst of scoring.

McIlroy birdied the second, third and fourth holes early in his round before bogeys at the fifth and 10th slowed his progress. He then birdied six of his last seven holes, including a chip-in on the 17th, to complete the 65 despite missing six fairways and five greens during the round.

"I've built up a nice cushion at this point. I guess my mindset is just trying to keep playing well and keeping my foot on the gas," McIlroy said. "Don't protect it. Go out and play freely, keep swinging."

Burns and Patrick Reed sat six shots back, while Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry were a further shot behind. McIlroy is scheduled to play in the final pairing alongside Burns at 19:50 BST on Saturday.

The 36-year-old Northern Irishman, a five-time major champion, took three weeks off from PGA Tour events after the Players Championship in March to practice at Augusta National. "I just don't like the three tournaments leading up to this event," he said. "I felt it was a better use of my time than going to Houston or San Antonio. It wasn't really about conserving energy, but just I felt the more time I could spend up here, the better." He added: "I think just spending so much time up here has been a big part of it."

McIlroy held a six-shot lead after two rounds at the 2011 US Open, which he won by eight shots for the first of his major titles. He also led the 2011 Masters by four shots going into the final round before shooting an eight-over-par 80. "There's still a lot of work to do," he said. "A big part of the lesson from the 2011 Masters to the 2011 US Open was don't get protective. Go out there and keep playing, keep trying to make birdies, stay as trusting and as committed as possible."

If McIlroy holds on, he would become the fourth player after Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods to win back-to-back Masters titles. "I've put myself in the best position possible going into the weekend but I know more than probably anyone else what this golf course can do to you," he said. "I need to keep my wits about me and play the weekend like I played the past two days."

McIlroy said he planned to watch tennis before the third round. "There are two really good semi-finals at Monte Carlo in the tennis. So I'll watch those," he said. "That distraction is usually a good thing for me, especially with a late tee time and the lead." No rain is forecast at Augusta National over the weekend.