AUGUSTA, Ga. — Fore, please! The 90th Masters Tournament continues into the second round as players face a firm and fast Augusta National.

Read below for a breakdown of Round 2 action.

Elite leaderboard shapes up at Augusta

Following a breakthrough 2025, where Rory McIlroy earned the career Grand Slam with his Masters win, the world No. 2 is back at the top. McIlroy backed up his first-round 67, where he co-led with Sam Burns, with a Friday-low 65 to take a six-shot lead into the weekend, the largest second-round lead in Masters history. The only Masters champions to hold a 36-hole lead the year after their victory are Arnold Palmer (1959, 1961, 1965), Ian Woosnam (1992) and Jordan Spieth (2016).

Meanwhile, Burns posted a 71 to get to 6-under. Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, joined Burns at 6-under with a second consecutive round of 69.

Following a 2025 playoff loss to McIlroy at the Masters, Justin Rose is back in contention following rounds of 70-69. Rose made four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn in Round 2 before slowing down on Amen Corner, then added one more birdie on the par-5 15th hole, followed by a clutch par save on No. 17, to stay at 5-under. Rose has finished runner-up two other times at the Masters, losing to Jordan Spieth by four shots in 2015 and falling in a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2017.

"First couple days it feels routine," said Rose after his round. "You're just really trying to go through your processes. But I did, I felt like I got into a bit of cruise control today. I felt like I was cruising through the round and sort of – I was on the front foot, I would guess, for about the last few hours of the round. I felt like if I was thinking anything, I was thinking birdie. That's a nice mode to be in, and that felt similar to Sunday. That Sunday of the Masters last year, I felt like I needed to birdie every hole."

Rose is joined at 5-under by two fellow European Ryder Cup teammates: Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood, who was aided by eagles on the par-5 eighth and 15th holes in his second-round 68.

Wyndham Clark and Cameron Young are joined by an international contingent heading into the weekend at 4-under: England's Tyrrell Hatton, Norway's Kristoffer Reitan, Australia's Jason Day and China's Haotong Li, who backed up his first-round 71 with a Friday 69 despite feeling subpar (read more on that below).

J.J. Spaun, Bryson DeChambeau and Akshay Bhatia were among those who missed the 4-over cut at Augusta National while Collin Morikawa, John Rahm and others rallied to make the weekend.

Clark shows major form in morning

Wyndham Clark opened the second round with an ascent into contention, posting 4-under 68 to move from even par to in contention. On a day where many players are headed backwards or just hanging on, Clark got out running in the morning light and posted three straight birdies from Nos. 3 through 5.

He would add two more on 15 and 16 against just one bogey to head to the weekend 4-under. Clark hasn’t finished better than T35 this season and missed his last two cuts entering this week.

Notables

Amateurs: For the second year in a row, no amateurs will play the weekend at Augusta after finishes at 8-over for Ethan Fang and Jackson Herrington, 9-over for Mason Howell, 11-over for Fifa Laopakdee and 15-over for Mateo Pulcini and Brandon Holtz.

Xander Schauffele (72): Two-time major champion Schauffele stayed at 2-under with a round of even par. Schauffele started to pick up some momentum on the turn, but fell victim to Amen Corner with bogeys on Nos. 11-13.

Hideki Matsuyama (70): The 2021 Masters champion got it to 3-under before a closing bogey derailed any further scoring. Eight shots back of McIlroy, he'll need to put it into gear to have a chance.

Collin Morikawa (69): After struggling with the aftereffects of a back injury in a first-round 74 that was "the toughest round" he'd played, the two-time major champion recovered with a 3-under 69.

Matt Fitzpatrick (69): The Valspar Championship winner carried some serious momentum into Augusta, which made his opening 74 surprising to many. He fought back from a bogey on No. 8 with four birdies to get it to 1-under.

Akshay Bhatia (77): Despite starting Friday inside the cut line, the three-time PGA TOUR winner is making an early exit after a trio of double bogeys on Friday's second nine that led to a 77.

Max Homa (70): One year removed from a T12 finish at the Masters to qualify for this year's event, Homa is back in contention. The six-time PGA TOUR winner turned in a second-round 70, bringing him to 2-under for the tournament.

Brooks Koepka (69): Following questions about his form after a missed cut in his most recent TOUR start, Koepka is back in his typical major form. The five-time major champion carded six birdies to three bogeys, including birdies on two of the three holes at Amen Corner. After two runner-up finishes at the Masters (2019, '23), he's in prime position to hunt down his first green jacket.

Scottie Scheffler (74):The quest for his third green jacket in five years is starting to look dubious. Scheffler found the water in both of the par 5s on the second nine to squash any positive momentum.

John Rahm (70): The 2023 Masters champion kept his weekend hopes alive with a second-round 70 to move to 4-over par. With the sun shining and greens firming at Augusta, there's a good chance the Spaniard will be sticking around for 36 more holes.

Ludvig Åberg (70): After a disappointing opening 74 that included two double bogeys, the Swede got his score back to even par with a second-round 70 that included five birdies to three bogeys. He'll be looking to build on his solid course history here.

Justin Thomas (74): The two-time major champion hung on for a Friday 74 to finish at 2-over, safely inside the cut line. It's his second made cut here in the past four years.

Jordan Spieth (73): After an opening 72, the 2015 champion here played the first nine in 1-under on Friday before closing with a second-nine, 2-over 38. He'll need Rory McIlroy and the frontrunners to slow down to have a chance.

Chris Gotterup (69): One of the more adventurous rounds of the day belonged to Gotterup, who posted seven birdies against four bogeys for a round of 69. He heads to the weekend at 3-under, leading the pack of first-timers.

Tyrell Hatton (66): The European Ryder Cupper showed his major championship prowess on Friday in his 6-under effort and made a bit of history. Hatton hit all 18 greens in regulation in his round, becoming just the third player in the last 30 years to do so, joining Jim Furyk (R1, 2009) and Kevin Na (R1, 2020). He heads to the weekend in dangerous form and position.

Quotables

"I feel like the Saturdays are a tough round where you have to be very, very patient with yourself and make sure that you stay disciplined. And then Sunday they I feel like open up a little bit, a few more scoring opportunities. ... And if you can get yourself around the lead, I don't know how to explain it. There is no rush like it. I've led this tournament with a few holes left and have come out on the other side and not been able to finish it off, so hopefully I can get it done this weekend." – Jason Day after a second-round 71 to remain in contention

"I was more proud of just how I've kind of emotionally withstood the test of the Masters. ... I've been real intentful about my shots. I feel like that's where it kind of turned. I felt like I was kind of guiding it early and then started to really see what I was trying to do, have some confidence in it. So I think if I keep doing that, I don't see why I wouldn't play well." – Max Homa on his second-round 70 at Augusta

"I think I can hang with these guys even though I didn't do it this week. I didn't put myself in position to do it, but yeah, I'm there. I'm not as far from leading this tournament as I think I am, but I'm going to come back and win this tournament someday." – Amateur Jackson Herrington after making an early exit at the Masters

"I didn't hit many balls on the driving range. I was feeling really, really bad. No energy, fuzzy, want to throw up something. I actually just planned to play a few holes, see how it goes. If really sick, then I probably just decide not to. So glad I survived today." – Haotong Li after carding a 3-under 69 to move to 4-under, in contention heading into the weekend

"I mean, I had a good time. You know, I was just telling them in there. I've played 41 years, and I don't need to go back. ... (Augusta is) like paradise. People love it, but I consider it to be just the greatest walk you could ever have. There are great courses all over the world, but there are none of them like this." – 1992 Masters champion Fred Couples after ending his week at 9-over to miss the cut

"Sometimes I haven't stayed patient. But the good thing is having a lot of results that you don't like, you learn to get more patient and know that around the corner good golf will come. I'm hoping this is the start of a great run of Wyndham Clark golf I know I can play." – Wyndham Clark (68) after moving into contention Friday

"I don't know. I mean, the preparation was unbelievable. You would think I would be winning the tournament the way I was leading up to the event. ... Very disappointing." – Min Woo Lee (77) after ending his short week at 11-over par.