Rory McIlroy stays level-headed after ‘amazing day’ at the Masters

Rory McIlroy surged into uncharted territory at Augusta on Friday, turning a commanding position into a record-setting one and insisting he will stay locked on his own game as he chases back-to-back Masters titles.

A dazzling 65, fueled by six birdies across his final seven holes, lifted the defending champion to 12 under par and gave him a six-shot lead at the halfway stage — the largest 36-hole advantage in Masters history.

McIlroy still carries the memory, however faint now, of surrendering a four-shot lead on the final day in 2011. But he also knows what it takes to close, having converted an eight-shot lead after 54 holes into victory at the US Open just two months later.

This time, his attention is fixed squarely on seeing it through and securing a second straight green jacket.

“The only thing I can do this weekend is focus on myself, go out there and shoot two good rounds, and hopefully that’s good enough. If someone comes from the pack and shoots two 65s to overtake me, then fair play to them. So I think a big key for me this weekend is to focus on my own game, not keep looking at the leaderboards. There’s no point in doing that. I know I have a lead. I don’t need to keep checking it all the time and just go out there and keep playing the way I’m playing.”

If McIlroy intended to make a statement to the field — with 2018 champion Patrick Reed and Sam Burns his nearest pursuers — he delivered it in emphatic fashion on the back nine.

He pulled clear of a crowded leaderboard that also featured four other major champions struggling to keep pace.

After opening his charge with three consecutive birdies from the second to move to eight under, McIlroy answered a pair of mid-round bogeys with a blistering run of five birdies in six holes starting at the 12th.

His superb approach at the 16th, feeding down the slope to three feet, produced his third birdie of the day on a par three, and the momentum only grew from there as he punched out from beneath the trees and chipped in at the next.

Then, in a final flourish that captured the scale of his control, he fired his approach at the last to six feet and rolled in a ninth birdie.

“You know… over the past five or six years, I’ve tried to not retool my game, but I’ve tried to work on the things that maybe weren’t as strong,” added McIlroy.

“I felt like I could get better, especially when golf courses get firm and they get like this and they provide this sort of test. It’s not just hitting drives as far as possible.

“You have to have a little bit of finesse. You have to have a little bit of touch. I’ve definitely shown that over the first two days and I’m going to have to continue to show that over the next two days as well.

“I’ve got my man Harry (Diamond, his caddie) beside me and we’re having fun out there. We definitely had fun those last few holes. I’m speaking for him now, but we’re both very excited for the opportunity going into the weekend.”

Shane Lowry (above) is also firmly in the mix. The Offaly man sits tied for fourth, seven shots behind McIlroy, after a spotless 69 on Friday that featured late birdies at the 16th and 18th.

“I’m happy,” he said. “If you’d offered me this on the first tee (Thursday) morning I would have taken your hand off, but also to do it in the manner I’ve done it in, like I feel very comfortable out there. I felt like I was just kind of hitting the ball in the right spots and doing my thing and you know just going about my business my own way and yeah it was nice. I’m very happy with those couple of days’ work.

“You take nothing for granted because golf is golf and you never know what’s there in the corner so I just need to you know I go home, rest up, do my thing tonight and you know chill out tomorrow morning and get out there in the afternoon.

“It’s not going to be easy, you know it’s exciting isn’t it? I’m here going out on the weekend of the Masters in contention, it’s nice, it’s a nice place to be and you know I think about this week a lot, I build myself up for this week a lot and a lot of time and effort goes into this week so to come out and perform at just the first two days is really really nice.

“Who knows how many chances you get to win a green jacket? Hopefully I can give myself a chance this weekend and you never know, hopefully I can pull it off.”

Additional reporting: PA