Rory McIlroy pulled clear of the field on day two of the 2026 Masters at Augusta National, strengthening his position as the second round progressed. Behind him, the chasing pack tried to respond on a day that saw a mixture of steady scoring, missed chances and late-round recovery efforts from several familiar names.
Wyndham Clark came close to adding another birdie at the sixth hole, sending a putt on a line that looked destined to drop before it drifted slightly right and stayed out. The miss left him at three under par for both his round and the tournament overall. It was a small disappointment after a promising start, but he remained well placed in the contest.
Clark was no longer alone in red figures for the round. Im Sungjae, who finished second on his Masters debut in the November edition of the tournament in 2020, birdied the seventh and eighth holes to move into positive territory for the day. He stood at three over par overall after that early surge.
Freddie Couples also found some encouragement early in his round. The veteran birdied the second hole to move back to five over par. It offered a brief lift after a bruising sequence on Thursday, when he endured a quadruple bogey at 15 followed by double bogeys at 16 and 17. At 66 years old, he had clearly run out of steam late in the day, but the early birdie showed he still had the ability to recover in front of the Augusta galleries.
Rai begins with control
The Par 3 Contest winner Aaron Rai started his second round in calm fashion. He found the fairway at Tea Olive in regulation and then came away with a long birdie putt that clipped the edge of the hole. Rai remained one under par after an opening-round 71, a score that had promised more after he turned in 33 on Thursday.
His start reflected the kind of measured approach often required at Augusta, where precision can matter more than force. While some players were trying to make up ground quickly, Rai appeared content to keep himself in contention and avoid unnecessary mistakes.
Clark maintains pressure
Clark’s run of consecutive birdies eventually came to an end at five, but he did not give back much of the momentum he had built. He made par at the sixth after nearly holing out again, and by the time he played his tee shot at the seventh he had already settled into a strong position near the top of the board.
At the sixth, he found the centre of the green and used the contours to guide the ball toward a flag tucked away on the front left. That left him a birdie look from around 18 feet. The putt was not perfectly flat, but it was as close to straight as Augusta tends to allow. Even when the birdies stop, the margin for error remains small.
The wider picture on day two remained one of McIlroy trying to open daylight between himself and the field, while the players around him searched for a sustained run of scoring. Augusta has a habit of rewarding patience as much as aggression, and Friday’s early action suggested that the balance between the two could shape the rest of the tournament.
For the pursuers, there was still time to make a move, but the leaders were beginning to separate themselves. Clark stayed close enough to keep the pressure on, Sungjae re-entered the conversation with a useful burst, and Couples showed that experience can still produce moments of resistance even after a difficult spell. Rai, meanwhile, continued to navigate his round with composure.
As the second round continued, attention remained fixed on whether anyone could close the gap to McIlroy. The day had already delivered signs that Augusta was rewarding those who kept their nerve, stayed patient and took chances when they came. For the field behind the leader, the task was now clear: avoid the mistakes that can quickly unravel a round, and keep enough scoring on the card to stay in touch.
Latest news from Augusta | MacIntyre faces reprimand
Official leaderboard | Follow us on Bluesky | Mail David
