Rory McIlroy spectacularly revived his bid to win The Masters and complete the career grand slam as his friend and compatriot Shane Lowry also moved into contention.
McIlroy shrugged off the disappointment of two late double bogeys in the space of three holes in his opening 72 to card an eagle and four birdies in a second-round 66 which drew a standing ovation from the patrons around the 18th green at Augusta National.
The thrilling effort lifted McIlroy to six under par and a shot behind the man who denied him a fifth Major title in last year’s U.S. Open, Bryson DeChambeau, with Justin Rose setting the halfway target on eight under following a 71.
“Overall I’m just really proud of myself with how I responded after the finish last night,” McIlroy said.
“I just had to remind myself I played really good golf yesterday and was not going to let two bad holes dictate the narrative for the rest of the week.
“Once I left the property I tried to leave what had happened here. I rushed home to see (daughter) Poppy before she went to bed and I feel like I did a good job of resetting.
“I had a good conversation with Bob Rotella (sports psychologist) about not pushing too hard too early, just tried to stay really, really patient and that was rewarded with a nice little stretch in the middle of the round.
“I don’t think I proved anything, if anything just backed up the belief I have in myself and the belief that I’m as resilient as anyone else out here.”
Lowry is relishing the opportunity to battle for a second Major title after equalling his lowest ever score at Augusta National.
The former Open champion carded five birdies and a solitary bogey in a second round of 68 to improve to five under par.
“I sort of had a target to shoot something in the 60s today and then I’d be in a nice position going into the weekend,” Lowry said.
“The course must have got a lot of rain last night because the course was quite soft and it was gettable, even though it was windy and tricky.
“I felt like I played a pretty solid round of golf. Didn’t do anything spectacular. A couple of times I got myself out of position. I think I did a great job getting me back in, and I’m right where I want to be going into the weekend.
“Look, I don’t come here just to enjoy myself. I come here to compete. This is what we practise for. This is what you get up out of bed for in the morning, for late tee times on Saturdays and Sundays of majors.
“I got myself a late tee time tomorrow afternoon and hopefully I can go out and do something pretty good and get myself a late tee time Sunday and take it from there.”
