Augusta, GA – Rory McIlroy’s opening round at the 2025 Masters had been a bruise on his Augusta dreams. A 72, scarred by double bogeys at the par-5 15th and the par-4 17th, left him languishing seven shots off the pace. The murmurs among the patrons were familiar: Would Rory ever tame this course? But on Friday, under a Georgia sky streaked with promise, McIlroy authored a comeback that reignited his chase for the green jacket.
The second round began quietly for Rory. At the par-5 2nd, he powered a drive down the fairway and laid up, wedging to 6 feet. The birdie putt dropped, a small spark, but the next few holes were a grind. Pars piled up, and by the turn, he was just 1-under for the day, still clawing back from Thursday’s wounds.
“Stay patient,” he muttered to caddie Harry Diamond. Augusta’s back nine would be his canvas.
The shift came at the 10th. Rory rifled a 314-yard drive down the fairway, then spun his approach to 2 feet. The birdie putt curled in, and the galleries stirred. Momentum carried him to the 11th, where Augusta’s teeth are sharpest. Undaunted, he smashed a tee shot 351 yards down the pipe, then carved a 160-yard approach to 5 feet for another birdie. The crowd’s roar rattled Amen Corner. Now 3-under for the day. Rory was waking up.
The par-5 13th, though, was where the round caught fire. A 340-yard drive hugged the dogleg, landing in the straw pine. With 217 yards McIlroy choked up on a 4-iron and guided a half-swing at the pin, landing just a few feet from ruin but rolling to safety and nine feet from the hole. The eagle putt dropped into the cup. The explosion of cheers shook the pines. At 5-under for the round, he’d erased Thursday’s deficit and vaulted into contention.
The 15th loomed next — the par-5 where his first round unraveled with a double bogey. This time, Rory was surgical. A measured drive down the middle. A 220-yard bullet to the green. An 85-foot bomb eagle attempt. The 6-foot birdie putt dropped. The patrons, packed along the ropes, roared. He’d turned a nemesis into a stepping stone.
Rory played steady through the 16th and 17th, pocketing pars. At the 18th, Augusta bared its fangs. His tee shot hugged the tree line, landing just off the first cut. The approach went a long, about 40 feet above the pin. His birdie attempt was short, stopping 5 feet short, handing McIlroy a downhill tester.
Rory swung his putter in anger, sensing a ruin to a dream round. The par putt, though, with the weight of the moment behind it, rattled home. He signed for a 6-under 66. He was back in the game.
At 6-under for the tournament, Rory stood one shot behind Bryson DeChambeau and two back of leader Justin Rose.
The galleries buzzed as they filed out, replaying Rory’s charge. The man hunting a career Grand Slam had roared back, his 66 a warning shot. Saturday beckoned, and Augusta crackled with the promise of a showdown. For Rory McIlroy, the Masters was no longer about survival — it was about seizing destiny.
