Rory McIlroy didn't fade and didn't stumble after taking the lead into the second round, shooting a 3-under 69 to move to 10-under for the tournament and remain at the top of The Masters leaderboard. McIlroy has been consistent throughout, pushing when he has the green light at flagsticks and playing it safe when he needs to take what the course gives him. For the 21-year-old Irishman, the journey has been a sight to behold, and McIlroy finds himself as the favorite heading into the weekend.
Playing with McIlroy on Saturday is Jason Day, who turned in the round of the tournament thus far on Friday. Day entered the second round at even-par, but caught fire on Friday, putting a 64 on the scorecard and vaulting from the middle of the pack to second place at 8-under for the tournament. Day has a familiarity with McIlroy and played in the same group as the 36-hole leader over the first two days.
Tiger Woods is lurking three shots back at 7-under, well within striking distance and in the second-to-last group. Woods struggled on the front nine, alternating birdies and bogeys while battling inconsistency on Friday. But something clicked on the back nine as Woods caught fire, finishing the day with a birdie on 18 for a second round 66 to vault right into the thick of things. Woods will be joined by K.J. Choi, who also sits at 7-under after 36 holes.
Fred Couples sits in a tie for seventh after a 4-under 68 on Friday to get to 5-under for the tournament. Couples is in good company on the leaderboard, joined in seventh place by Lee Westwood, Ricky Barnes, Y.E. Yang and Rickie Fowler. First round co-leader Alvaro Quiros stumbled a bit on Friday, shooting a 1-over 73 to fall back to 6-under for the tournament, good for a share of fifth place.
A full look at the leaderboard can be found at The Masters website. We’ll be following all the action in our 2011 Masters StoryStream throughout the day, so check back early and often for the latest updates. For more on the tournament, check out SB Nation’s full 2011 Masters coverage, or head over to SB Nation Atlanta.