Masters leaderboard 2026: Rory McIlroy takes command, cut is made

The Masters at Augusta National ramped up Friday with second-round action and a bevy of enthralling storylines playing out on the course.

Of course, you have to begin with defending Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who continued his assault on the leaderboard, grabbing the outright lead for the first time to start his Round 2 after playing like a golfer out to add to the green jacket already in his wardrobe during his opening 18 holes.

McIlroy continued his onslaught, finishing Round 2 at 12-under for the tournament, giving him a six-stroke lead over second place. McIlroy was firing on all cylinders, recording nine birdies, including four consecutively to close his round. He shot a 7-under 65 on Friday.

The previous person to have such a lead after two rounds was Scottie Scheffler in 2022, when he won the Masters.

Tyrrell Hatton and Wyndham Clark also charged up the leaderboard with low second rounds, and Clark's 4-under par catapulted him into the top 10. The two sit T-7 at 4-under.

First round co-leader Sam Burns, and Justin Rose, who McIlroy beat in a playoff for the green jacket last year, also remain in the mix. Burns finished the round tied for second place, while Rose was one stroke below, tied at 4th with Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry.

Friday also means the cut line comes calling, and only the top 50 golfers (and ties) will proceed into the weekend. Some mighty big names will be absent from the final push for glory. Bryson DeChambeau, among the pre-tournament favorites, failed to make the cut, which came in at +4.

USA TODAY Sports provided complete coverage of Friday's second round. Read on for live Masters updates from Augusta National featuring the latest leaderboard changes, tee times, notable shots and Round 2 scoring:

Masters 2026 leaderboard

• 1. Rory McIlroy: -12 (16)
• T2. Patrick Reed -6 (F)
• T2. Sam Burns: -6 (F)
• T4. Tommy Fleetwood: -5 (F)
• T4. Justin Rose: -5 (F)
• T4. Shane Lowry: -5 (F)

You can get the complete leaderboard and tee times here.

Bryson DeChambeau will miss cut

Bryson DeChambeau triple-bogeyed 18 to go to +6 and it's likely that he's going to miss the cut.

Rory McIlroy widens gap in second round

Rory McIlroy has a four-stroke lead between him and second place Patrick Reed. McIlroy has been in the zone since the first round but he turned it up into another gear on Friday. He's put on a performance that included four birdies in five holes.

Haotong Li is sick, couldn't leave toilet, still performs in Round 2

Haotong Li was sick but felt better after he birdied four straight holes from Nos. 13-16 and finished at 4 under overall following a 69 in the second round at the 2026 Masters. The night before, Li battled an illness that had him often glued to the toilet.

Especially went to the toilet last night a lot of times, and this morning when I got to the golf course and still feeling really bad and kind of, like, lived on the toilet," Li said. "I didn't hit many balls on the driving range. I was feeling really, really bad. No energy, fuzzy, want to throw up something. I actually just planned to play a few holes, see how it goes. If really sick, then I probably just decide not to. So glad I survived today."

Patrick Reed missed bogey ties him with Sam Burns

Patrick Reed missed a bogey, his first missed bogey of the round and he went from 7-under to 6-under. He concluded the round tied at second with Sam Burns. Tommy Fleetwood was tied at second but slid down to five-under par, tied at fourth.

Rory McIlroy birdie gives him 9-under lead

Rory McIlroy has been locked in chipping in three of four birdie shots. He has solely taken the leaderboard with a 2-shot lead over second-place Patrick Reed.

Akshay Bhatia moves onto the cut line

Akshay Bhatia made the cut line and gave a little stare down to his caddie in the direction of the camera as they celebrated his stroke.

Patrick Reed sole leader of second place, once again

Patrick Reed took sole possession of second place on the leaderboard at seven under.

Jon Rahm needs miracle to win Masters

Jon Rahm is far from the top of the leaderboard. He knows he'll need a miracle, hope, wish and prayer for a chance to advance.

“I’m going to need an absolute miracle,” Rahm said after a Friday 2-under, 70. “I'm going to need a heck of a round tomorrow to give myself a chance and even then, might be a little too far away.”

Rahm finished 36 holes at 4 under, right on the projected cut for the weekend.

Rory McIlroy takes commanding lead, Sam Burns climbs to second

Rory McIlroy took a two par lead, extending his first place positioning. He chipped in a birdie at the 13th tee. Sam Burns got himself into the top of the leaderboard, he is tied at second with Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Reed.

Tommy Fleetwood ties Patrick Reed for second

Patrick Reed had a chance to tie Rory McIlroy at first but he shorted his 14th tee par. Tommy Fleetwood tied Reed at second, connecting on his 15th hole par.

Kristoffer Reitan drops on leaderboard

Kristoffer Reitan finished the Round of 68 at 4-under dropping to tied at 5th on the leaderboard.

Kristoffer Reitan nearly misses an ace

Kristoffer Reitan birdied a par 163 yards and nearly missed an ace as he hit off of the flag stick at the 16th hole. He is just one off the lead in the second round.

Rory McIlroy bogey makes Patrick Reed co-leader

A short missed par putt by Rory McIlroy to start the back nine has erased what was once a three-shot lead after his blazing start to the second round. Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters winner, has moved into position atop the leaderboard with another steady performance and sits at 6-under for the tournament alongside McIlroy.

Masters projected cut line

The projected cut line at the 2026 Masters appears to be settling at +4, which means any golfers with a score of +4 or better qualify to play the weekend at Augusta National Golf Club. Only the top 50 golfers and ties make the cut each year at The Masters.

That likely means Jon Rahm will survive despite a poor start at the first major of the year after a late birdie at No. 16 moved him to +4 for the tournament through two rounds. Bryson DeChambeau has also moved into position to make the weekend as he plays the back nine.

Click here for live updates on the Masters projected cut line.

Jason Day, Tommy Fleetwood join crowded Masters leaderboard

Day, a runner up at The Masters in 2011, has moved into the top five alongside Tommy Fleetwood as second-round action continues at Augusta National. Day got all the way up to 5-under to start the back nine before a recent bogey at No. 11. Fleetwood, meanwhile, is now 3-under through 10 holes during a Friday round that really got going with an eagle at No. 8. He's moved to 4-under for the tournament along with longshots Haotong Li and Kristoffer Reitan.

Has Justin Rose won the Masters?

No, he hasn't. But Rose came close last year when he lost to Rory McIlroy in a playoff at the 2025 Masters and he's in contention again this week. Rose is the leader in the clubhouse at the moment, sitting in a tie for second behind McIlroy at 5-under par for the tournament after carding a 3-under 69 on Friday.

Rory McIlroy off to roaring start with birdie binge

McIlroy's lead has climbed to three shots after another birdie on No. 4 and this might have been his most impressive putt yet from 22 feet out. McIlroy now has three birdies on his first four holes to begin the second round and owns a three-shot lead over Justin Rose and Sam Burns.

Rory McIlroy grabs outright Masters lead

The defending champion is back on course and picking up where he left off after a strong first round with a birdie on No. 2. It means McIlroy now holds the outright lead for the first time during this tournament. The third hole was the site of his lone bogey so far and he birdied that, too, to take a two-shot lead on the field.

Tyrrell Hatton is on fire and tied for Masters lead

Tyrrell Hatton is putting together the round of the tournament with seven birdies and no bogeys over his first 16 holes, vaulting into a tie with Rory McIlroy for the lead at the Masters after an opening round 74. Back-to-back birdies at No. 16 and No. 16 put him at 5-under. First round co-leader Sam Burns has dropped a shot to 4-under.

Justin Rose is new Masters co-leader ... and lucky

Make that three birdies in a row for Justin Rose, who is now tied atop the Masters leaderboard at 5-under after a third birdie in a row and four on his past five holes. He then got a fortuitous bounce on his tee shot at the par 3 12th, when it landed near the azaleas behind the green only to eventually come to a landing on the putting surface when it appeared to hit a bunker rake. Rose is seeking his first Masters win.

Justin Rose with back-to-back birdies

Justin Rose appears to be in excellent form after carding a birdie on hole No. 7, followed by consecutive birdies on holes No. 9 and No. 10, bringing his score to 4 under for the round. He is now tied for third place with Wyndham Clark as he approaches hole No. 11.

Wyndham Clark is on fire

Wyndham Clark gained momentum in the second round at Augusta National with a birdie on the par-five No. 15, followed by a consecutive birdie on No. 16, bringing him to 4 under and moving him up to third place on the leaderboard.

Another bogey for Scottie Scheffler

Scottie Scheffler is struggling to find his rhythm after making a bogey on No. 4 and then another on No. 5. He is now at even par for the tournament before approaching the No. 6 hole.

Scottie Scheffler with a bogey on No. 4

Scottie Scheffler ended up in a bunker and had to get out of an awkward spot, which led to a bogey on the No. 4 hole. He's now at 1 under after four holes and is tied for 12th place. Follow Scheffler's hole-by-hole round.

Brooks Koepka breaks into the top 10

Brooks Koepka recovered from a bogey on the No. 1 hole with consecutive birdies, moving into a tie for 10th place on the leaderboard as he approaches the No. 4 hole.

Scottie Scheffler, Gary Woodland, Robert MacIntyre begin second round

Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland both made par on the No. 1 hole to start the second day at Augusta National. Meanwhile, Robert MacIntyre, who finished the first day 8 over par and has some ground to recover, drops to 10 over after the first hole.

Justin Rose tees off

Justin Rose, Jordan Spieth, and Brooks Koepka aim to position themselves well for the weekend and secure their spots above the cut line as they start their second round at Augusta National Golf Club.

Wyndham Clark moving up leaderboard

Wyndham Clark has locked in and has a good start to his second round at Augusta National, with three birdies in a row on holes 2, 3, and 4 to move up 14 spots on the leaderboard. He sits tied for three early on Friday morning.

First groups begin second round at Augusta National

Samuel Stevens and Sungjae Im kicked off the second round action and started the day early this morning, with groups gradually moving out as they attempt to make the cut and remain in contention for the legendary green jacket.

Where to watch the Masters: TV channel, streaming Friday

All main feed coverage for all four days can also be found on Masters.com and the Masters App. Here's a breakdown of the main broadcast schedule for the 2026 Masters:

• Prime Video: 1-3 p.m. ET
• ESPN/ESPN App: 3-7:30 p.m. ET

Masters tee times today

You can also find Friday's starts here.

All times Eastern

• 7:40 a.m. – Samuel Stevens, Sungjae Im
• 7:50 a.m. – Andrew Novak, Tom McKibbin, Brian Campbell
• 8:02 a.m. – Mike Weir, Wyndham Clark, Mateo Pulcini (a)
• 8:14 a.m. – Zach Johnson, Michael Kim, Nicolai Hojgaard
• 8:26 a.m. – Danny Willett, Davis Riley, Ethan Fang (a)
• 8:38 a.m. – Adam Scott, Daniel Berger, Brian Harman
• 8:50 a.m. – Fred Couples, Min Woo Lee, Fifa Laopakdee (a)
• 9:02 a.m. – Sergio Garcia, Aaron Rai, Jacob Bridgeman
• 9:19 a.m. – Harry Hall, Corey Conners, Michael Brennan
• 9:31 a.m. – J.J. Spaun, Maverick McNealy, Tyrrell Hatton
• 9:43 a.m. – Jon Rahm, Chris Gotterup, Ludvig Åberg
• 9:55 a.m. – Jordan Spieth, Justin Rose, Brooks Koepka
• 10:07 a.m. – Sepp Straka, Ben Griffin, Justin Thomas
• 10:19 a.m. – Scottie Scheffler, Robert MacIntyre, Gary Woodland
• 10:31 a.m. – Harris English, Marco Penge, Si Woo Kim
• 10:51 a.m. – John Keefer, Haotong Li
• 11:03 a.m. – Naoyuki Kataoka, Max Homa, Carlos Ortiz
• 11:15 a.m. – Jose Maria Olazabal, Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen, Aldrich Potgieter
• 11:27 a.m. – Angel Cabrera, Sami Valimaki, Jackson Herrington (a)
• 11:39 a.m. – Charl Schwartzel, Max Greyserman, Ryan Fox
• 11:51 a.m. – Vijay Singh, Matt McCarty, Rasmus Hojgaard
• 12:03 p.m. – Kurt Kitayama, Kristoffer Reitan, Casey Jarvis
• 12:15 p.m. – Bubba Watson, Nicolas Echavarria, Brandon Holtz (a)
• 12:32 p.m. – Cameron Smith, Sam Burns, Jake Knapp
• 12:44 p.m. – Keegan Bradley, Ryan Gerard, Nick Taylor
• 12:56 p.m. – Dustin Johnson, Shane Lowry, Jason Day
• 1:08 p.m. – Patrick Reed, Tommy Fleetwood, Akshay Bhatia
• 1:20 p.m. – Bryson DeChambeau, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele
• 1:32 p.m. – Hideki Matsuyama, Collin Morikawa, Russell Henley
• 1:44 p.m. – Rory McIlroy, Cameron Young, Mason Howell (a)
• 1:56 p.m. – Viktor Hovland, Patrick Cantlay, Alex Noren

(a)-amateur

Masters odds: Updated favorites at Augusta

All odds via BetMGM on Thursday evening, April 9.

Favorites

• 1. Rory McIlroy (+280)
• 2. Scottie Scheffler (+400)
• 3. Xander Schauffele (+1000)
• 4. Sam Burns (+1200)

Masters predictions and picks

Here are some predictions made ahead of the Masters.

Will Cheney, Augusta Chronicle: Justin Rose's experience will help him

Cheney writes, "(Rose has) lost in a pair of Masters playoffs (Sergio Garcia in 2017 and Rory McIlroy in 2025). Experience plays here and this will be his 21st start at Augusta. It would only be fitting to see McIlroy put the green jacket on Rose early Sunday evening; playoff, or no playoff."

Ross Kelly, CBS Sports: Ludvig Aberg will struggle

Kelly noted that the model CBS Sports uses predicted a shockingly poor finish for Ludvig Aberg despite him being a pre-tournament favorite.

Kelly writes, "The 26-year-old has already racked up five worldwide wins in his career and he's finished solo second and solo seventh in two career starts at Augusta National. However, he's down to No. 17 in the Official World Golf Ranking after peaking at No. 4 last year because of a string of bad starts late last season and early in 2026. He's also missed the cut in four of his eight career major championship starts and an afternoon-morning stagger on Thursday and Friday is likely to have him playing in firmer and faster conditions than most."

Matt Barrie, ESPN: Jon Rahm to win

Barrie writes, "He has quietly been playing some of the best golf in the world this season. He's in a great spot personally and professionally. And his recent form will awake the roars at Augusta National this week."

Rahm has not looked great early on at Augusta. Through 18 holes, he was already at 6-over. Rahm certainly has the talent to bounce back, but it has been a rough start for the 2023 green jacket winner.

Golfweek: Brooks Koepka (+220 to miss the cut)

Nick Stavas writes ahead of the Masters, "I like Brooks Koepka and I think his overall game is trending in the right direction, but his putting has been abysmal this season and that doesn't bode well for Augusta. Koepka's record has been feast or famine at the Masters, with three top-10s and three missed cuts in his last seven starts. Unless he really turns things around with the flatstick, I fear he'll be sent packing Friday."

Rory McIlroy eyes back-to-back wins

“Obviously it would be nice” to win again, Rory McIlroy said after his round, but that “certainly wasn't the forefront of my mind when I started 2026.”

RIP, LIV Golf

Here’s a look at your Round 1 leaders:

• Burns: 5-under
• McIlroy: 5-under
• Kurt Kitayama: 3-under
• Jason Day: 3-under
• Patrick Reed: 3-under

If you’re scoring at home, that’s four golfers who never lived LIV life, and one ex-LIV golfer (Reed) who’s headed back to the PGA Tour.

LIV long and prosper?

More like prosper quickly in LIV and get the heck out.

Or, in the case of Jon Rahm, go LIV, and go 6-over. His scorecard featured no birdies. Oof.

USA TODAY Sports' Blake Toppmeyerhas more Masters quick takes..

Masters location: Where is Augusta National?

The 90th edition of the Masters Tournament will get underway this week, and for the 90th iteration in a row, it will take place at the same golf course in Georgia.

Augusta National Golf Club has hosted every Masters Tournament dating back to the first one in 1934. That makes Augusta National (and the Masters) unique among golf majors. No other major tournament – those being the U.S. Open, PGA Championship and British Open – has taken place exclusively at the same golf club. — Jack McKessy

How many courses are at Augusta National?

Augusta National Golf Club has just two courses (or one-and-a-half, depending on how you look at it). The Masters will take place on the club's iconic 18 holes. Wednesday is a slight departure for the Par 3 competition, which will take place at the nine-hole Par 3 course.

How much does it cost to play Augusta National?

While there are no green fees for the course, the fact comes with a major caveat. Augusta National is a private club, which means the only way to play is by being a member (or a guest of one), being an employee of the club, or by qualifying for the Masters. You choose which is more feasible.

How to become a member at Augusta National Golf Club?

If you'd like to land a membership at Augusta National Golf Club, you'd better start networking. There is no application process, with membership an invite-only process. The club has a long history of privacy, and while many reports have listed the total number of members around 300, there is no exact number confirmed by Augusta National.

Once you secure the remarkably exclusive invitation, you'd better make sure you can afford to actually accept it. A range of reports over the last 15 years have placed the initiation fee at somewhere between $40,000 and $300,000, while annual dues are estimated to run between $4,000 and $30,000. — USA TODAY has more

Food at the Masters

Three items have slightly increased in price this year. The blueberry muffin and southern cheese straws are both up to $2.50 from $2 a year ago, and cookies are now up to $2, a 25-cent increase from last year.

However, all the other traditional Augusta National staples will stay at the same prices as they were in 2025. In fact, the price of the egg salad and pimento cheese sandwiches hasn't increased since 2002.

• Egg Salad: $1.50
• Pimento Cheese: $1.50
• Masters Club: $3
• Pork Bar-B-Que: $3
• Chicken Salad on Honey Wheat: $3
• Ham & Cheese on Rye: $3
• Georgia Peach Ice Cream Sandwich: $3

Beverages, too, remain the same as last year.

• Soft drinks: $2
• Iced tea/bottled water: $2
• Beer/wine: $6

Masters Tournament 2026: How to watch, TV channel, live stream

Prime Video makes its debut as a Masters broadcaster this year and will carry the event for the first time ever with two hours of streaming coverage for the first and second rounds. ESPN will provide linear cable coverage for those two days, picking up where Amazon Prime leaves off.

On the weekend, CBS will again handle the main feed for The Masters. The first two hours of coverage on Saturday and Sunday will air exclusively on Paramount+, before the network takes over for the remainder of each round.

All main feed coverage for all four days can also be found on Masters.com and the Masters App. Here's a breakdown of the main broadcast schedule for the 2026 Masters:

All times Eastern.

Thursday and Friday (April 9-10)

• Prime Video: 1-3 p.m.
• ESPN/ESPN App: 3-7:30 p.m.

Saturday and Sunday (April 11-12)

• Paramount+: 12-2 p.m.
• CBS/Paramount+: 2-7 p.m.