Here’s Ewan Murray’s report live from Augusta. That’s it for the blog today. Thanks for reading and join us again for Saturday’s third round.
A calm and relaxed Rory McIlroy reflects on his stunning opening 36 holes. Asked to explain it, the defending champion pauses for thought and then hits his stride.
“Um, I don’t know. I was really good with the wedges today. I’ve been really good with my wedges and my short game the past two days. That’s been the bulk of my score. I haven’t panicked when I’ve hit it offline and into trees. I’ve laid it up. I’ve relied on those wedges and those scoring clubs.
“And this course, it enables you to get on runs. I certainly didn’t imagine birdies in six of the last seven, but I’ve always felt like when you’re feeling it around here, you can get momentum and the crowd gets on your side and you can just keep it rolling. And this afternoon was one of those afternoons.
“Look, I’ve always loved this tournament. I’ve always loved this golf course, even when I felt like it didn’t love me back. And look, it’s such a pleasure to be here. It’s a unique tournament. There’s nothing else like this that we play.
“And I so desperately wanted to win here just so I could come back each and every year. And thankfully, I was able to do that last year. So doing that, yeah, when I miss fairways, it’s fine. When I miss greens, it’s fine. I feel like I’m sort of playing with the house’s money, which is a nice feeling to have.
“I did a good job. I hit more fairways today than I did yesterday, so that was good. That was one of my key goals today, was just to try to get it in play a little bit more. And yeah, I think, again, just making good decisions. Really, the way the golf course is playing, you really have to think your way around, creating angles for yourself to hit these third shots into par fives, stuff like that.
“So if I can just keep thinking well and making good decisions with whatever’s put in front of me and really just keep putting one foot in front of the other, hopefully do that for the weekend and hopefully everything works out.”
Updated
