FOX SPORTS, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch the 2025 Masters LIVE | New to Kayo? Get your first month for just $1. Limited time offer.
The 2025 Masters has reached the halfway mark with several of the sport’s biggest names in contention for the green jacket.
Justin Rose held onto the lead with a round of 71, but it narrowed to just one shot clear from Bryson DeChambeau as Rory McIlroy bounced back from his first round back nine meltdown with a 66 to reaffirm that he is a chance to break his Augusta drought.
Scottie Scheffler is three shots back from Rose, but created some doubts about his ability to defend his title with an uncharacteristic finish.
DeChambeau marvelled with his unique approach, and Jason Day revealed that a big reunion has sparked him leading the Australian charge, four shots off the lead.
All those matters and more are dissected in our talking points from the second round below.
‘GOT A BIT ABOUT HIM’: RORY FIGHTS BACK
All eyes have been on Rory McIlroy all week, but the focus on the world No.2 intensified to another level after his double bogeys at 15 and 17 in the first round.
It did not seem to bother McIlroy however, as he fired the low round of the day with a six-under par round of 66 to move just two shots back from leader Justin Rose.
McIlroy now sits at -6 in a share of third place alongside Canada’s Corey Conners, and the hunt for a breakthrough Masters win, and the illusive career grand slam, is well and truly on.
The Northern Irishman turned things around drastically on the back nine from day-to-day with him making birdies at 10, 11 and 15 as well as an eagle 13, as most of the field struggled in the windswept sections of the course.
But this was a showcase of how McIlroy has worked diligently to evolve himself into one of the best players in the wind.
His new found skills through knock down irons and more thoughtful tee shots were on display during his wins at The Players and Pebble Beach earlier this year, but he did not have the test after such a crushing blow as the first round here may have been.
In his press conference post-round, McIlroy was incredibly proud of how he had picked himself up off the canvas.
“I think overall just proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night. I just had to remind myself that I played really good golf yesterday, and you know, I wasn’t going to let two bad holes sort of dictate the narrative for the rest of the week,” he said.
Masters crowd ERUPTS after Rory eagle | 01:00
McIlroy was later asked about what he thought he had proved to himself and the world with his bounce back round of 66.
His response was very pointed.
“I don’t think I proved anything. If anything, I just backed up the belief that I have in myself, and the belief that I’m as resilient as anyone else out here,” he said.
“You know, again, like I’ve been really proud of how resilient I’ve been the whole way throughout my career, and I think today was just another example of that.”
Speaking about those comments from McIlroy on Live from The Masters, former European Ryder Cup winning captain Paul McGinley shared McIlroy’s sentiment that his resilience is under appreciated because of his infamous major meltdowns since lifting the Claret Jug at Royal Liverpool in 2014.
“I think he’s right there. He got the score that he needed today. He showed a lot of resilience and deserves a lot of credit for that,” McGinley said.
“People are very quick to dismiss him based on that he hasn’t won majors of 11 years. This guy has got a bit about him. There’s no doubt about that.”
As for what can hold McIlroy in good stead in the coming 36 holes, McGinley’s fellow panellist Brandel Chamblee dived into the statistics and suggested that McIlroy has rediscovered the younger version of himself, when he did win his four majors to date.
“He was tied for first for stroke gained ball striking for the first two rounds. Nobody better than him,” Chamblee said.
“And that is the Rory that we saw in 2011 and 2012 and 2014.”
McIlroy roars back into contention | 01:57
DAY’S REUNION SPARKS GREEN JACKET CHANCE
Jason Day is leading the Australian charge at -4, having made just the one bogey through 36 holes.
Post-round, he revealed his rock solid first two rounds of the Masters are largely thanks to a reunion with his old swing coach Colin Swatton.
In January, Day sent a video of his swing to Swatton and sparked their reconnection after splitting during Covid in 2020.
The pair came together when Day was still a teenage prodigy in Australia, and they stayed together during his rise to world No.1 and becoming a major champion, with Swatton also taking on caddie duties.
“I sent swings through and said, hey, can you look at this, and then that kind of evolved into more texts and more calls,” Day said after his second-round 70.
“I’m like, hey, if you’ve got time I’d love for us to try and get back together and work.
“Fortunately he’s got some time. I know that he’s busy with doing his commentary stuff and (coaching young Australian) Karl (Vilips), but it’s nice to have him back on the team.
Day (-4) responds to positive round 2 | 01:57
“I was doing my own thing kind of at the end of the year. As a professional golfer, you can’t. You need a good solid team around you. It’s very difficult to think you can do everything yourself. Even though you may have the knowledge for it.
“But anyone could stand in front of me and I could say, hey, I know exactly what’s going on because I’m looking at it. And it’s different when you’re looking at video through a phone. It’s not the same as I’m looking at myself.
“So it’s nice to have somebody come in and make things a little bit more clear, as in not as complicated as I was making it. He just said, you’ve got to fly the plane. Just go out there and fly the plane. Some weeks you’re not going to have the best stuff, so just go out there and try and get it done.
“That reminds me a lot of what we did well back in ‘14, ’15, ‘16. Some of the stuff that I played back then wasn’t great, but we just somehow got it in, which was good.”
READ MORE
What a Day for it! Aussie surges into mix as Rory roars, world No.1 in rules dispute — Masters Wrap
‘Get mad’: Lee reveals big change after brutal start as Day issues warning to Masters rivals
‘You idiot, what did you do?’: McIlroy’s hilarious admission on miracle shot amid Masters charge
Lee: "Just one of those things" | 02:19
‘HE’S LIKE BEN HOGAN’: BRYSON ENTERTAINS
Bryson DeChambeau is attracting plenty of attention for himself as he moved into second place with a round of 68.
The LIV Golf star has never won at Augusta National, but is well placed to claim a maiden green jacket, just one shot behind leader Justin Rose.
Speaking about DeChambeau’s second round on Live from The Masters, Paul McGinley suggested that the reigning US Open champion is relishing being back in the major spotlight after the 31-year-old finished tied sixth at The Masters and runner-up at the PGA Championship last year as well as winning his second major title.
“Imagine coming onto the Tour at a young age and saying, ‘I don’t agree with everything that Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus and all these greats did in terms of using equipment that was uniform. I’m doing to do something different and I’m going to take them on and I’m going to do my own thing.’ That takes something else,” McGinley said.
“You’ve got to have a certain personality to do that.
“I think over the last two days, in terms of performance, he’s enjoying being back in the spotlight. He’s feeding off the great performances he had in the major championships last year.
“He likes the centre of attention and on both days, he’s got off to fast starts. Two-under after three on day one and three-under after five today.
“When you put birdies in the bank early in a round, it gives you energy. You can play with a little more freedom and you tend to get up-and-down a little more often.
“He’s fed off that and if he has a bad start over the weekend, remember his scoring average over the weekend is normally two shots worse, he’s a fast starter. So let’s see how he does over the weekend and whether he can keep this level and this scoring up because he’s maximised the scoring over the first two days.”
Fellow panellist Brandel Chamblee went a lot further in his praise of DeChambeau, arguing that he is golf’s greatest showman at present for his unique approaches to the game.
“I had the pleasure of getting to see Steph Curry playing basketball with (fellow panellist Rich Lerner) and we left there talking about in golf, who is the equivalent shot maker and showman? We were scratching our heads, maybe Lee Trevino but they don’t come along very often and it may well be Bryson DeChambeau,” Chamblee said.
“When you think about what he is, I’ve never quite seen another player like him.
“On one hand he’s a lot like John Daly. He plays the game with an audacity and a boldness and a recklessness. We were also endlessly captivated by the way John Daly played this game. Nothing calculated about it. Let’s just get after it.
“And when you see Bryson on the golf course, he’s swinging as hard as he is on the driving range. It’s like someone challenged him.
“But on the other hand, he’s like Ben Hogan. Search to perfection, leaving nothing to chance.
“Ben Hogan famously redesigned his golf shoe because where there wasn’t a spike, he wanted a spike. He wanted more connection with the ground.
“Bryson is so much like that to the point where when he’s lining up a putt, he’s not just lining up a line. He has pre-marked where two dimples run together because it’s important to him to hit the top or the bottom part of the dimple, not the side of the dimple. The top or the bottom may effect it’s launch angle but it won’t effect it’s line like you hit the side of a dimple.
“I’ve never heard anybody go into that kind of detail about the specifics of putting.
“He has done the research and that is endlessly fascinating.”
Koepka OUT after brutal 8 on 18th | 01:28
‘HE LOOKS AGGRAVATED’: SCHEFFLER FRUSTRATED WITH LATE SLIP UP
Defending champion Scottie Scheffler is only three shots off the lead after a one-under par round of 71, but you be forgiven for thinking he had drowned his chances of a third green jacket in four years in Rae’s Creek.
The world No.1 finished the second round poorly with two bogeys in the final three holes, including a wayward tee shot at 18 that left him a very uncomfortable chip out from the woods.
It was a topsy turvy affair with Scheffler offsetting his six birdies with five bogeys, and immediately after his round, he headed to the range to sort out his swing.
On Live from The Masters, Brandel Chamblee spelled out where things went wrong for Scheffler.
“He was on the wrong side of the draw. I reckon there would have been a one-shot penalty, so to speak, playing in the worst of the wind on the back nine,” Chamblee said.
“But he was out of sorts on the back nine. He had a three putt at ten because he hit a poor iron shot in there. He hit the trees on 11 with his second shot. I still don’t know, maybe he shanked that shot. Then at 13, he hit in the water.
“The tee shot at 18. A poor lower level at 16 led to a three putt. He’s had four three putts in two days.”
'Scenic route' tops Sheffler's great day | 03:18
In response, Paul McGinley expressed that Scheffler’s performance was not cause for alarm, but was intrigued by the changes in demeanour he has spotted in Scheffler compared to his stunning year in 2024.
“He’s not quite on it but a bit like Rory yesterday, four bogeys on the back nine, he’s not miles off,” McGinley said.
“He’s 21st off the tee, he’s 23rd in approach, remember there’s 95 players in the field. Eighth around the greens and 22nd with putting.
“Nothing is massively off but nothing is massively on either. Maybe the chipping is not so bad.
“We’ve seen it all year. We talked about it earlier in the week, looking a bit antsy. He looks aggravated. He’s quick to get aggravated. We didn’t see that. He was a lot more serene last year. I guess it’s easy to be serene when you’re winning nine times.
“He hasn’t won yet this year. Is there a weight of expectation and burden now? Is he a guy with the X on his back?
“We talked about it statistically being the closest we’ve ever seen to Tiger Woods. Is that a heavy burden? Is that a weight of expectation on his shoulders that he’s expecting too much of himself now?
“He’s not playing within himself the way he did.”
Sheffler comeback chip "something else!" | 01:02
‘THE GOLFING GODS’ MAY SMILE ON ROSE
Justin Rose started the day as the overnight leader at Augusta National for the fifth time in his decorated career, and he ended it still on top for the third time.
The 44-year-old Englishman is -8, one shot clear of Bryson DeChambeau after a solid one-under par round of 71.
Rose did not dazzle like he did with a 65 on Thursday, but his excellent 36 holes so far is the latest example of a change of approach as his career progressed, according to Paul McGinley.
“There’s something going on with Justin Rose at the moment where he’s able to raise himself. As he gets older in years, we’re not seeing the week-in, week-out ‘Mr. Steady Eddy’ from most of his career. We’re seeing him missing more cuts. We’re seeing him be a little more volatile in the scoring but we’re seeing him come to these big events and somehow dig out a performance,” McGinley said.
“I spoke to somebody from his team during the week, and (asked) how’s he doing in practice? ‘Not great, not so sure this week’ (was there response) and here we are, look at him leading the tournament.
Young shoots 6 after putting nightmare | 00:39
“He digs it out. He’s had two top tens this year in big events, huge events with big fields. Third place and eighth place at Pebble Beach and Bay Hill. Two tough golf courses, or certainly Bay Hill was. As well as two top tens in the majors last year.
“This evolution of, I don’t know maybe he’s getting bored of professional golf and only wants to raise his game for the big ones, but we’re seeing it again this week.
“It was a workman like day for him, not his best stuff, but who knows? He’s in the mix. Maybe the golfing gods will give him another major before his career kind of winds down.”
The focus on the big events from Rose is clear as in his post-round press conference, the 2013 US Open champion opened up on how much a green jacket would mean to him.
“I think I’ll take it anytime. Beggars can’t be choosers, you know. But I would take it right now for sure,” he said.
“Sometimes if it happens too early in your career, you’ve got a lot to live up to. I think if it happens now, I would enjoy it, I think, probably a lot more. You know, come a bit more as a gift towards the end of your career. So I think there would be a lot more satisfaction in it for sure.”
