With barely a breath of wind on 'Golden Bell', the picturesque par-three 12th, McIlroy peppers the flagstick and will have a six-footer for birdie from the back of the green.

And in it goes! He needed that! McIlroy seizes sole possession of the lead once again.

Amateur Mason Howell, who hasn't had much to shout about on his first visit to Augusta, taps in for birdie after nearly flying it straight in for an ace!

Cameron Young picks up a birdie, too, and he moves under-par for the tournament. Seriously impressive from the Players champion considering he was four-over through 11 holes yesterday.

Iain Carter
BBC golf correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live

The crowd rises to greet Rory McIlroy, chest puffed out, on to the 12th tee. The flags have suddenly gone limp. There is not a breath of breeze. That has to be perfect for this tee shot.

The start of a late charge by Sam Burns?

After seven holes without a birdie he notches one at the 15th thanks to a 228-yard iron over the drink to the green before sealing the deal in two putts.

Rory McIlroy lets a bit of anger out on his drive at 11th. Whoosh! He sends it 359 yards down there.

His driving has improved dramatically today but his approach play has been underwhelming and his arm comes off the club again as he comes up short and left.

It's an uphill putt for a birdie, but you wouldn't exactly call it an 'opportunity' from 30 feet.

He gives it a good run, but it just dies on the left edge.

The defending champion could use a spark.

Tommy Fleetwood clips into 15 feet or so on the 13th but his birdie putt never looks like dropping.

Patrick Reed's short game has been outstanding today but with an opportunity to go into the solo lead he slides a six-foot birdie effort past.

Spare a thought for Akshay Bhatia. The American is having it tough at the moment and watches his chip from just off the left of the green, pick up pace and roll off at the other side straight into the tributary to Rae's Creek that winds around the putting surface.

It contributes to a second double bogey in four holes, with six dropped shots over that stretch.

Image source, Getty Images

China's Li Haotong has had one of the rounds of the day with a three-under-par 69, particularly considering he's not been feeling too well.

Here's an extract from his chat with journalists a little earlier:

I know you were sick last night. How surprised are you by the round that you put together today?

Li: I am, actually. 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, live in the toilet.

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.

Do you feel better now after a round?

Li: Especially after that four birdies. Somehow I felt quite nice.

You think Augusta cure you? Augusta made you feel better?

Li: Definitely. Major makes me feeling good.

Jason Day's momentum has stalled after that dropped shot on 11 but he sparks back into life with a delightful approach to the undulating 14th green.

He knocks in a birdie from four feet and he moves back to five-under, just one off the lead.

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After a quiet front nine, it's been an eventful few holes for Xander Schauffele.

He follows up his birdie with back-to-back bogeys to slip back down to two under.

The bunker at Amen Corner proves his undoing on this occasion with two attempts to get out of the sand required to get on the green.

Rory McIlroy has a case of the rights at the moment. He blocks his three-wood off the tee on 10. It's in the fairway but a bit further back than he would have liked - 188 yards, to be precise - and he pushes his second into the bunker.

That's another ragged approach and he's starting to put more pressure on his short game now.

He's an excellent bunker player, however, and he judges it beautifully, leaving himself a five-footer straight back up the hill.

A smart leave...but he's missed it! It lips out on the left. Oh dear. After that hot start, McIlroy is fighting his game a bit now and he has Patrick Reed for company at the top.

Fresh from Norway's Kristoffer Reitan knocking in a fourth straight birdie, he almost dunks in an ace on the 16th, instead his ball smacks the flag and rolls away from the cup.

Fuzzy Zoeller was the last debutant to go home wearing a Green Jacket, 47 years ago.

Xander Schauffele backs up an ambitious tee shot at the 11th with an equally good chip to get on the dance floor.

A birdie chance becomes a bogey, though, as the American's putter runs cold.

He is back to three under.

Jason Day finds the bunker with his second on the par-five 13th and it's not an appetising prospect from there.

With a ridge to contend with and the creek long, he chunks it out of the sand and must snake a lengthy left-to-righter down to the cup.

Shane Lowry holed out for eagle on this hole yesterday but there's no fireworks with the wedge this time. He comes up with 17 feet short and can't convert for his four.

That's a dozen pars in a row for the Irishman, who's looking a little vexed at the moment.

Akshay Bhatia pulls his wedge off the 12th tee miles right and gets fortunate not to end up in the drink. He still can't save his par though and is throwing shots away like confetti in the wind at present (four in three holes).

Tommy Fleetwood has a long birdie putt and judges the pace expertly if not quite the direction meaning it's a par for the European Ryder Cup star.

It's birdie time for Patrick Reed who buries his putt after clipping into 10 feet to move a stroke behind Rory McIlroy.

As it stands it's all set-up for Tee Gate Part II.

McIlroy judges the pace well from the top of the little hill on the ninth green and he picks up his par.

Out in 34. He promised a little better than that after covering his first four holes in three under.

But he's in good position with plenty of scoring opportunities coming up on the back nine.

All three of this trio miss right on the 11th. It's a popular spot but judging by Tommy Fleetwood's reaction and few choice words to himself he's not happy.

The Englishman's third is bump and run into the bank that runs on and leaves a six footer for par, that he knocks in.

Patrick Reed plays the same shot but comes up six feet short but still delivers the same result.

The odd one out is Akshay Bhatia, who gets his third all wrong and ends up on the fringe.

A second bogey in three holes for Sam Burns.

The American has to take a drop at the 13th after his tee shot flies into the trees lining the fairway.

The overnight co-leader is now three under.

Mark Chapman
Presenter on BBC Radio 5 Live at Augusta

Peyton Manning has said hello to me. Peyton Manning! The only disappointing thing is that John Murray is not here to spend 30 minutes trying to work out who he was.

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Brooks Koepka on how his game feels going into the weekend: "Just playing nicely, man.

"Like the way I'm playing. Ball striking has been really good this week. Putted better today. Short game has been kind of iffy. But I like the way I'm playing right now. Just need to be a little bit more aggressive."

On Tom Watson's comments about LIV golfers being banned from the PGA Tour for life: "I would have to look at exactly what he said. Just going off your summary, everybody is entitled to their own opinion.

"That's fine if he thinks that. He's not the first person that's thought that. It is what it is. I'm just grateful to be out here.

"The people that make those decisions let me out here. If you're going to get the opportunity to come back out you're going to take it."

Kat Downes
Commentator, BBC Radio 5 Live

We've had a little bit of stardust around the 15th green with the Super Bowl-winning head coach Mike McDonald, decked out head-to-toe in Masters gear and multiple major winner and golfing legend Annika Sorenstam.

She was in her Green Jacket because she's an Augusta National member.

Not for the first time today, Rory McIlroy fails to follow a booming drive with a dead-eyed approach.

From 99 yards at the ninth, he fires a bit too far left of the pin and his ball hangs precariously on one of the green's ridges. He can't see the bottom of the flag from down in the valley and looks a little perplexed with the lack of cheers from the gallery.

It'll be a frighteningly quick putt from there.