Justin Rose raises his hands to the sky in celebration as he escapes with a par on 17 despite finding the trees with his tee shot and the bunker with his second.

There's a wry smile to the crowd after he sinks a clutch putt for a four - after bogeying it yesterday and also being so off colour on the greens today.

He looks like he's enjoying the battle though and seeing the funny side is certainly better than letting Augusta National get on top of you.

Trish Johnson
Former Europe Solheim Cup player on BBC Radio 5 Live

The way Rory McIlroy has started with every club - as long the driver behaves itself, his irons look absolutely towering.

He's imperious with the irons and the putter looks on song today.

This could roll... Ludvig Aberg is in 'Sandy's bunker' on the 18th hole and he hits a similar shot, landing his ball on the slope beyond the flag and letting gravity do the rest. The hole is cut more on the right of the green than in 1988 but it's an eerily similar shot.

Image source, Getty Images

We had some good responses on this yesterday so let's re-run the fun with Rory McIlroy looking to run away with things here...

Back-to-back Masters champions usually get handed the Green Jacket by the chairman of Augusta National, but what about going another way?

We could have McIlroy's friends and family do it, his caddie Harry Diamond or what about he can select any other player - friend or foe - to have to adorn him with the most coveted piece of sports tailoring around?

Vote below and send us your thoughts using the feedback form...

Robert MacIntyre dunked two balls in the water protecting the 15th green on Thursday. He makes no mistake this time, going flag-hunting with his second and finding the back edge of the green. It's a lengthy one, but it's an eagle putt coming up.

Image source, Reuters

McIlroy's putt on the fourth is fast and breaks significantly from his left.

He sends it on its way...in it goes!

Woah. The defending champion means business today, folks.

Three birdies in a row. Three-shot lead.

Sam Burns huffs and puffs in frustration at the green at the eighth.

He came up short with an ambitious eagle putt but then ends up three putting to make par.

An opportunity missed for the American.

Tyrrell Hatton finds the 18th green with his second but it's not the shot he's after given the pin location and tough birdie putt down the slope that is now incoming.

Not sure this would be much of a consolation to the Englishman but he's the first player since Kevin Na in the first round of the 2020 Masters to hit every green in regulation in one round.

He barely touches his putt and it wanders down before stopping pin high but four or five feet right of the cup.

This for a par...oh no, his ball wanders around the cup and somehoe stays up. Hatton can't quite believe it. He ends with a bogey but a six-under 66, which is his best ever round at Augusta National.

A big misjudgement by Scottie Scheffler on the long par-five 15th. He airmails the green with his second shot and his ball races down the slope off the back and careers straight into the water that separates the 16th tee and green. The par five holes are where you need to make your score at Augusta National and after also finding water on the 13th, this is not the back nine the world number one would have wanted.

Iain Carter
BBC golf correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live

We've said it all week long that Rory McIlroy's in a really comfortable place as defending champion.

He was struggling yesterday but he had the confidence because he has a Green Jacket - he just kept swinging, instead of steering the ball around tentatively, and as a consequence he found his range.

He's picked up where he left off, this is a really brilliant start.

McIlroy stares down his shot into the par-three fourth. He either loves it or is worried he hasn't caught all of it and is worried about the bunker that guards the green.

Oh! It just about clears the trap, catches the downslope and scampers past the flag.

Will it catch the ridge and trickle back down towards the hole? No, it stays above the cup and he faces a slippery putt for a third successive birdie.

Image source, Getty Images

It's all about the number six today!

All of the last six Masters champions have been positioned inside the top six on the leaderboard after the second round at Augusta National.

So keep your eyes peeled on that leaderboard as the night goes on...

Trish Johnson
Former Europe Solheim Cup player on BBC Radio 5 Live

A fantastic start for Rory McIlroy - the complete opposite to his round yesterday.

That is a superb up and down and he looks full of confidence - he's absolutely flying at the moment.

Image source, Reuters

Ben Griffin is going along nicely today, he's had three birdies and hasn't dropped a single shot to sit on three under after 16 holes and right in the thick of things.

Griffin is playing in his first Masters after a massive breakthrough last year that saw him bag two wins and claim a surprise spot on Keegan Bradley's USA Ryder Cup team.

He's not been as good so far in 2026 but he's got elite ball striking skills at his best, something that everyone who plays well at Augusta needs in the locker.

Rory McIlroy smokes his drive at the third and has just a flick on to the green. He judges it beautifully, using the contours of the green to feed his ball back down towards the cup to around three feet.

That should be another birdie. Yep! He's two-under through three and has himself a two-shot lead. Just the start he'd have been hoping for.

Regulation pars all round on the 14th hole.

Bob MacIntyre needed to hole a seven-footer for his par.

Off they go to the 15th. Bob took nine here yesterday. That's pretty much the difference between him making the cut and going home.

Nice swing from Justin Rose on 16, but the wrong club as he's way long of the flag, but it's a really good lag putt from there to leave a stree-free par.

Now he's off to the 17th, which he bogeyed yesterday along with 18 in a poor finish. He'll hope for better today.

Great par save from Patrick Reed, who had flown well past the fifth green but nonchalantly gets up and down to make a four.

The American has had four top-10 finishes and won here. And his experience and knowledge of the course could prove crucial come the weekend.

Image source, Getty Images

Justin Rose got back on the birdie train at 15, and you've just got to take advantage of the par fives if you want a Green Jacket.

Only Danny Willett in the last decade did better on the par threes and fours than the fives.

Three players made birdie on all four of the par fives in round one - Russell Henley, Justin Rose and, surprise, surprise, Rory McIlroy.

Par five scoring, external

Steady stuff from Shane Lowry since that opening birdie. He's just made his fifth successive par with a stress-free two-putt at the par-three sixth.

He dropped three shots on the two front-nine par-threes yesterday, but no such dramas today.

He's hanging around.