The defending champion has driven it all over the show today but he's in position A1 at the ninth.

He needs to start threatening some flags and that's a fine effort from 116 yards, his ball staying on the right level of the putting surface about 12 feet from the cup.

Can he make this one? Nope, that never looked in.

Sam Burns' approach was a little wild but he lags his birdie putt from downtown and takes his par.

No time for heroes here when you're off the back of the ninth green, so Justin Rose pulls out the putter, as they all should in this position, and tickles one down there nice and close to save his par.

Patrick Reed is on the green in two but he's wide left with his long try as that flat stick continues to misbehave.

Rose reaches the turn two under for his round so far and going nicely if not producing the fireworks of others, while Reed had that helter skelter start but finishes his first nine just one under.

Shane Lowry fires straight back with a terrific iron into the 10th green from 188 yards.

There's plenty of juice on it but it takes a skip and then softly rests about two feet from the flag. Birdie all day long.

Tommy Fleetwood can't quite match that but lands his ball 12 feet out and then watches his putt circle the cup and stay up.

McIlroy doesn't try anything too fancy with his second at the par-five eighth, slinging a percentage draw to just short and right of the green.

From there, he clips his pitch nicely, but the greens are really starting to dry out and his ball runs six feet past.

He needs this. No - that was right straight off the blade. The frustration builds.

Sam Burns wasn't on the dancefloor in two, was heavy-handed with his pitch and doesn't make the putt. He remains eight-under.

Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood both give shots back at the ninth.

In the case of Lowry it all comes after he tries to manufacture a shot into the putting surface from off the pine needles down the right.

His chip from over by the partons almost retrieves the situation but he his putt wanders past from five feet.

Image source, Getty Images

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

The irony is, we talk about Patrick Reed - the best part of his game is his putting.

Take those first three holes out of the equation, he’s missed putt after putt and he did the same on the back nine as well and yet he’s still in contention.

Image source, Getty Images

Justin Rose picks up a second birdie of the day on the par-five eighth thanks to a nice chip up with his third leaving a relative tap-in.

Patrick Reed though has really dropped off the pace of things on the greens, as he's aboard in two but hits a pretty average first attempt and then misses with his birdie try so settles for a three-putt par.

There's not much these guys hate more than a three-putt.

Scottie Scheffler needs to go close from 101 yards to save his par. And the two-time champion hits a sensational shot that lands past the pin and the spins back to flirt with the hole.

How big could that shot be to his Masters hopes?

McIlroy will find the fairway on one of these par-fives eventually, but it's the same story at the eighth. He pulls it left and he'll surely be blocked out by trees for his second.

"Aww," shouts Scottie Scheffler as his drive on the 18th flies left towards the bushes and trees.

Has he even got a swing at this? The short answer is yes but not a proper one and he has to punt out diagonally.

This is quite something - Li Haotong almost holes out for an eagle on the 10th from all of 184 yards away! His stunning approach lands and rolls toward the cup but just hits the right edge and lips out.

What's worse, that's closer than Li gets with his resulting putt from just six feet away as he has to settle for a par. Big miss that one.

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

That is one of the best pitch shots you will ever see [from Shane Lowry]. It was no more than 30 yards, club face wide open, huge swing and it came down like a butterfly with sore feet.

What touch. Shane Lowry flips a wedge up over the hill on the eighth and lands his ball with check side at around four feet.

A brilliant golf shot that gets the birdie it deserves. Some round this from the Irishman, who is in a three-way tie for second.

McIlroy's leaning left again. It's another missed fairway and he's forced to thread his second through some branches. It's a hit and hope but his ball cannons into one of the three bunkers that guard this green.

He gives it a good thump out of the sand and rolls in his six-footer for par. That's another good par given the drive, but he's pushing his luck.

Sam Burns' approach catches the fringe at the back and doesn't come back down the slope. His birdie putt trickles past but he follows McIlroy in for a four.

Iain Carter
BBC golf correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live

We’re just seeing how the leaderboard can fluctuate because of the nature of this golf course. Every hole you come to, there is a chance of a birdie and on several there are chances of eagles.

And on every single one of them there are chances of bogeys and double bogeys, so things are very fluid.

Call him Mr Hole-in-one as Shane Lowry just keeps piling them up, and at some iconic holes too.

Lowry has made an ace at the iconic seventh hole at Pebble Beach, the iconic 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass and the iconic 16th hole at Augusta National. Notice a theme?

Now he's added a second Masters hole-in-one. Can anyone beat that record?

Scottie Scheffler is eyeing up a birdie putt from eight feet on the 17th...but he gets it all wrong.

The American expects his ball to break from right to left but it straightens up on him and leaves him scratching his head.

Justin Rose fires a crisp iron right down the pipe and bang at the flag, landing just a few feet short but it's also a few feet to the right, and that's a big no-no here as it catches the slope and tumbles miles away down the green.

Harsh, yes, but the players know going in that you can't miss this flag to the right, albeit Rose's shot was hardly a miss. Tough break but he makes his par.

Look out for Cameron Young. The American's name climbs further up the leaderboard with a birdie at the 10th.

The 28-year-old did not make the cut here in 2025 but managed top-10 finishes at Augusta National in the two previous years.

A bit like the Players, he seems to have sort of gone under the radar, until well, he's in a tie for second at five under today.

Iain Carter
BBC golf correspondent on BBC Radio 5 Live

Rory McIlroy hates the holes that go in this direction, the seventh, the 14th and the 17th.

He’s admitted he struggles with the tee shots on all of them.