McIlroy, aiming to repeat his success from last year, surged forward with an impressive 65 on Friday. He now leads the field by six strokes, matching a historic milestone for the largest 36-hole lead at the Masters.
Following him are Sam Burns and 2018 champion Patrick Reed, both tied in second place at 6 under par. European stars Justin Rose, Shane Lowry, and Tommy Fleetwood are also in the mix, each standing firm at 5 under.
Several notable players, including J.J. Spaun, Bryson DeChambeau, and Akshay Bhatia, failed to make it past the 4-over cut. However, others like Collin Morikawa and John Rahm successfully pushed through to continue their campaigns over the weekend.