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Justin Rose showed his years of experience to remain in the mix to win the Masters as his European Ryder Cup team-mates Tommy Fleetwood, Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton also boosted their hopes of claiming the Green Jacket for the first time.
Rose shrugged off the disappointment of two late bogeys in his opening 70 to card five birdies and two bogeys in a disciplined second-round 69 on Friday.
It lifted the former World Number One to five under par before Rory McIlroy, the man who beat him in a play-off at Augusta National last year, surged clear later in the day with a 65 to advance to 12 under and a record six-shot lead over Patrick Reed and Sam Burns.
“The course was good today,” he said.
“It being in the morning, there was a little bit of moisture in the greens. There wasn't a tonne of wind. It felt somewhat gettable.
“I thought the pins were just a little easier than yesterday. So, kind of surprised to potentially not see more guys making a run at it. But I anticipate a few guys getting just a touch further ahead than they are now.”
“I feel in good form. I feel in good spirits. Yeah, enjoying it.”
Fleetwood made two eagles in a round of 68 to move alongside Rose, with the fan favourite from England chasing a long-awaited first Major triumph after ending his wait for first PGA TOUR title last year.
"I always felt I've had a chance at Majors as well in the past," he said.
"I did say I sort of take things in the present moment, and I think last year for as good as the year was, my [performances at] Majors were disappointing to me
"I've had a good start. I've had two good days, but there's a long way to go. There's six more in this tournament, and then there's three more Majors."
Lowry, who posted a bogey-free 69 on Friday, is relishing the opportunity to battle for a second Major title, having claimed his Major breakthrough at The Open in 2019.
"Look, I'm in a nice position," he said, before his good friend McIlroy's scintillating back nine flourish.
"I played well today. I felt like I did a lot of good things, and my attitude was great. So I'm very, very happy. If you give me this position yesterday morning, I would have taken your hand off.
"To be kind of in the mix going into the weekend around here is nice, so I'm looking forward to it."
Hatton has endured his struggles at Augusta since his debut in 2018, but the signs are that he is coming to grips with the challenge, having finished in the top 15 in each of his last two appearances.
After opening with a 74, he carded seven birdies and bogey – coming at the last – to post a 66 that vaulted him up the leaderboard to four under as he hit all 18 greens in regulation.
“I mean, today was a great day," he said. "Actually, walking up 18 I was pretty confident that I couldn't mess it up enough that I wouldn't shoot my best score here.
“I mean, naturally I tried with a three-putt, so that was disappointing, to say the least. But, yeah, I mean, I certainly would have taken six-under before I went out.
“I gave myself lots of opportunities. I would have liked to have seen more putts go in.
“I don't feel like I actually holed that many putts certainly outside sort of seven, eight feet. Hopefully I can do a bit better on that front over the weekend, but overall it was a good day.”
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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