Max Homa, Collin Morikawa Breeze into the Masters Weekend

Cal grads Max Homa and Collin Morikawa turned in splendid second-round performances at the 90th Masters on Friday, but defending champion Rory McIlroy seems intent on running away from the field at Augusta National.

Homa shot a 2-under 70 and sits in a four-way tie for 16th place at 2 under and Morikawa is part of a four-way tie for 20th after a 69 that puts him at minus-1 through two days.

The third former Golden Bear in the field, Michael Kim, failed to make the plus-4 cut.

McIlroy, who completed his career grand slam with a victory at Augusta last year, was tied with Sam Burns after the first round at 67.

McIlroy heated up on Friday, shooting a 7-under 65 that gives him a six-stroke lead, largest ever after 36 holes at the Masters. The 36-year-old from Northern Ireland birdied the final holes and six of the last seven to go to minus-12 and pull away from Burns and Patrick Reed.

"Standing on the 12th tee, I didn't imagine being six shots ahead," McIlroy said after generating the third-largest two-day lead at any of the four majors.

Homa, ranked 163rd in the world after two difficult seasons, has played well at the Masters in recent years. He tied for 12th place a year ago after finishing in a tie for third in 2024.

On Friday, the 35-year-old played a steady round with birdies on Nos. 2, 8, 14 and 15, offset by just a pair of bogeys, He is tied with Xander Schauffele, Hideki Matsuyama and Jake Knapp.

Collin Morikawa reacts after his shot on the first hole | Michael Madrid-Imagn Images

Morikawa is halfway home after dealing with a lot of anxiety in the wake of back spasms he experienced last month that kept him sidelined from competition until Thursday.

After posting a 2-over 74 on Thursday in what he called “the toughest round I’ve ever played, the 29-year-old, two-time major winner was 1 under on Friday. He carded four birdies and three bogeys through 11 holes, then made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 12 and 13 to wind up in a tie for 20th along with Matt Fitzpatrick, Michael Brennan and Nick Taylor.

Still, Morikawa said he doesn’t quite feel like himself yet.

“Honestly, it doesn't hurt,” Morikawa said. “But the trust isn't there. It's a really weird way to describe it. I don't trust myself to swing normally.”

The world’s seventh-ranked player, Morikawa had assembled five consecutive top-20 finishes at the Masters entering this week: Tied 14th in 2025; tied 3rd in 2024; tied 10th in 2023; 5th in 2022; tied 18th in 2021.

Kim’s hopes of playing on the weekend dried up after he bogeyed three of his first four holes on Friday, dropping him to 6 over par and a tie for 66th place, well back of the projected plus-3 cut.

It only got worse for the 32-year-old, who tied for 27th at the Masters a year ago. He bogeyed 11, 12 and 14, dropping him to 83rd place at plus-9. Kim finally carded a birdie on No. 15, ending a stretch of 31 holes over two days where he had 10 bogeys and no birdies.

Kim made another birdie on No. 16 but finished with a bogey on 18 and wound up with a 5-over 77 and a two-day total of plus-8.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler is 14 strokes off the pace after shooting a 2-over 74 on Friday, his first round over par at Augusta in the past three years.

Bryson DeChambeau, fifth at the Masters a year ago, missed the cut after a triple-bogey 7 on the 18th hole, leaving him with a 74 and a two-day score of six over par.

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