McIlroy leads at 10-under, Jason Day shoots 64 at the Masters

CP

While the future of golf was attempting to put some more distance between himself and the rest of the field at the Masters, Fred Couples showed there's still a lot of life in those 51-year-old bones.

Couples charged up the leaderboard Friday, shooting a 4-under 68 to again put himself in contention heading to the weekend.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old Rory McIlroy solidified his lead with a 3-under 69 to leave him at 10-under for the tournament, making him the second-youngest player to hold the 36-hole lead behind Tiger Woods. McIlroy went 29 holes before he made his first bogey at the picturesque 12th hole, where his tee shot plopped into a bunker and he couldn't get up and down.

"I drove it good. I gave myself a lot of opportunities. I just didn't make as many putts as I would've liked on the back nine," McIlroy said. "But I can't really complain. I'm in the lead going to the weekend at the Masters."

Two shots back was 23-year-old Australian Jason Day, who posted the low round of the day, an 8-under 64. It's the lowest score ever posted by a rookie at the Masters and equals the lowest second round score at Augusta since Jay Haas in 1995. It's also one off the championship record.

"I can't even remember shooting 8 under," said Day. "It was just a lot of great golf and I'm looking forward to the weekend."

Woods was flirting with the cut line following a scrappy first seven holes. However, the four time champion birdied three straight holes starting at No. 8 and added another trio of birdies starting at No. 13 for a second round 66 and a three day total of 7-under. That left him tied for fourth with K.J. Choi, who - going back to Thursday - had played a stretch of 12 holes at 8 under. But he struggled down the stretch Friday, going 1 over on the back nine and finishing with a 70 for two day total of 7-under par.

Former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy shot his second straight 69 and found himself tied with Alvaro Quiros at 6-under. The long-hitting Spaniard fell victim to the shortest hole on the course when he double-bogeyed the par-three 12th but birdied No. 18 for the second straight day to salvage a 73.

Another South Korean, 2009 PGA champion Y.E. Yang, birdied three straight holes early on and briefly snatched the lead by pushing his score to 8 under. Consecutive bogeys at the ninth and 10th stymied his momentum and he was in a group at 5-under which included Ricky Barnes, runner-up at the U.S. Open two years ago, and Couples.

The 1992 Masters champion made a serious run at another green jacket last year, leading after the first round before finishing sixth. This time, Couples opened with a 71 and really turned it on for Day 2, making five birdies - a bogey on No. 16 the only blemish on his scorecard. He heads to the weekend at 5-under 139.

"Could I win? Of course. Am I looking forward to playing tomorrow? You'd better believe it," said Couples. "I think I can go out tomorrow and shoot a very good score, and then I'd have to do something crazy on Sunday, also."

On the 25th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus becoming the oldest Masters winner at age 46, Couples has another shot at becoming the oldest major champion ever.

"When Nicklaus was 46, that didn't seem to be unbelievable. Watson at whatever age, 59 at the British Open, would have been totally unbelievable," said Couples. "But I think when you're 50, 51... it would be the biggest upset in it golf history."

Defending champion Phil Mickelson failed to make a move on the leaders. He scrambled for a 70 in the first round despite hitting fewer fairways than anyone in the 99-player field, and his erratic play continued Friday on the way to a middling 72.

"I left too many chances out there," he said. "These next two days are my favorite two days of the year, the weekend of the Masters. I'm not in that bad of a spot. If I can shoot a good round, I can get back in it."

For the first time since 2004, Mike Weir will miss the cut at the Masters. The 2003 champion continued to struggle on day 2, following up his opening round 76 with a 7-over 79 that included three consecutive bogeys to close out the round. It was his second highest score ever recorded at Augusta, matching the 79 he posted in the third round of the 2009 championship.

"Not much to say," Weir said when asked to react to his play. "It won't be good if I do say anything."

Some of the notables who also missed the cut include 2007 champion Zack Johnson (+2), Anthony Kim (+2), U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell (+3), British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen (+5), top U.S. amateur Peter Uihlein (+5) and world number one Martin Kaymer (+6).