Masters 2026: Ryan Fox misses cut as Rory McIlroy goes six clear after second round at Augusta

Ryan Fox during the second round of the US Masters at Augusta National. Photo / Matthew Harris / Golf Picture Agency

Ryan Fox has missed the cut for the first time at the US Masters despite a much-improved second round at Augusta today as defending champion Rory McIlroy dominated the day to hold a record lead.

Fox carded an even-par 72 but the damage was done on the first nine yesterday where he dropped five shots in the first seven holes.

Fox finished at five-over, one shot outside the cut mark in a share of 55th.

McIlroy went six shots clear of the field at 12-under after a superb second nine today to card a seven-under 65 – the low round of the day. He has the largest second-round lead in Masters history after the five-time major champion birdied seven of the last eight holes.

American duo Sam Burns and Patrick Reed, the 2018 Masters champion, share second place at six-under with last year’s runner-up Justin Rose a further shot back with Ryder Cup teammates Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood.

It was a strong day for the European Ryder Cup contingent with Tyrrell Hatton becoming the third player in 30 years to hit all 18 greens in regulation on the way to carding a 66 and jumping to four-under.

Fox had one bogey on the first nine at the par-three sixth but got back to par for the day with a birdie at the par-five 13th.

He needed to gain a shot with three holes to play but a missed putt at the par-three 16th led to a bogey and put him at six-over, which meant he needed a birdie-birdie finish to make the cut.

A chip-in at the 17th for a birdie for the second time this week kept his hopes alive. At the last hole, Fox needed a tricky, long-distance putt to get to four-under but couldn’t sink it.

Fox made the cut in his previous two appearances at Augusta in 2023 and 2024 but his preparation for this year’s tournament was disrupted by kidney stones on the eve of the Players Championship last month.

The likes of Bryson DeChambeau (+6), J.J Spaun (+5), Akshay Bhatia (+6), Robert MacIntyre (+7), Cameron Smith (+7) and Min Woo Lee (+11) all missed the cut.

Fox will be in the field for the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head Island next week, a signature event with a US$20 million ($34m) purse.

Masters leaderboard

-12 Rory McIlroy (NIR)

-6 Sam Burns (USA), Patrick Reed (USA)

-5 Justin Rose (ENG), Tommy Fleetwood (ENG), Shane Lowry (IRE)

-4 Wyndham Clark (USA), Tyrrell Hatton (ENG), Haotong Li (CHN), Kristoffer Reitan (NOR), Jason Day (AUS), Cameron Young (USA).

Selected players: -3 Brooks Koepka (USA), -2 Xander Schauffele (USA), -1 Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG), Even Scottie Scheffler (USA), +1 Jordan Spieth (USA), +4 Jon Rahm (ESP), +6 Bryson DeChambeau (USA).