AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — The only thing that stopped Rory McIlroy in the Masters was running out of holes to play Friday.

McIlroy stood on the 12th tee in a tie with Patrick Reed and with a dozen other players bunched together in what was shaping up to be a compelling chase for the green jacket.

Six birdies over his final seven holes for a 7-under 65 left everyone to wonder if they were playing for second. McIlroy’s fourth straight birdie to close out the best round of the week gave him a six-shot advantage, setting the Masters record for largest 36-hole lead.

“I knew I had some chances coming in when I was standing on the 12th tee, but I didn’t think I’d birdie six of the last seven,” he said. “It just shows what you can do around here.”

He did it in spectacular fashion. McIlroy twice made birdie on the par 5s after laying up from the trees. He twice had short putts on the par 3s. And if all that wasn’t enough, he chipped in from 30 yards up a slope so steep he couldn’t even see the hole.

The final hour of a fascinating day started to look like a victory lap for McIlroy, who spent 17 years trying to win the Masters and now looks like he can’t wait to do it again.

His tee shot over Rae’s Creek on the dangerous 12th hole landed 7 feet behind the flag. He birdied both par 5s after having to lay up from the trees. He took advantage of the lower pin at the par-3 16th for what amounted to a tap-in birdie.

And then he really sent the gallery into a frenzy when he chipped in from 30 yards on the 17th. McIlroy knew it was good because “I could see everyone in the grandstand start to stand up.”

And there was one more to go — another perfect approach that came down the slope to 6 feet for one last birdie.

That put him at 12-under 132, six shots clear of Reed (69) and Sam Burns (71). The previous record for the largest 36-hole lead at Augusta National was five shots by six players, most recently Scottie Scheffler in 2022. The first was Harry “Lighthorse” Cooper in 1936, the only player in that position who did not win the Masters.

If McIlroy holds on, he would become the fourth player to win back-to-back at the Masters, joining Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods.

He had a two-shot lead after 36 holes in 2011 and stretched it to four shots going into the final round before he famously imploded with an 80. That was the start of his Masters heartache that lasted until a year ago, when he triumphed in a playoff to finally prove he could win at Augusta National.

Maybe he should start thinking about next year’s menu for the Masters Club dinner.

“I know what can happen around here, good and bad,” McIlroy said with a smile. “You don’t have to remind me not to get ahead of myself. There’s a long way to go. I got off to an amazing start.”

Augusta allowed for that. It was warmer, brighter, drier. The wind wasn’t quite as strong and the gusts didn’t swirl as much. And there was much better scoring in part because of more generous pin positions, including on 16 and 18, where cleanly struck shots could feed toward the hole.

The scores were nearly two shots lower than Thursday.

That didn’t help everyone, least of all Bryson DeChambeau. He fought back from an opening 76 and was one shot below the cut line when it took him two shots to get out of a greenside bunker on the 18th, the second shot rolling off the false front back down to the fairway. He made triple bogey and missed the cut.

Reed was bogey-free until failing to save par on the final hole. That also cost him a spot in the final group Saturday with McIlroy. They were paired together in the last group in 2018, with seemingly all of Augusta on McIlroy’s side, only for Reed to win handily.

Burns birdied his last two holes to salvage a 71 and will be paired with McIlroy.

Justin Rose, the playoff loser to McIlroy a year ago, had a rough day with the putter and still shot 69 to be part of the group at 5-under 139 — now seven shots behind — along with Shane Lowry (69) and Tommy Fleetwood, who had two eagles in his round of 68.

McIlroy took three weeks off heading into the Masters — no one since Adam Scott in 2013 won the Masters coming off a break that long — and felt it was to his advantage.

He took multiple trips to Augusta — sometimes day trips to get home for dinner — and spent most of his time working on his short game, which has been superb.

“I felt like I was part of the furniture,” McIlroy said of all his visits to the course.

He also had a six-shot lead at the Congressional in the 2011 U.S. Open, the major after he blew his big lead at the Masters, and he went on to win by eight. He learned that week to push on instead of protect, the same approach he plans for the weekend.

“Look, I’ve built up a nice cushion at this point,” McIlroy said. “I guess my mindset is just trying to keep playing well and keeping my foot on the gas.”

Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player who has won two of the last four Masters, is now 12 shots behind. Scheffler twice hit into the water on the par 5s on the back nine, made bogey on both, and shot 74 for his first round over par at the Masters in three years.

The players in what looked to be the B-flight had all finished before McIlroy went on his astonishing run of birdies. Cameron Young and U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell had a front-row seat to McIlroy in full command at the Masters.

“You’ve got to stay in your own lane, but it’s hard not to watch that,” Howell said after missing the cut. “That chip-in on 17 was unreal. That was one of the coolest things I’ve seen in sports, and I got to witness it in person. So that was awesome.”

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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

Kai Trump made a trip to the Masters Tournament after the public fallout from Tiger Woods’ DUI arrest.

Trump’s mom, Vanessa, who is the ex-wife of Donald Trump Jr., is dating Woods — and publicly supported the five-time Masters champ after he announced that he’s seeking treatment.

Taking to her Instagram, Kai shared a carousel post Thursday, showing her posing for a photo with LIV Golf star Bryson DeChambeau and his caddie Greg Bodine at Augusta National Golf Club.

“What a special place 💚,” Kai — who will be playing college golf at Miami — wrote with a green heart emoji.

Her grandfather, President Donald Trump, and DeChambeau are friends.

It’s unclear if Vanessa made the trip to Augusta, Ga., as the 50-year-old Woods undergoes treatment abroad following his rollover crash in Florida on March 27.

A Florida judge granted the Woods’ request to travel outside of the U.S. to seek treatment away from media and public scrutiny.

Afterward, Vanessa publicly supported Woods, writing “Love you” in an Instagram Story post, which included a photo of the pair.

Woods said he was working toward a potential Masters return just days before his DUI arrest.

AUGUSTA, Ga. — Watch out.

Things look like they’re going to get tricky at this Masters, thanks to the perfect weather.

There’s a sentiment among the players that Augusta National conditions might be a handful by the time the weekend arrives. For the first time in years, there will be no rain during Masters week, which allows the course to firm up and play hard and fast.

The forecast the rest of the week is temperatures in the 80s with abundant sunshine.

“I think this could be the toughest Masters we’ve played in a while,’’ Shane Lowry said after shooting 71 Thursday to trail first-round leaders Rory McIlory and Sam Burns by four shots. “You look at the forecast. They can do whatever they want with the golf course this weekend.

“Over the last few years, we’ve had a day every year where it’s been raining or it’s been heavy rains. It’s kind of helped us a little bit, but I think before the week is out, it’s going to get very, very crusty around here.’’

Justin Rose joked that “you might get a yellow jacket if you win,’’ referring to the possible Sunday color of the greens. 

Patrick Reed said the course “definitely has the teeth in it to make it really, really tough.’’

“The greens are already getting firm, crusty, and bouncy,’’ he went on. “I actually broke one tee on the (17th) hole trying to fix a ball mark. You already know it’s going to get crusty. You know it’s going to get fast, and it’s going to take a lot of patience.

“With what the weather looks like it’s going to be — really hot, sunny — they could make this place really, really hard if they wanted to. I wouldn’t be surprised. We have the best players in the world here. Why not? Challenge us and make it difficult.’’

Ryan Gerard, whose father, Robert, is from Oyster Bay on Long Island, shot an even-par 72 in his debut Masters round.

When asked to grade his day, he delivered the line of the day when he said, “I give the front nine (3-over par) an ‘F’ [and] I would probably give the back nine an ‘A.’ Overall, a ‘C,’ which would get a [college] degree in some places.’’

Fred Couples, the oldest player in the field at 66, was 2-under par through 14 holes, looking ageless. And then, 15, 16 and 17 happened.

Couples took a quadruple-bogey 9 on the par-5 15th and then doubled 16 and 17 to tumble to 6-over par and finish with a 78. He played the last four holes in 8-over par.

Bryson DeChambeau entered the week as one of the tournament favorites, having won his last two starts on LIV Golf. But a disastrous back nine may have foiled his chances of winning a first green jacket after he posted a 4-over-par 76.

His round imploded when he took a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 11th hole after he’d made the turn in even par. It took him three shots out of a greenside bunker to extricate himself.

“The bunker was softer than I anticipated,’’ he said afterward.

DeChambeau wasn’t the only LIV player to struggle Thursday. In fact, all 10 of the LIV Golf players in the field this week combined for a cumulative 32-over par with not a single one of them under par.

Sergio Garcia is even par and the rest are over par.

Jon Rahm, a past champion, struggled to a 6-over-par 78, second worst among the LIV players after only Carlos Ortiz’s 80.

Collin Morikawa has been on pins and needles all week, wondering whether his balky back was going to hold up. He practiced sparingly all week, not wanting to push it. Since he withdrew from the Players Championship when a practice swing wrenched his back, Morikawa hasn’t been able to practice at full speed.

He opened with a 2-over-par 74 and called it “probably the toughest round I’ve ever played.’’

“I’m just fighting,’’ he said. “Like, it’s a battle. It all started when I woke up. I’ve never felt this nervous, like, in my life. I think it’s a trust factor. When it happened out on the course at the Players, you know, there’s a certain doubt factor of, like, is this going to happen (or) is this not?

“I’ve been hitting balls for the past week and a half, but not comfortably. When I teed it up on Tuesday I honestly didn’t know if I was going to make contact.’’

Brandon Holtz, a 39-year-old real estate broker from Illinois, shot a 9-over-par 81 in his opening round.

“It was tough,’’ the U.S. Mid-Am winner said. “Definitely not what I wanted to do on the golf course today, but I had a lot of fun. I’ve kind of already won. I’m 39, chasing a dream and here we are. But at the same time, I’m not happy with how I played, you know. But we got tomorrow so let’s see what happens.’’

This year is the 40th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus’ sixth and final Masters victory, at age 46. It remains one of the most memorable in the 90-year history of the tournament.

“I don’t know whether it changed my life, but it was a nice way to finish a career,’’ Nicklaus said Thursday. “It looked like I was pretty much done with playing golf when I won the U.S. Open and PGA in 1980, and I really wasn’t, you might say, expecting to win anymore.

“All of a sudden, I found a little lightning in the bottle, and it was kind of fun to find that.’’

Nicklaus called that ’86 victory his “No. 1’’ favorite Masters memory.

“I love them all, but obviously ’86 was the one that I wasn’t expected to win,’’ he said. “I was over the hill and the whole routine, and I won. So that was very special. It happened to be the most special to me, absolutely.’’