McIlroy holds on in second round of Masters

Turned pro: 2007.

How qualified: Many ways, including winning British Open and PGA Championship in 2014.

Best Masters finish: Fourth last year.

Best stat on Friday: McIlroy needed 29 putts on Friday, or 1.61 per hole.

As difficult as it may seem for a player attempting to complete the career grand slam, Rory McIlroy was reduced to an also-ran for an hour during the second round of the Masters on Friday.

Playing ahead of leader Jordan Spieth, McIlory was at one point six strokes behind him on the leaderboard.

But McIlroy knows first-hand what Augusta National can do to a player, and he stayed patient. While McIlroy began to find his game, Spieth struggled with his.

McIlroy shot 1-under 71 on Friday — tied for the day’s best round because of the windy conditions — and is 3 under for the tournament, just one shot behind Spieth, who still leads despite shooting a 2-over 74 on Friday.

“I know I’m in a good position going into the weekend, and I’m happy with that,” McIlroy said.

McIlroy needs to win this weekend to have captured all four majors: the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship.

Yes, he knows the importance of becoming the sixth player in the modern era to accomplish the feat.

Yes, he knows that doing so while playing in the same group as Spieth, who is attempting to defend his green jacket, is a TV network executive’s dream.

But he’s not getting caught in that mental bunker.

“It would add a lot of excitement and buzz and atmosphere to the tournament,” he said. “I’ve said from the start, I’ve been concentrating on myself out there, because if you start to think about anyone else.”

After falling back to par for the tournament with a bogey on 11, McIlroy put himself in position with birdies on 13, 15 and 16.

The putt at the par-3 16th was improbable. Trying to two-putt for par because he was 39 feet from the flag, McIlroy started the ball six feet outside the hole and let gravity take it toward the pond

“It was a bonus when it dropped,” he said.

He saved par on 18 after driving into the trees. With 160 yards to the front of the green, he hit a 4-iron hard enough to get through the branches and to the front of the green.

“It was really important to get that ball up and down, to make par and to finish 3 under,” he said.

It was a much different finish than on Thursday when he wasted birdies on 13 and 15 with bogeys on 16 and 18. Augusta National’s second nine and McIlroy have an interesting history in his short career. He led the 2011 tournament for 3 1/2 rounds, but shot a 43 on the second nine to sign for an 80 and finish tied for 15th.

Last year, he shots rounds of 31 and 32 on his way to career-best fourth-place finish.

It should make for a fun third round.

“The most comfortable thing for me on this golf course is knowing that even if you are five or six shots back, things can change quite quickly,” he said. “I’ve been on the opposite end of that where things can get away from you. But that gives me confidence knowing that if you are a little bit behind, you can definitely make a comeback.”