Rory McIlroy on edge of contention seven shots back

The top rungs of the Masters leaderboard are largely filled with the best current players in golf, many of them with major championship credentials.

A glaring exception is Rory McIlroy. His seven-shot deficit with 36 holes remaining isn’t an insurmountable number. But the big hurdle is the fact 35 golfers sit between him and the lead at the Masters, the one major title he needs to complete his quest for the career Grand Slam.

He walked off the course Friday stressing the positive.

“To be here on the weekend and only be seven back, I'm actually pretty pleased,” he insisted.

PHOTOS: Friday's round at The Masters

McIlroy followed his Thursday 73 with a 1-under 71 in Friday’s second round, a round that included a wide range of shot-making by the world’s third-ranked golfer.

The good: He eagled the par-5 eighth after hitting his second shot to 8 feet, and birdied the par-3 16th with a bomb from 50 feet below the hole.

The bad: He found the bunker on his approach to the par-4 11th and left his third shot in the sand, leading to bogey.

The ugly: He hit a fat pitch into the bunker on the par-5 second hole and made bogey. Also, from just 175 yards on the par-5 13th, he finished short-right in the water and missed a 7-footer for par.

The necessary sequence, without doubt, was the par save on the par-5 15th, where a wayward drive led to tree trouble and, soon thereafter, a fourth shot from 185 yards.

He hit it to 8 feet and saved par, then followed with the monster birdie putt on 16. He went from flirting with the cut line to remaining on the outer fringes of the hunt.

“I don't feel like I'm that far away,” he said. “To shoot under par, considering some of the breaks I got and some of the shots I hit … I'm right there.”

He painted the contrast between Friday’s rally and Thursday’s finish, when he went from 1 under to 1 over with two closing bogeys.

“Standing here, I’m much happier tonight than I was last night coming off the course,” he said. “I just bogeyed the last two holes; in comparison, 1‑under for the last four to get myself in for the weekend, thinking on the middle of the 15th fairway I have a realistic chance of not being here.

“So, to get in and be seven back, I'm pretty happy.”