Key events
Eagle on 2 for the 2020 runner-up Im Sung-jae! A chip-in from 20 yards off the front. A couple of bounces before it rolls out and in. Glorious. He moves up to -5. Back on 1, Scottie Scheffler has to shape his second around some overhanging branches, and does so marvellously, landing his short iron from 145 yards pin high. He’ll have a look at birdie from nine feet.
“Fore please, Scottie Scheffler now driving.” Here’s the defending champion and world number one, who was uncharacteristically untidy yesterday, yet still managed to grind out a one-under round of 71. By all accounts he was on the range late last night, not in a particularly good humour, as he battled to get his game back into the easy-going shape of Thursday. His opening drive finds the first cut down the left. A slight narrowing of the eyes as he peers after it, but no great drama. He’ll no doubt leave all that emotional nonsense to Entertainment’s Tyrrell Hatton, who he’s going round with today.
News of another former champion who has been enjoying himself today. The 2015 winner Jordan Spieth is back home having shot a blemish-free round of 69, his birdies coming at 8, 9 and 13. He was so unlucky that a 20-footer left-to-right swinging putt from the fringe at the back of 15 didn’t drop as well. And he nearly chipped in from the back of 18. So close to being so much better. At -1 overall he’s the very early clubhouse leader alongside debutant Max Greyserman.
Zach Johnson continues to blister his way around Augusta National, the 2007 champion rolling back the years on his 21st Masters start. He’s now birdied 15 and 16, making it six birdies in eight holes. He’s -5 overall, and properly in the mix. Should he par his way home, he’ll be signing for a joint-best-of-week 65.
-8: Rose
-7: DeChambeau
-6: McIlroy, Conners
-5: Z Johnson (16), McCarty, Lowry, Scheffler, Hatton
-4: Reed (3), Morikawa (2), Day (1), R Højgaard, Hovland
-3: Åberg (2), Matsuyama (2), Im (1)
-2: Rahm (16), An (12), Harman (5), Schauffele (4), Fleetwood (4)
Four birdies in a row for An Byeong-hun! Holes 8 through 11. With the exception of the first of those, a par-five that’s playing easiest all week, that’s supposed to be a very tricky run of holes. Well, not for An, who is beginning to enjoy himself around here, his tie for 16th last time round his best finish in the Masters. He’s -2 overall.
Tom Kim was the first man out today. With an odd number of players having made the cut – 53 – he went round with marker Michael McDermott, the Jeff Knox de nos jours, an Augusta National member good enough to have beaten future pro JB Holmes at the 2003 US Amateur. The relaxed atmosphere seems to have suited the fun-loving Kim to a tee, because he’s carded his best round of the week, a level-par 72, finishing with one heck of a flourish: lobbing high from just off the front of the 18th green, his ball taking one bounce before slam-dunking into the cup in outrageous fashion! Kim throws his putter into the sky, punches the air, then embraces McDermott, the pair hugging and laughing in a very infectious manner. Seek out the footage on the Masters website and try not to grin like a loon. It is impossible not to love Tom Kim.
An extremely smiley Bryson DeChambeau has a chat with CBS Sports. “If I can just keep it in the fairway … iron shots into the green … I watch a lot … see what players are doing … where the pin locations are … how people are playing it … trying to get comfortable with that … get my day started off a little late on purpose … feel comfortable like I’m just getting up, getting ready to go play some golf and have a good time … I’m excited … it’s gonna be a lot of fun!”
Shot of the week at 12 by Denny McCarthy! At the 155-yard par-three, he lands his ball five feet in front of the flag. A couple of tiny bounces take it a couple of feet closer, but no further. That’s a kick-in birdie, though. The 32-year-old from Florida, whose best finish here was a modest tie for 45th last year, moves into the red at -1 overall. So close there to only the fourth ace at 12 in Masters history. The others: the two-time US Open champion Curtis Strange in 1988, the amateur Bill Hyndman in 1959, and Claude Harmon, Butch’s dad, in 1947 (a year before his victory).
A downbeat start to Tommy Fleetwood’s round. He misreads a long putt from the back of 1, the ball ending pin high but having broken seven feet to the right. The attempt to save par is pulled left straight off the bat. The bogey knocks him back to -1. But in the following match it’s a fast start for one of the pre-tournament hot tips, though, as Collin Morikawa swishes his approach from 150 yards pin high and strokes in the ten-footer for birdie. He’s -4.
Rory McIlroy talks to CBS Sports. “It’s the same mindset today … take care of what I’m doing … try not to look around … try not watch the leaderboards … though they’re big and white and pretty unavoidable! … letting the score come to me … not trying to force the issue … follow the same plan I followed yesterday.”
Zach Johnson plays the par-five 13th in textbook fashion. A drive down the middle. A lay-up wedge around the corner. A chip from 85 yards to a couple of feet. That’s a birdie, and more evidence from him that you don’t need boom-boom length to succeed at Augusta National. It helps, of course it helps, the roll of honour shows that. But it’s not a complete deal-breaker. He’s now five under for his round today, and -3 overall.
Some Good Scoring dept. Some former champions are out there proving a low number is possible. Jon Rahm, of LIV Golf and Buyer’s Remorse fame, whose victory here somehow feels a lot longer than just a couple of years ago, flew out of the blocks this morning with three consecutive birdies. He’s currently level par for the Tournament. The 2015 champ Jordan Spieth has birdied 8, 9 and 13 in a currently flawless round; he’s -1 overall. And 2007 winner Zach Johnson is currently the hottest property out on the, er, property, having made birdies at 9, 10 and 12 plus eagle at 2. One bogey blemish at 6, and he’s -2 overall.
It’s a sunny day at Augusta National, if not a particularly warm one. The wind is expected to pick up a little as the day goes on, but not to any great extent, and not as blustery as yesterday afternoon. An outside chance of a rain shower later as well, though even if it arrives, nothing too dramatic is forecast. Throw in some attractive pin placements, and conditions are ripe for some good scoring.
Dunlap’s valedictory round would have been even more impressive had he not finished with three consecutive bogeys. But that wasn’t the most egregious late-round meltdown yesterday. Oh no. Not by a long chalk. Step forward 2019 and 2023 runner-up Brooks Koepka, who would be competing right now had he managed to make bogey at 18 last night. Sadly for the five-time major winner, he pulled his tee shot into the trees down the left and was forced to take an unplayable. After chopping back out, he short-sided himself in a swale to the left of the green with his fourth, chipped up weakly, and three-putted from there. A quadruple-bogey eight. Ooo-wee. Whether he feels as bad as Cameron Young, who would also be here today were it not for carelessly taking three putts from kick-in distance on 16, is a moot point, and a question I would most certainly be too scared/wise to put to the big man’s face.
Before things get wild, let’s take this opportunity to tip the cap to young Nick Dunlap. The 21-year-old shot 90 on Thursday, and many a player would have responded by playing the illness or injury card to minimise embarrassment before withdrawing quietly. But Dunlap took his frustration out on a bucket of range balls, then came back yesterday to post a one-under round of 71. He still missed the cut in last place, of course, but if they were handing out Green Jackets for moxie, Dunlap would surely be at the head of the queue. The differential between his first two rounds is the second-biggest in Masters history, the biggest still Craig Wood’s 88-67 effort in 1936. Wood went on to win the Masters five years later, so if you’re a fan of outlandish omens, pile your cash on Dunlap winning this Tournament in 2030.
Preamble
It’s Moving Day! Here’s what the top of the leaderboard looks like …
-8: Rose
-7: DeChambeau
-6: McIlroy, Conners
-5: McCarty, Lowry, Scheffler, Hatton
-4: R Højgaard, Hovland, Day
-3: Im, Åberg, Matsuyama, Reed, Morikawa
-2: Schauffele, Fleetwood, Riley, M Kim, Harman
-1: Watson, Burns, Echavarria, English, MW Lee
E: Hoge, Homa, Taylor, Berger, Fitzpatrick, Clark, Theegala, Thompson, Rai, Thomas
… here are some big names who have missed the cut …
Dustin Johnson, Bernhard Langer, Keegan Bradley, Sergio Garcia, Mike Weir, Fred Couples, Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka (thanks to a quadruple-bogey eight up the last), Adam Scott, Cameron Smith, Billy Horschel, Phil Mickelson, Robert MacIntyre, Jose Maria Olazabal, Cameron Young (thanks to a four-putt from 12 feet at 16) and Will Zalatoris …
… and today’s tee times can be found here. We’ll get going here at 6pm BST. It’s on!
