It’s been a long day, and here’s how it ends. Thanks for reading this blog. See you tomorrow for Moving Day.
-6: Homa, DeChambeau, Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard
-3: Davis, Morikawa
-2: Aberg
-1: Pavon, Young, Fleetwood, Willett, Fox, An, Smith
E: Schenk, Reed, Kitayama, Glover, Straka, Fitzpatrick, Schauffele
All three take two putts. Viktor Hovland finishes his week’s work at +9, an 81 to follow his opening 71. Wyndham Clark’s tickle down the green slides by the right-hand lip. He misses the cut on debut, finishing at +7. Cameron Smith’s par ensures he’s one of 14 players under par.
With the sun preparing to set, the final group comes up the last. A shell-shocked Viktor Hovland, no doubt still contemplating his egregious miss on 15, finds the green in regulation. He’ll be going home whatever. Wyndham Clark knocks his second to within 15 feet, and he’ll have a chance of saving himself for the weekend. Cam Smith is the furthest away of the three, but at -1 and still in contention, is the one for whom it means most. Putts of mixed relevance coming up.
Rory McIlroy rattles in his 15-foot par putt. That’s a round of 77 unencumbered by birdies. He’s +4 going into the weekend. Par for Xander Schauffele, who cards his second 72 and starts Moving Day at level par. And it’s a par for Scottie Scheffler, who is tied for the lead and will go out in the penultimate pair tomorrow.
-6: Homa, DeChambeau, Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard
-3: Davis, Morikawa
-2: Aberg
-1: Pavon, Young, Fleetwood, Willett, Fox, An, Smith (17)
Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele are on 18 in regulation. Rory McIlroy, having been blocked out after his wayward tee shot and forced to send his second wide left of the green, chips on in three but not particularly close. Unless he does something incredibly daft with his putter he’ll make the weekend, but that’s about the best you can say for his situation right now.
Par for Jon Rahm at 18 after his long birdie putt from the back dramatically lips out. He makes the cut at +5, despite an often farcical round of 76. Meanwhile a three-putt bogey for Wyndham Clark at 17 drops the reigning US Open champion outside the cut line; he’s +7.
A closing bogey for Matt Fitzpatrick. He signs for a 73 and once again the closing stretch has cost him dear. He’s level par at the halfway mark.
Will Rory make that cut? He’s +4 standing on the 18th tee … but he clatters his drive into the trees to the right! What nonsense. Meanwhile back on 17, Wyndham Clark finds himself in the trees down the right … but somehow manufactures a low power fade up and onto the dancefloor! If he rakes in the 35-footer that remains, a few of those players waiting nervously at +6 may want a word.
Having said all that, if Jon Rahm bogeys 18, the cut will be guaranteed at +6. He sends his second into the heart of the green, though he’s facing a long final two-putts for par.
Now then. Check out this brutal finish by Justin Thomas: 7-5-5-6. That’s three double bogeys and one bogey in the last four holes! That widescreen capitulation sends him crashing down to +7, and that six on 18 means he’s sent the cut out to +6! That’s most likely saved 12 players. However, if Wyndham Clark, currently at +6 himself, makes birdie at either of the final two holes, he’ll send the cut back to +5 and send all of those folk home again. What a business. Who’d be a golf administrator?
Two putts for Scottie Scheffler from the fringe. Par. If he wants to play in the final group tomorrow afternoon, he’ll need to birdie the last. Chances are it won’t make much difference to him either way, such is the insouciant manner with which he strolls through life. He’s -2. A fine up and down from sand by Rory McIlroy; he’s +4. And then Xander Schauffele makes his birdie putt to move back to level par for the tournament. Meanwhile on 16, a sensational up and down from the bank at the back by Cam Smith, who holds his chip on the top ledge, and rattles in the six-footer that’s left. He’s -1.
It’s catching. A careless three-putt bogey for Jon Rahm on 17. He’s +5. Now he’ll have to make par at 18 if he’s to be certain of making the cut … and he’s pulled his tee shot there into the second cut. Meanwhile back on 17, Xander Schauffele fizzes his second to four feet, while Scottie Scheffler can only just get on the front edge of the green in regulation. Rory in the bunker.
It’s been an awful day for Viktor Hovland. That farcical tree-bothering two-penalty triple-bogey at 2 set the tone, and though it looked as though he’d saved himself from the cut with birdie at 13, he handed the shot back on the very next hole and now at 15 … oh dear. A short par putt lips out on the left and stops behind the hole. He then goes to flick the one coming back into the hole, only to whip it wide right from an inch or so. A double bogey, and at +8 his week is over. He allows himself the briefest of wry smiles, before a crestfallen look consumes him. A few lessons learned the hard way today.
Scottie Scheffler’s tee shot into 16 is grabbed by the slope, his ball running downwards, the pin at the top of the green. He leaves his first putt six feet short, but makes good with the second to save his par. Xander Schauffele finds the bunker at the top of the green, and needs a work of art if he’s to hold his ball anywhere near the pin, shortsided at the apex of a treacherous slide. But he elegantly splashes out onto the fringe, taking all the sting out of the dropping ball, which rolls serenely to kick-in distance. That’s a work of minor genius. And a third par in the group goes to Rory McIlroy, though given the way his day has gone, of course it’s the most disappointing. The best of the three tee shots, eight feet from the flag, but the putt never looks like dropping. He’s not made a birdie all day. Scheffler, Schauffele and McIlroy are -6, +1 and +4 respectively.
Jon Rahm has responded well to that double-bogey outrage on 14. That birdie at 15, and now a monster raked across 16 to move back inside the cutline at +4. He holds a defiant fist in the air, determination rather than delight. Par meanwhile for his partner Matt Fitzpatrick, who remains at -1.
Scottie Scheffler’s putt from the fringe at the back of 15 is uncharacteristically weak. A fine chance for birdie goes by. Par. He remains in a share of the lead at -6. A sense that everyone out there just wants this to be over with. The likes of Max Homa and Ludvig Aberg will demur, but this hasn’t been a banner day at the Masters. One for the purists.
-6: Homa (F), DeChambeau (F), Scheffler (15)
-4: Hojgaard (F)
-3: Davis (F), Morikawa (F)
-2: Aberg (F)
McIlroy opts to putt from the back of 15. He lags it to kick-in distance, and that’s par, but he’s now gone two rounds at Augusta without picking up a single stroke at any of the par-fives. That’s almost criminal for a player with his length, and one of the big reasons he’s floundering at +4 and sure to go another year without bothering the winner’s circle here.
A disappointing bogey for Matt Fitzpatrick at 15, his first of the round. He slips back to -1. Coming behind, Rory McIlroy lays up then sends his wedge over the back of the green. Just. He’ll still fancy his chances of making the chip coming back. He needs something to happen. Meanwhile Scottie Scheffler sends his wedge over the flag to 12 feet. A similar spot to Jon Rahm a few minutes ago.
A bogey-bogey finish for Phil Mickelson. He signs for a 75, but the 53-year-old Californian – three times a former champion – will nevertheless make the cut. Speaking of which, Jon Rahm’s chances of competing this weekend have just taken a positive turn, as he sends his third into 15 over the flag, and rolling in the 12-footer that remains. The defending champ is back to +5; the projected cut is currently +5.
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On the subject of slow play, Tyrrell Hatton has been telling it as he sees it. Patrick Reed, Im Sung-jae and Kurt Kitayama are in his sights.
The pace of play is not the quickest. Understandably so, given the blustery conditions, but here we are. We should get everyone back in the big house by sundown – an hour and 20 minutes time, give or take - though it’ll possibly be nip and tuck.
A three-putt bogey for Cameron Smith at 13. He slips back to -1. Meanwhile up on 14, Rory McIlroy chips up from the back of the green only for his ball to take a sharp left and travel off down the Jon Rahm Highway. There goes that dream another shot. He’s +4. Scottie Scheffler meanwhile dinks his chip from the back to kick-in distance and remains at -6.
The conditions are hellishly difficult, but Scottie Scheffler is nevertheless getting a little ragged. His second into 14 disappears over the back. He’s not a million miles away from the flag, so will fancy getting close with the chip, but a look of vague concern washes across his face nevertheless.
Meanwhile our old pal Gary Naylor has clearly been watching too much 50th-anniversary-of-Abba’s-Waterloo programming on BBC Four, as you’ll see.
“In the always thrilling Eurovision voting,” he begins, “Albania or Montenegro or somebody always get a couple of big scores early and the camera picks them out in the Green Room, gurning and flashing Vs for victory. Ten votes on, they’re back in the pack and we catch a glimpse of them again, heads down, counting the minutes until they can get away.
“I think Majors have a similar deal. Early face on the leaderboard, plenty of TV even for big standard two putts. But we hear of a double-bogey, and the next we see of them, they’re missing a three-footer on the 18th and signing for a 76.
“Let’s hope it’s not Danny Willett’s fate.”
For the second time today, the defending champion Jon Rahm is made to look like a rank amateur by these absurdly difficult greens. He’s already putted off the 3rd green, his ball ending up 25 yards back down the fairway. Now a seven-foot par putt on 14 takes a sharp left turn and, grabbed by a ridge, rolls 18 feet away! Two putts later, that’s a double. As things stand, Rahm is +6 and will miss the cut.
Scheffler looks to have made his par saver, but it drifts to the right on the final turn. He grimaces in irritation; that’s his third bogey of the day. Par for McIlroy.
-6: Homa (F), DeChambeau (F), Scheffler (13)
-4: Hojgaard (F)
-3: Davis (F), Morikawa (F)
-2: Aberg (F), Fitzpatrick (13), Smith (12)
Scheffler drops and chops onto the green at 13. Not the perfect wedge, off the downslope near the creek, but he’s got it to ten feet and will have half a chance of escaping with par.
A huge unforced error by Scottie Scheffler on 13. Having battered a huge drive down the middle of the track, he sends his approach into Rae’s Creek for the second day in a row. However today it doesn’t ping out and stick on the bank. He’ll have to take a penalty drop. And meanwhile, who’s this coming up on the rail? It’s the 2022 Open champion, is who! Cameron Smith follows birdie at 9 with another at 12, and oh-so-quietly the 30-year-old Aussie is right in the mix at -2.
Matt Fitzpatrick nearly drains a 40-footer for birdie on 13. It drifts by the edge and he remains at -2. Meanwhile Ryan Fox pars the last, and signs for a 74 having dropped strokes at 11, 12 and 14 on the way back. He’s -1.
The destiny of the Silver Cup for low amateur has already been decided. Neal Shipley will be awarded it as the only amateur who’ll make the cut. He shot 76 today, after yesterday’s 71 put him comfortably above the line at +3.
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Scottie Scheffler elects to putt from the fringe at the back. He sends a hot one eight feet past the hole. That’s not the greatest effort. But no matter! The one coming back drops into the plumb centre of the cup. He remains at -7. Rory McIlroy makes his missable par putt to complete a staunch up and down. He stays at +3.
The projected cut has moved out to +5. If that makes the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm feel any better. Which it probably won’t. Then Rory doesn’t get the rub of the green An got on 16, his chip from the back of 12 hitting the flag but cannoning four feet off to the left. He’s not played well but he’s not had much luck either. It just doesn’t feel like his year (part 16 in an ongoing series).
The new sole leader Scottie Scheffler sends his tee shot at 12 over the flag, the ball resting in the first cut behind the green. Rory McIlroy meanwhile watches his ball topple off the back-left of the dancefloor. Meanwhile up on 16, An Byeong-hun sends a chip from the back of the green scampering into the cup at warp speed. Goodness knows where that would have ended up had it not hit the flagstick and disappeared. Probably not the water, but … well, you never know. It’s a birdie, and the Korean moves into red figures at -1.
McIlroy can’t make his bogey putt. He thinks there’s right-to-left break, but it’s bang straight. It’ll be a double, and as he slips to +3, the cut heaves into view. Par for Scottie, who now has the sole lead, because up on 18, Bryson balloons his second 65 feet past the flag. He leaves his first putt six feet short, and the next one is always staying on the high side. A bogey to close, his third in the last eight holes, and that’s a 73 to go alongside yesterday’s best-of-round 65. Still, while he no longer holds the overall lead, he’s joint leader in the clubhouse with Max Homa.
-7: Scheffler (11)
-6: Homa (F), DeChambeau (F)
-4: Hojgaard (F)
-3: Davis (F), Morikawa (F)
-2: Aberg (F), Fitzpatrick (12)
Scheffler lags a putt up from the fringe at 11 to a couple of feet. He’ll surely tidy up for par. McIlroy meanwhile drops and wedges to six feet, from where he’ll have a decent chance of salvaging bogey. “Your description of the high winds playing havoc with the scoring is taking me back to my Sega Mega Drive PGA Tour days,” begins Simon McMahon. “The wind arrow at the bottom of the screen would suddenly change direction, and increase, without warning, at the top of my backswing, resulting in me dumping my approach to the 18th at Sawgrass in the water. So I know exactly how these elite golfers feel.”
Rory McIlroy watches Scottie Scheffler send a low approach at 11 under the right-to-left wind and into the green … then sends his approach high into the air. The ball’s grabbed by the wind and flung into the drink to the left. He responds to a what-did-you-do-that-for-style question from his caddie with short shrift. The career slam looks at least another 12 months away.
The defending champion Jon Rahm is in danger of missing the cut. He only just gets onto the front of the 11th green with the pin tucked at the back. He’s left with a 72-foot putt … and leaves it 25 feet short. He nearly makes the par saver, but it stops on the lip. He’s now +4, right on the current cut line. Did the wind put Rahm off that first monster putt? There’s a case to be made. On Sky, Wayne Riley doesn’t think we’ve got to the stage of suspending play quite yet. But it’s close.
Bryson DeChambeau hits a 372-yard drive down 17. He chips up to six feet, but snatches at the straight birdie putt. The wind gets the blame. To be fair, it is blowing. But there goes a chance to take sole ownership of the lead. He remains at -7.
A dismal end to Danny Willett’s round. He gets a huge break after sending his tee shot into the trees down the right of 18, his ball almost making it to the 10th fairway, giving him a shot in. But he tugs at his second and sends it into the big bunker at the front of the green. His first effort to escape it hits the face and springs back. His second is a clean pick, and his ball sails 55 feet past. Running hot, he sends his bogey putt seven feet past the hole. True disaster looms, and two more putts later, that’s a triple-bogey seven. All of a sudden a decent second round is a three-over 75, and he ends the day at -1. The dream of a second Masters to go alongside his surprise 2016 victory has moved significantly to the “pipe” end of the scale.
The wind continues to whip around Augusta. The flagsticks are going through some proper stress tests. If play is suspended, it’d be a huge boost to the players out there, as they’d be coming out to finish their rounds, presumably tomorrow morning, in much better scoring conditions.
Here’s an instructive stat that illustrates how the high winds have done a number on the field today. Yesterday’s cumulative score by the field was +75. Today’s, including the conclusion of the first round, is +272. And on the par-three 16th, Gary Woodland prepares to putt, only for a gust of wind to take the ball 60 feet away! He replaces and makes his par. The conditions aren’t quite unplayable yet, but if this gets any worse the committee might have a decision to make.
McIlroy is up and out of his right-to-left swinger immediately. He’s sent it five feet past the hole. That’s an awful putt. He remains at +1. Scheffler however rolls his birdie effort in with ease. This is absurdly good. Meanwhile over at 16, DeChambeau flies the green and whistles his ball upside some poor patron’s nut. Thankfully no serious harm seems to be done, to either patron or player; Bryson nearly guides the chip from the fringe into the cup, but will settle for a par that seems about right all told.
-7: DeChambeau (16), Scheffler (10)
-6: Homa (F)
-4: Hojgaard (F), Willett (17)
-3: Davis (F), Morikawa (F)
-2: Aberg (F), Fitzpatrick (10)
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Scottie Scheffler booms a 350-yard drive down 10. That’s 13 yards longer than anyone else has managed today. He then sends his second pin high from 137 yards to five feet. His playing partner Rory McIlroy is ten feet from the flag after two magnificent shots of his own; under normal circumstances he’d be within his rights to start doing laps of the Butler Cabin. But Scottie’s stuff is on a different level completely.
Bryson plays the 15th in atypical fashion. He lays up for a better angle to wedge across the water. He chips to eight feet … only for his birdie putt to somehow lip out. Let’s see how he plays it tomorrow, then. “The theme song!” cries Hans. “Where is it? I’m watching Swedish national broadcast and not once has the syrupy notes of ‘Augusta’ been heard. Is it the same for you? There’s no surer sign of spring than a disgruntled Rory to the tune of that lovely melody.” We aim to please, Hans. Here it is, for your leisure and pleasure, on a one-hour loop.
Rory McIlroy has been going slowly backwards today. Bogeys at 5 and 7. He’s got a great chance to snatch a shot back at 9, after wedging to eight feet, but he prods with great uncertainty at the ball, which is always heading right. Just a par, and he remains at +1. Subsequent theatrics suggest he thinks the extremely brisk wind affected the line, but Scottie Scheffler then steps up to make one from similar range and under similar conditions without too much fuss. Scheffler escapes the hole with a par, having earlier succumbed to the famous Greg Norman-bothering false front.
A strong finish to Tommy Fleetwood’s round. Birdie at 15 followed by another up the last, reward for an excellent approach to three feet, and Southport’s finest is -1 for the tournament. Nicely placed for Moving Day. But hold on! What’s happened to poor old Viktor Hovland? Having shot an opening one-under round of 71, he’s crashed down the standings to +6 after a mere seven holes of his second. Ah, the spirit broken by farcical events at 2, it would seem: a drive into unplayable filth down the left, then after taking relief, his next shot caroming off a tree and back into the oomska. He ended up with a triple-bogey eight, and has since taken four to get down from the fringe at 4. Throw in another couple of garden-variety bogeys, and there you have it. Why make changes to the swing, Viktor? Did Sandy Lyle’s career nosedive for nothing?
Collin Morikawa will enjoy his supper tonight. He creams his approach at 18 from 150 yards to 12 feet, and makes the birdie putt. He signs for a 70 to go alongside yesterday’s unheralded but highly decent 71. The former PGA and Open champion is in good position to take a tilt at part three of his career slam. He’s -3 going into the weekend.
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DeChambeau nearly drains his par saver! A lovely putt that somehow horseshoes out. No idea how that didn’t drop. Just the one clear at the top now.
-7: DeChambeau (14)
-6: Homa (F), Scheffler (8)
-4: Hojgaard (F), Willett (15)
Trouble for the leader Bryson DeChambeau at 14. Having sent his tee shot into trees down the right, he hacks out to the bottom of a greenside swale. His chip up isn’t all that, and he’s fairly fortunate his ball doesn’t double back and end up at his feet again. But he’s left with a 20-footer for his par. Big putt coming up, especially because Scottie Scheffler has just made a bounceback birdie at the par-five 8th.
Jordan Spieth ends his week with a 74 to go alongside the 79 of earlier. No second win at Augusta for the 2015 champion, not yet, though he did make his mark with that quadruple-bogey nine at 15 this morning: he’s the only player in the last 20 years to make nine or more at that hole on two separate occasions.
A dispiriting, but also sort of uplifting, end to Ludvig Aberg’s round. He sends his tee shot at 18 into the trees down the right. Forced to chip out, his approach lands short, and his chip ends up 12 feet past the flag. Not great. But, staring double bogey in the face, he steers in the bogey putt to limit the damage. He signs for a best-of-day-to-date 69. The major-championship debutant clearly at home at this level … like that’s breaking news. What a talent! He’s -2 going into the weekend.
Tiger’s new record of 24 consecutive Masters cuts made, though. Just to put that into some context, he’s just beaten the record jointly held by himself, Fred Couples (1983-2007) and Gary Player (1959-1982). Tom Watson is next on the list with 21 (1975-1995).
Thanks Alex. Great stuff. Now then, what’s happened here, just as Scottie has dropped a shot on 7? It’s Bryson making birdie at 13, that’s what, despite flaying his drive deep into the pines. That’s not quite up there with Phil Mickelson’s jaw-dropping Lee Westwood-bothering efforts on the same hole in 2010, but it’s something … and here’s what the top of the leader board looks like now.
-8: DeChambeau (13)
-6: Homa (F)
-5: Scheffler (7)
-4: Hojgaard (F), Willett (14)
-3: Davis (F), Aberg (17), Fox (11)
-2: Morikawa (17), Cantlay (9), Zalatoris (8), Fitzpatrick (8)
Scheffler misses a difficult par putt on the seventh, so he’ll be dropping a shot. McIlroy’s woes continue with a missed putt for par as well. And with that, I’ll hand you back to the live Masters master, Scott Murray. Thanks for joining me for amateur hour.
Collin Morikawa moves to within four of the lead, on -3, after a fine, curving birdie putt on the 16th. He read that perfectly. Scheffler, having a tricky seventh, went from the woods to the sand and now to the rough edges of the green.
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Woods keeps his focus to par the 18th and finish on +1. A very impressive display, considering everything. Tiger sets a new record for making Masters cuts, with 24, and the five-times champion will be back tomorrow.
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Homa pars the 18th to finish his second round at -6. His attempt at a birdie was disrupted by a whipping wind which is blowing sand into players’ eyes and making play very tricky. Jason Day drops a shot on the 18th and finishes on +4. Tiger Woods is shielding his eyes from a minor sand storm in his face.
Homa is on the 18th. He finds the green out of the sand after a lovely shot which drifts slowly back towards the hole. He’ll be pleased with that shot. Scheffler, meanwhile, finds the woods off the tee at the seventh. He’ll be less pleased with that.
DeChambeau takes the sole lead at -7 after a birdie on 12. The American produced an immaculate approach then holds his nerve to hole the putt from reasonably close range.
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What a sensational shot from Scheffler! A brilliant chip from a fiendish position on the sixth puts him within inches of the hole, and he taps home to save par. He’s sharing the lead on -6 with DeChambeau and Homa.
Jon Rahm’s struggles to defend his title continue. The big man is +3 now after he misses a short putt and bogies the sixth. He looks fairly exasperated.
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Scheffler lips out a very short put for par and bogies the fifth. He looks understandably disappointed and he’s lost the sole lead at Augusta after holding it for not much more than a minute.
… as I type that, McIlroy hits a wonderful recovery shot to land right next to the hole. That’s what he can do at his best, but he’s struggling for consistency in his play thus far.
Rory McIroy is struggling at the fifth. He’s overhit his approach, it goes past the green and he’s in the rough. The Irishman is in a spot of bother there.
Many apologies to Danny Willett. Mentioning how well he’s been going seems to have put the hex on him. He sends his tee shot over the back of 12 and can’t get up and down to save his par. He slips back to -4.
… and with that, I’m handing over to Alex Reid for a bit. See you again soon!
The best round of the day so far has been posted by the 2018 champion Patrick Reed. A two-under 70 that brings him back to level par for the tournament.
Danny Willett is going along so nicely. Two fine shots into the centre of the 11th green; his 30-foot birdie putt only just dies to the left on its final turn. The 2016 champion remains at -5.
Back-to-back birdies for Ludvig Aberg. The Masters and major-championship debutant sends his second into the heart of the par-five 13th. Two careful putts later, he’s up to -2.
Just below that leading bunch, it’s a disappointing bogey-bogey finish for Nicolai Hojgaard. He’s in the clubhouse with a 73 to go with yesterday’s 67. He’s -4 overall and despite it all, you can bet the debutant would have taken that on Thursday morning. Meanwhile Ryan Fox, who was leading this tournament at one point yesterday at -5 after making eagle at 8, only to ship strokes at 13 and 16, makes his first birdie of the day at that same 8th hole. It’s been good to him, and he’s -4 overall. He’s been extremely steady so far, no bad attribute at Augusta National.
Bryson DeChambeau’s putter malfunctions for the third time this afternoon. Another shaky prod, this time back down 9. He leaves himself four feet short, but manages to make the par saver. It’s the mid-range putts rather than the short ones that he’s jittery over right now. He remains in a tie for the lead at -7. Meanwhile a fist-pump from Rory McIlroy who makes a ten-foot par saver on 3. He stays at -1.
-7: DeChambeau (9), Scheffler (3)
-6: Homa (14)
-5: Willett (10)
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To be fair to Sergio … he birdied 16 after that.
A grand fiasco unfolds on 3. The defending champion Jon Rahm, 50 feet behind the flag in two, overhits his putt and watches in impotent horror as the ball sails past the pin before toppling serenely down the bank at the front and 26 yards back down the fairway. He does extremely well to keep his fume to a minimum temperature, getting up and down and limiting the damage to bogey. He’s +2. Blushes saved? Well, probably not, given the standards these guys set themselves, but as defending-champion farces go, at least it’s nothing like Sergio’s 13 on the 15th in 2018.
Scottie Scheffler lays up at 2. A chip and a putt later, and he joins Bryson DeChambeau at the top. Meanwhile Danny Willett, who has already holed out from distance for eagle once today, at 8, nearly repeats the feat at 10. A tap-in and he’s just a couple off the lead. Coming the other way, it’s Nicolai Hojgaard, who misjudges a chip into 17 and pays the price. After a long period of – let’s face it – bugger all happening, this is beginning to get going again.
-7: DeChambeau (8), Scheffler (2)
-6: Homa (13)
-5: Hojgaard (17), Willett (10)
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Ludvig Aberg has responded sensationally to back-to-back bogeys at 5 and 6. Birdies at 8 and 9, and now another at 12, the latest thanks to a 30-foot right-to-left slider that drops into the cup on its last turn. Perfectly judged, and the major-championship debutant moves into red figures at -1.
Matt Fitzpatrick should have posted a much better score than 71 yesterday. Bogeys at 14, 17 and 18 wrecked a very decent card. But the 2022 US Open champ isn’t letting that get him down. A walk-in birdie putt at 2 brings him back to -2 in short order. Fitzpatrick, Danny Willett … Sheffield is getting proper representation here this week.
Par for Danny Willett at 9, and the 2016 champion turns in 36 strokes. Willett’s otherwise below-average performances at the majors makes it easy to forget he’s won a couple of big titles in Europe: the DP World Tour Championship in 2018 and the flagship BMW PGA a year later. The man’s no one-hit wonder. He’s currently -4. He couldn’t, could he? Again?
OK, so a couple of big changes at and near the top. Danny Willett makes a sensational eagle on the par-five 8th, his wedge from 95 yards taking two gentle bounces and disappearing into the cup. He’s back to -4 and very happy indeed. Meanwhile after making two of the worst putting strokes at 4 and 6, Bryson DeChambeau rolls in a lovely 20-footer on 7 for a birdie that delivers him sole ownership of the lead again. Opening pars meanwhile for Rory and Scottie.
-7: DeChambeau (7)
-6: Hojgaard (15), Homa (12), Scheffler (1)
-4; Willett (8)
Anyway, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are out in a minute. So before the action hots up, it’s time for a pimento cheese. Back in a bit!
Max Homa sends his second into 11 towards Larry Mize’s swale. His chip up isn’t all that, breaking 12 feet to the left of the pin. He can’t make the par saver, and it’s now a four-way tie for the lead, because on 14, Nicolai Hojgaard sends his second from 150 yards to seven feet, and in goes the birdie putt. The debutant co-leads the Masters! The Fuzzy Zoeller de nos jours?
-6: Hojgaard (14), Homa (11), DeChambeau (6), Scheffler
-3: Davis (F), Conners (5), Fox (4)
-2: Young (12), Willett (7), An (3), Niemann (2)
“Goodness me. On 4 and 6, that’s two of the worst putts I’ve seen a professional of that standard hit.” That’s Sky’s Andrew Coltart on Bryson DeChambeau replicating his awful stroke on the previous par three. This hollow clank, on 6, turns a good birdie opportunity into par. DeChambeau remains at -6.
A double for Cameron Young on 11. It’s the painful punishment for pulling his approach into the middle of the pond to the left of the green. He slips to -2, and now there’s a little bit of separation between the top four and the chasing pack.
-7: Homa (10)
-6: DeChambeau (5), Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard (13)
-3: Davis (F), Conners (4), Fox (3)
Birdie for Nicolai Hojgaard at 13. That wipes out a bogey at 11, and the young Dane is holding on during an up-and-down round. He’s -5. Meanwhile par for Bryson DeChambeau at 5, after putting from the fringe over the shoulder of a bunker to three feet and mopping up the rest.
Max Homa sends his second into the heart of 10. He’s left with a treacherous downhill 30-footer for birdie, and while the putt never looks like dropping, it’s almost perfectly weighted, and the leader makes his way through one of the harder holes on the course without taking a hit. He remains at -7.
After his birdie at 15, Cameron Davis pars his way home. A level-par round of 72. He’ll go into Moving Day at -3 overall.
Bryson DeChambeau has already made two big par scrambles. He’s not making a third at 4. He sends his tee shot over the back of the green, and undercooks his subsequent chip. Then he hits a very weird putt, almost a chunk, that stops well short and right of the cup. He tidies up for bogey, but that’s his first step backwards since the 9th yesterday. Max Homa, who has just whistled a glorious 3-wood down the left of 10, is now the sole leader of the Masters!
-7: Homa (9)
-6: DeChambeau (4), Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard (12), Young (10)
Tiger Woods is hanging on in there. From the trees down the left of 9, he fires a wild, low escape into the gallery on the other side of the hole. He may have hit some poor patron upside the head. No further evidence is forthcoming. But he does get up and down from a tight spot. That par follows birdie at 8, and he’s +1 overall as he hits the turn. Much may depend on whether he tires towards the end of his Friday 23-hole marathon.
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This is getting attritional. Par for Bryson DeChambeau at 3, who remains at -7. His playing partner Thorbjorn Olesen, having nearly chipped straight through the green from the back, makes a 12-footer from the fringe on the other side to save his par. He’s +1 after a costly double bogey at the opening hole. And it’s a bogey for Nicolai Hojgaard at 11; he slips to -4.
A careless bogey for Cameron Young at 9. A perfect drive reaps no reward as his approach only just makes it onto the green. The ball comes toppling 50 yards back off the false front and down the fairway. He can’t get up and down and in the last four holes he’s gone birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey. He’s -4.
Danny Willett misses the green at 4 to the left. His chip across is a bit of a clunker, and he’s left with a testing 15-footer for par, but he shifts from the ridiculous to the sublime, rolling delicately across the green, using every last drop of energy in the ball to topple it into the cup. He remains at -4. No such luck for Taylor Moore in the group ahead, who bogeyed the same hole to slip back to -3.
Ludvig Aberg has been going the wrong way, after bogeys at 5 and 6. He’s got a great chance to grab one of the shots back at 7, after sending his second from 110 yards to five feet, but he pulls the birdie putt. He remains at +2. The cut is currently projected at +3 but with the conditions as they are, expect it to go out by a further shot at least.
DeChambeau rolls in his gentle right-to-left slider to save par on 2. That’s a fine up and down, his second in two holes. The co-leader remains at -7.
Some bother for Bryson DeChambeau at 2. A drive onto the pine straw forces him to lay up. Shortsided, he tries to get too cute and dumps a chip into the bunker. He only just manages to get his splash out as well, inches away from hitting the face of the trap. But it’s out, and he’ll have an eight-foot look at saving par. Meanwhile Cameron Young bounces back from a bogey at 7 with birdie at 8. He’s -5.
Nicolai Hojgaard is repairing the early damage to his round, and in some style. Having just made birdie at 9, he sends his second at 10 into the heart of the green, then guides a 30-foot left-to-right downhill swinger delicately into the cup. Another birdie, and he’s back where he started the second round at -5. Meanwhile Danny Willett returns to where he began today as well, making a textbook birdie at the par-four 3rd.
-7: Homa (7), DeChambeau (1)
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard (10)
-4: Young (7), Moore (3), Willett (3)
-3: Davis (15), Fox
Max Homa sets himself up with a birdie chance at 7. Pin high to ten feet. But he suffers a rush of the hottest blood to the noggin, racing his putt four feet past. He cools himself down, though, and makes the one coming back to save his par. He remains in a share at -7. Meanwhile bogey for Tiger Woods, who slips to +2.
Not a whole lot of low scoring going on, but the windy conditions are causing real bother. The gusts are expected to rise to 30mph; on Sky Sports, Butch Harmon and Nick Dougherty have been speculating that anything much higher could feasibly cause a suspension of play, as balls would begin to move on the green.
Bryson DeChambeau leaves his approach short of the 1st green, a big mistake from the middle of the fairway. But he gets up and down to save his par. Meanwhile birdie for Nicolai Hojgaard on 9, as eagle-eyed readers will have already worked out from the leader board. And there’s been another bogey for Cameron Davis, this time at 13.
Things have gone south pretty quickly for Matthieu Pavon. Three bogeys on the bounce, at 5, 6 and 7, send the French debutant clattering down the standings to -1. Meanwhile Collin Morikawa hands a shot back at 4; he’s also -1.
How about this start?! Taylor Moore, playing in only his second Masters, and without having made too much of an impression in the majors yet, follows birdie at 1 by holing a putt from the fringe to the side of 2 for eagle! In a blink of an eye, the 30-year-old Texan rises to -4 and a share of fourth.
-7: Homa (6), DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard (9), Young (7), Moore (2)
-3: Willett (1), Fox
-2: Davis (14), Conners, An, Niemann, Zalatoris
Tiger had followed up bogey at 4 with another at 5 … but he’s just repaired half of that damage by chipping in from the fringe at the front of 6. The small margins, because his tee shot only just got over the bunker at the front. Meanwhile Max Homa doesn’t hit his birdie putt, which dies apologetically one turn short of the cup. He remains in a share with Bryson at -7.
The first-round leader Bryson DeChambeau takes to the tee. A confident larrup down the middle of the fairway earns a few whoops and hollers from the gallery. He’s since been joined at the top by Max Homa, of course … though they might not be sharing the lead for too much longer, because Homa has just creamed his tee shot at 6 pin high to 14 feet. He’ll have a very good look at birdie and sole ownership of the lead from there.
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Danny Willett takes his medicine out of the trees down the left of 1. He wedges his third to 12 feet, and is somewhat unlucky not to get more backspin, but the ball stubbornly digs its heels in. He tries to salvage par with a tickle down the green, but it’s always missing short and to the left. He taps in for an opening bogey, but flashes a genuine smile as he talks to his caddie nonetheless. Looks like he’s enjoying himself. He’s -3.
Cameron Young continues to make his under-the-radar move. One of the tee shots of the week at the par-three 6th, to eight feet, earns him his third birdie of his second round. Young finished in the top ten here last year, came a close second behind his namesake Cameron Smith at the 2022 Open, and was the runner-up at the world Match Play last year. He’s due a big one. He’s -5 overall.
Another multiple major champion who has been quiet so far … [sucks on cheroot] perhaps too quiet … is Collin Morikawa. Like Brooks before him, he closed out his first round this morning with birdie. Now he’s made another, at the 2nd, and suddenly the erstwhile PGA and Open champion is -2 overall. Just five off the lead, which is still held jointly by Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa. The former is teeing off in a few minutes; the latter has just salvaged par at 5 after taking his medicine, chipping up from the bank to the left of the hole, and getting up and down from 150 yards, a wedge to eight feet and a confident putt.
An absolute shocker for Sahith Theegala on 3. He requires three chips to get up and over the bank at the front of the green, and ends up with a triple-bogey seven. He’s suddenly +5. Meanwhile up on 4, Brooks Koepka drains a 40-footer across the green to make it up to level par. He’s been quiet so far this week, but is hanging on in there after closing his opening round this morning with a birdie to salvage a 73.
Danny Willett is coming off the back of a fantastic 68 yesterday. Not the ideal start today, however, as he sends his tee shot at 1 into the trees down the left. Meanwhile trouble also for Max Homa at 5, who also sends a drive to the left. Down the bottom of a bank, he’s forced to take his medicine and lay up.
Max Homa joins Bryson DeChambeau at the top of the leader board! He takes a fairway wood to find the par-three 4th, firing in under the breeze. He’s left with a 50-footer … and it’s always going in from the moment it leaves the face of his putter! A laser! Tiger can’t get up and down from the left of the green, though, and he returns to +1. Meanwhile bogey for Matthieu Pavon on 5, who three-putts, admittedly from over 100 feet.
-7: Homa (4), DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-4: Young (4), Willett
-3: Davis (12), Hojgaard (6), Pavon (5), Fox
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Ludvig Aberg birdies 2 to get himself back to level par for the tournament. His playing partner Jordan Spieth makes a four too, and you can bet your last penny he’s not giving up hope of competing this weekend despite his unpromising position at +7. The course is playing a shot harder today, according to Sky, so while the cut is currently projected to be around the +2 mark, it could easily go out by a further shot or two. A lot of golf yet to be played on a day when it’ll continue to blow a good old puff.
Birdie for Tiger at the short par-four 3rd … but he’s in danger of handing the shot straight back at the par-three 4th. He pulls his tee shot wide left and he’ll be wedging in over the bunker. Plenty of green to work with at least. The wind causing a lot of problems now.
Back-to-back bogeys for Nicolai Hojgaard. He follows his egregious mistake at 5 by leaving himself short at the par-three 6th. His chip isn’t all that, and two putts later he’s back to -3. Things can quickly go south down south. The wind is whipping around, to be fair.
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Cameron Young plays the 3rd to perfection. A booming drive down the middle, a chip up from the bottom of the steep front to three feet, a putt tidied up. Meanwhile Matthieu Pavon takes on the bunker guarding the front of the par-three 4th, arrowing straight for the flag, and he makes a birdie as well. That’s given the top of the leader board a wee shoogle.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Homa (2), Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard (5), Pavon (4), Young (3), Willett
-3: Davis (10), Fox
You’ll have noticed Nicolai Hojgaard dropping to -4. That’s the result of a really careless bogey at 5. He’d driven into a fairway bunker, and was forced to lay up, but then from 100 yards screwed a wedge to 18 inches. Par saved, surely … but he absent mindedly rushed and yipped the putt. A rookie mistake to assume anything is ever a shoo-in at Augusta. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth didn’t go out of bounds with his opening tee shot, but he was forced to chop out, and after an uncharacteristically heavy-handed chip, walks off with a bogey he couldn’t really afford. He’s +8.
Tiger sends his second at 2 over the back. He chips up to 12 feet, and looks to have made the right-to-left birdie curler, but the ball stops a dimple short. His shoulders slump. The fast start he was after isn’t materialising. He remains at +1. It’s a par-par start also for Jason Day, minus both baggy trews and strident sweater. But still, the important work is already done. Brain-searing complete. BUY MALBON. A two-putt birdie for the third member of the group, Max Homa.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Homa (2), Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard (5), Willett
-3: Davis (10), Pavon (3), Young (2)
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The early scoring is not exactly spectacular. No great surprise. The wind’s still up, albeit not raging like it did yesterday, and with the sun now out, the greens are hardening, the soft, receptive surfaces of yesterday a thing of the past. A few of the early starters are under par for their second round, but nobody by more than a single shot. It’s unlikely to get any easier.
The certainties of youth versus accumulation of scar tissue. Ludvig Aberg (+1) and Sahith Theegala (+2) pelt their drives at 1 down the middle; Jordan Spieth (+7), who has a green jacket on his CV but also a meltdown for the ages plus he’s just become the first player in 20 years to have made nine at the 15th on more than one occasion, flays an abysmal slice into the trees down the right. There’s out of bounds over there.
Tiger’s first second-round hole, or his sixth of today’s 23-hole personal marathon, is a steady par at Tea Olive. Meanwhile bogey at 9 for Cameron Davis, punishment for sending his tee shot into the pines down the right of the hole. He’s not had a par in four holes now, and drops back to -3 again.
Matthieu Pavon won his ticket to Augusta by winning the Farmers Insurance Open back in January. In doing so, he became the first French player to win on the PGA Tour since 1907 (although that’s something of a technicality, given Arnaud Massy’s victory at the 1907 Open was only retrospectively recognised as a PGA Tour victory). Anyway, the 31-year-old from Toulouse, son of Bordeaux Ligue 1 champion footballer Michel, is taking his opportunity with both hands. A round of 70 completed earlier, and now birdie at 2 to move to -3.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard (3), Homa (1)
-4: Davis (8), Willett
-3: Pavon (2), Fox
Cameron Davis continues to ride the rollercoaster. He’s bounced back from his double at 7 with birdie at the par-five 8th. He returns to -4, just three shots off Bryson DeChambeau. Meanwhile another bogey for the amateur Neal Shipley, the result of flubbing a wedge into a greenside bunker at 7. The 2023 US Amateur runner-up does extremely well to get up and down from the trap to limit the damage to a single shot. He’s -1.
A word on the Open champion Brian Harman. He was looking in fine fettle yesterday, playing the front nine in 34 strokes. But he’s suffered a root-and-branch collapse this morning. Out in 34, he’s come back in 47 strokes! Bogey at 11 and 12. Double bogey at 13. Triple bogey at 16. Two more double bogeys to close at 17 and 18. A misbehaving wedge the chief culprit, as he spins into Rae’s Creek at 13, and blades out of a bunker at the last. He ends up signing for a worst-of-round 81. He’s +9. A reminder that this is a man who won the Open by six strokes and finished runner-up at the unofficial fifth major, the Players, last month. Golf is hard.
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… and here’s how it looks now in real time. A par-par start to Nicolai Hojgaard’s second round. The amateur Neal Shipley dropped a stroke at 4. And Cameron Davis made it up to -5 after birdie at 6, but has slipped back after making a pig’s ear of 7, driving into the trees, then dumping a weak chip into the bunkers guarding the front of the green. A double.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard (2), Homa
-4: Willett
-3: Davis (7), Fox
-2: Shipley -a- (6), Pavon (1), Young, Conners, An, Niemann, Zalatoris
-1: Kitayama (1), Morikawa, Van Rooyen, Moore, Olesen, Glover, Finau, Cantlay, Fitzpatrick, McIlroy, Hovland, Smith
(A reminder that all the second-round tee times can be found here.)
The final group of the first round is back in the clubhouse. Collin Morikawa rakes in a long birdie putt to post a figure in red: a one-under 71. The 2020 champion Dustin Johnson bogeys and ends up with a miserable 78. And finally Tommy Fleetwood, coming off the back of bogey at 17, jabs gingerly at a four-footer and bogeys again. A level-par 72. At least he won’t have too long to sulk over it. Here’s how the top of the leader board looked after the first-round scores were posted …
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard, Homa
-4: Willett
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As the first round comes to an end, and the bulk of the Friday groupings prepare for their day’s work, it’s time for this hole-by-hole blog to take a quick break. Back in the time it takes to polish off a pimento cheese.
67 for Max Homa
Tiger can’t get up and down from the bunker at 18. Bogey. He signs for a 73. Max Homa races a hysterical six-foot par effort three feet past but knocks in the one coming back. A bogey blemish at the end of an impressive personal-best 67. And bogey also for the third member of the group, Jason Day. A 75 and at +3 he’s got a job on his hands when this group get back out in 47 minutes time.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard, Homa
-4: Davis (4), Willett
-3: Shipley -a- (3), Fox
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Neal Shipley was the only amateur to beat par yesterday. And after posting a highly impressive 71, the 23-year-old from Pittsburgh is setting about Augusta with equal vigour today. Birdie at 2, and now he wedges his second at 3 to three feet. He tidies up to move to -3, just four off Bryson DeChambeau’s lead!
Par for Cameron Young at the last, and he’s signing for a two-under 70. Coming up behind, Max Homa, who shoves his approach into the bunker to the right of the green. Tiger joins him in there.
Spieth is grouped with the Masters (and indeed major-championship) debutant Ludvig Aberg. The young Swede was going around nicely yesterday, finishing his day’s work at -1, but since restarting his round, it’s all gone wrong. Bogey at 14, and now double at 15 after spinning his approach back into the water. He’s +1.
Bogey for Tyrrell Hatton on 18, and he’s not in the best of moods as he signs for his level-par 72. Back in 39 strokes. Ooyah. Meanwhile the 2015 champion Jordan Spieth is busy making a royal balls of the 15th. He sends his third over the back of the green, then hits a bold chip coming back that trundles through the green, down the slope, threatens to somehow stop on the bank, but finally disappears into the drink. He drops the other side of the lake, but overhits the chip. Behind the green again! He decides to putt back on this time, and underhits it. Two more putts and that’s a quadruple-bogey nine. He’s done this before, in 2017. He’s +6 and having mounted something of a comeback, is more likely than not to miss the weekend now.
Bogey for Jordan Spieth, who lobs up from the bank on 14 to three feet, only to push the par putt. He’s back to +2. Birdie for Cameron Young at 17; the 26-year-old from New York four top-ten finishes in his last seven majors, and could be due a breakthrough here. He’s -2. And his namesake Cameron Davis birdies the 2nd hole of his second round to move to -4 overall. But the big move at the top is made by Max Homa, who follows up a tickled-in birdie at 16 with a sensational wedge from 156 yards at 17. His ball lands by the flag, takes one hop, and lands on the lip of the cup. He tidies up and moves into a share of second. Friday’s already frying! And the first round hasn’t even finished yet!
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: Scheffler (F), Homa (17)
-5: Hojgaard (F)
-4: Davis (1), Willett (F)
Gotta say, Jason Day’s clothing contractor is getting good bang for their buck this week. His strides having yesterday inspired more social-media activity than Atalanta, Fallout and Angela Rayner combined, he’s wandering around today in an extremely bold tank top. BUY MALBON. Whether he’ll be around for further marketing hi-jinks at the weekend is a moot point, because he’s just run up a double at 16, putting his first ball in the water, then leaving himself one of those huge semi-circular breakers you tap and set off like a rocket. He does extremely well to roll in the 10-footer he leaves for the double, but he’s back to +2. BUY MALBON.
“I don’t have the slightest clue where that ball went.” That’s never the greatest sign, is it? Yes, it’s the ever-entertaining, ever-commentating Jordan Spieth, coming off the back of birdie at 13 as he sets about repairing a round that started dismally with double bogey at Tea Olive. He’s +1 at the moment, but he’s just sent his second down the bank at the back of 14. Fortunately his caddie was keeping an eye on the ball, and Spieth has a Seve-esque ability to wriggle out of the tightest spots, but that’s going to be a testing up and down. Meanwhile Nicolai Hojgaard pars the last and signs for a 67.
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: Scheffler (F)
-5: Hojgaard (F)
-4: Willett (F), Homa (15)
The second-round pairings have started out. Nobody in the early matches bothering the upper echelons of the leader board … other than Cameron Davis, who very nearly drains a 30-footer across 1 for his birdie. Just a par and the 28-year-old Aussie remains at -3. As for the first-round pairings … “Bit disappointed in the groupings,” sighs Adam Hirst. “It was so close. Scheffler and Schauffele had Shipley (A) as a better option. Could have had Fleetwood, Woods and Woodland as well. Chances missed.”
Tyrrell Hatton sends another ball into the water. Thankfully this one is just flung into the pond at 16 in a fit of pique, after he misses a six-foot bounceback birdie attempt then taps home. But he remains at -1 and is running a little hot. He’s Tyrrell Hatton, of course he’s running a little hot, it’s why we love watching him so much.
Only three players have won the Masters on debut. Horton Smith in the very first tournament in 1934; well, someone had to. Gene Sarazen in the second Masters the following year, when there was a pretty good chance something like that would happen. And then Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, when it was much less of a statistical shoo-in. So unlike the great trouser debate, we’ve got plenty of data to work with here: it doesn’t happen too often. But could it happen this year? Nicolai Hojgaard spent yesterday afternoon firing darts at the par fives, and he’s sent another laser iron into 17. He doesn’t quite make the 15-footer for birdie he leaves himself, but if he keeps playing like this, he’ll have plenty more chances coming his way. He remains at -5, and while there’s an awfully long way to go, looks to have the game to prosper around this place.
TROUSER NEWS: After breaking the internet yesterday with his 1990s baggy breeks, Jason Day sports a straighter leg today. The 2011 runner-up is level par through 14. Kurt Kitayama favours a more tapered fit, and he’s just birdied 16 to move to -2. What does this mean? Not sure. Tiger won the 1997 Masters by a record-breaking 12 strokes in what was effectively a chino. When someone couples their Green Jacket with jeggings or a tennis skirt, then we’ll have more data to work with.
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Early-morning misery for Tyrrell Hatton as well. He dumps his approach at 15 into the briny, and runs up a double-bogey seven as a result. He tumbles down the leader board to -1.
A cold start for Tiger Woods. He batters a fine drive down the middle of 14, only to duff a miserable chip 20 yards short of the green. His chip up isn’t all that, either, and two putts later he’s walking off with a bogey, slipping back to level par.
There are 27 players finishing up their opening rounds this morning. Nicolai Hojgaard is the highest up the leader board, and he’s opened with par at the par-three 16th to remain at -5. He had to work for it, though, after sending a distinctly average tee shot in to 40 feet. (Plenty of players went super-close yesterday.) He left his first putt seven feet short, but made up for it with a steely save.
The weather did a number on Augusta National yesterday morning, which is why we’re playing catch-up now. But patrons need not worry! The forecast today is for sunny and dry conditions, and we’ll be back on schedule by the end of the day. The weekend is expected to deliver perfect Masters weather: plenty of sun, with temperatures reaching as high as 27°C on Sunday. The most beautiful game’s most beautiful tournament with weather to match. Sweet iced tea all round!
Preamble
… and we’re back. Twelve hours and six minutes ago, the hooter went for close of play at the end of a rain-delayed first day at Augusta National. Now all of the lads who weren’t able to finish their opening round are out again early doors; meanwhile back on the 1st tee, we’ll have the start of the second round. Friday promises to be another Homeric odyssey, but if Tiger can make it around 23 holes in 24 hours so can we, therefore we’ll be blogging ♫♪ all day looooooonng♫♪. Today’s second-round tee times can be found by perusing the far right-hand column of this, while here’s how the leader board looks going into the day …
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: Scheffler (F)
-5: Hojgaard (15)
-4: Willett (F), Homa (13)
-3: Fox (F), Davis (F), Hatton (14)
-2: Conners (F), An (F), Niemann (F), Zalatoris (F), Reed (14), Pavon (14), Aberg (11), Fleetwood (10)
It’s on!
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