That was a remarkable 65 by Dustin Johnson, who is four clear at the top and has the 2020 Masters within his grasp. Big 54-hole leads aren’t insurmountable, of course; just ask the likes of Rory McIlroy and Greg Norman. And we know from history that DJ has a meltdown in him. But he seems in total control of all aspects of his game right now, as well as his temperament. It’ll take some effort to deny him. Join us tomorrow, for the denouement of the first-ever autumn Masters. One way or another, it’s likely to be memorable. Thanks for reading this report. Nighty night!
-16: D Johnson
-12: Im, Ancer, Smith
-11: Frittelli
-10: Thomas
-9: Munoz, Reed, Rahm
-8: McIlroy, Koepka, Fleetwood, Matsuyama
-7: Cantlay
-6: Na, Champ, Conners, Casey, Pan
-5: Simpson, Schauffele, Woods, Scheffler, Lowry, Willett
Thomas gives it too much on the high side, and it’s a disappointing closing bogey to a disappointing round of 71. He’s -10. Ancer takes two putts from the bottom of the green, and he signs for a very acceptable 69. He’s -12. And Smith tidies up for his par. A blemish-free 69 that seemed to be going nowhere for 12 holes, until he broke a run of pars with a three-birdie blitz, then scrambled three pars in a row. He’s -12.
Smith’s ball is sitting up nicely in the sand; he can open the face of his club and whip it out gently. That’s what he does, to five feet. Wonderful. Thomas finds his ball plugged, however, and he needs to blast it out. He does that with a nerveless mix of power and precision, though he’s still got a ten footer to save his par. This back nine hasn’t gone to plan for Thomas at all. He’d been going along serenely until hitting turbulence at 12.
Ancer finds the heart of the 18th in two, but the ball topples down the ridge across the middle. He’ll be left with a long two putts for his par, but at least they’re uphill. Smith and Thomas, however, have both sent their approaches into the bunker. The flag’s on that side of the green, so par from there will be a very good result.
Rahm chips up from the left side of 18. Nicely judged, but he overcooks his putt and sends it four feet past. He makes his bogey putt and that’s a soul-crushing 72. You can trace all his problems back to that topped wood at 8. He’s -9. Cantlay shoves his par attempt wide right. The bogey means he’s signing for an extremely disappointing 73; he’s -7. And finally DJ putts down from the bank, a big right-to-left breaker that nearly drops but slips three feet past. No worry, in goes the par putt for a blemish-free 65, his second of the week. He’s -16. That ties Jordan Spieth’s 54-hole record, and he becomes the first player in Masters history to card more than one round of 65 or better in the same week.
From way right of the 17th, out by the 15th, Smith whips a wedge to 12 feet ... then makes his par! Another wild and wonderful escape! A par made without really playing the hole at all. Ancer gets up and down from sand to remain at -12. Thomas meanwhile putts up from the front of the green to a couple of feet. In goes the par putt, and he remains at -11. Three weird pars.
Patrick Cantlay hasn’t been on it today. Bogey at 17, then sends his drive at 18 into the woods on the right. He’s forced to chip out, but whips a fine third to 12 feet, and will have a chance to salvage his par and remain at -8. DJ calls a mud ball as his second goes up the slope to the right of the green - think where Greg Norman ended up on Sunday in 1986 - so that’ll be a test. And finally Rahm adds another entry to his catalogue of weekend-hacker errors today, hooking miles left from sand while wearing one of those where-did-that-go expressions. The scene didn’t require a big cartoon ? hanging above his head, though it would have been nice.
Thomas is in the rough behind the trees to the right of 17. Wild. He might have decided to go hell for leather, because he manufactures a sensational slice through the only gap that’s available ... and curves his ball onto the front of the green! That’s a wonderful shot! There’s no route through for Smith, though, who is even wider of the hole, so he’s forced to play his second up 15, and see if he can cross back over from up there. Ancer, meanwhile, claims a mud ball as his approach sails wide left of the green.
Thomas sends a huge slice towards the trees down the right of 17. Smith follows him there. Ancer straight down the middle. Up on 18, Rahm fires his drive into the bunker to the left of the dogleg, while DJ splits the fairway. And how about this from the pre-tournament star, Bryson DeChambeau? Birdies at 8 and 9 to finish, and that’s a 69, the best of his week so far.
Im rolls in a birdie putt at the last, and he’s signing for a 68. He’s the new clubhouse leader at -12. Meanwhile on 17, one of the more ridiculous pars you’ll see in a while, courtesy of Rahm. He snap-hooks off the tee and ends up behind some trees again. His second is a glorious whip up and over, and he’s very unfortunate not to stay on the green, toppling off the back. He then skulls his chip up. Naturally, he makes the one coming back. Hey, there are no pictures on the card. He remains at -10, though he’s hanging on by his fingernails, and could do with getting back to the clubhouse and clearing his mind of his amateur hour on 8. That topped fairway wood must be eating away at him. It must be.
Not sure how he’s managed it, but Smith has managed to leave his chip on the bank by 16 short. It’s only just trickled onto the green! He looks at his club in the manner of someone who’s just mishit, but that’s a half-decent outcome from where he was. He strokes in his par putt from 12 feet, and somehow he’s got away with it. Ancer strokes in his birdie putt, and suddenly he’s back up to -12. Thomas makes his birdie putt as well, and he’s -11 again.
Smith’s 8-iron into 16 is little short of abysmal. He hoicks it over the bunker on the right and leaves his ball in the second cut, high on the bank. He doesn’t have much green to play with, and of course the water is at the other side of a sloping green. Good luck with that one. Ancer and Thomas both arrow their efforts straight at the flag, though, and will have good looks at birdie.
Im can’t make his par putt on 17; Thomas fails to get up and down after dropping by the pond at the back of 15; and Reed, whose shanked second at 18 went in the bunker to the right, splashes out close but misses a four-foot par putt. He signs for an ultimately disappointing 71. Birdie for Ancer, though, the reward for a lovely wedge in, and Smith notches one too, getting up and down from the back.
-16: D Johnson (16)
-12: Smith (15)
-11: Frittelli (F), Im (17), Ancer (15)
-10: Rahm (16), Thomas (15)
DJ can’t make his birdie putt on 16, but par will do. Especially as Rahm pulls a nervy one to the left and gives up a great chance for birdie; he’s -10. The third member of the penultimate match, Patrick Cantlay, had been a non-event for most of the round, bogeying 5 and doing nothing else until birdies at 13 and 15. Suddenly a chance to grab a shot back, as he’d also gone close ... but his poor putt horseshoes out. He has to settle for par as well. He’s -9.
DJ’s relentlessness is causing his rivals to self-combust. Thomas hits a hot one into 15. The ball takes a huge bounce off the green and careers down the bank at the back, taking the plunge in the pond behind. Meanwhile up on 18, Reed shouts “shank!” as his approach flies off to the right of the green. And Im pulls his second into a big bunker to the right of 17, shortsiding himself. He can only just about hold the green with his splash out. A 15-foot par putt coming up.
DJ’s tee shot at 16 lands softly, ten feet from the cup. He can do no wrong today. This is one of the great Masters performances. One more birdie and he’ll be on course to beat the 54-hole scoring record at the Masters, set at -16 by Jordan Spieth in 2015. Rahm is even closer. A couple of putts coming up that might make a huge difference to the narrative tomorrow.
Back-to-back birdies for Cameron Smith. Like the proverbial London bus, he waited for 13 holes for the first, now another comes along at 14. A lovely second shot straight at the flag left him with a relatively simple straight uphill putt from ten feet. He’s -11. Rahm makes it back-to-back birdies too, chipping from the bank at the front of 15 to kick-in distance. It’s two careful putts and another birdie for his playing partner DJ. And up on 18, Frittelli pars for a blemish-free 67. He’s the new clubhouse leader at -11.
-16: D Johnson (15)
-12: Im (16)
-11: Frittelli (F), Smith (14), Thomas (14)
-10: Reed (17), Rahm (15), Ancer (14)
A couple of heavy-handed chips from a couple of world-class players: Reed from the back of 17, Thomas from the side of 14. They’re going to be costly. Both are left with 20-footers for par. Thomas rolls his three feet past; Reed leaves his a couple short. Both bogey. Thomas slips to -11, Reed -10.
Brooks Koepka finished the day with a 69. At -8, he’s currently sharing the clubhouse lead with Rory McIlroy. A couple of four-time major winners who will be feeling a little frustrated with their performances this week. Excellent on the whole, but just too many unnecessary mistakes.
Two drama-free putts across 15 by Im, and the young Korean joins Thomas in second place at -12. Coming behind, Rahm only just gets his long iron over the drink. For a second, it threatens to spin back into the briny, but stays on the fringe. DJ breezily sends his second into the heart of the green. He’s barely put a foot wrong today. This has been a masterclass.
Yet another missed putt for Phil Mickelson, this time at the last, and he’s signing for a miserable 79. The lowest of several low points was a Keystone Kops skitter down 15, zig-zagging through trees then ending up in the water behind the green. A triple-bogey eight. That’s extremely disappointing after opening rounds of 69 and 70. He crashes down the standings to +2.
DJ is pin high at 14. He’s got a straight putt uphill from 30 feet and rolls it across 29 of them. He taps in to make his par. Birdie for Rahm, though, who finally repairs a little of the damage caused by that egregious triple on 8. He’s -9. Thomas tidies up on 13 for his birdie and closes the gap at the top. Im might be coming at DJ soon, too, having creamed his second at 15 into the heart of the green.
-15: D Johnson (14)
-12: Thomas (13)
-11: Frittelli (17), Reed (16), Im (14)
-10: Ancer (13), Smith (13)
Birdie for Cameron Smith at 13! That comes after 12 straight pars. He’s -10. Birdie for Patrick Reed at 16! He joins the group in second at -11. Bogey for Abraham Ancer at 13, though, as he leaves his ten-footer high on the left. It teeters on the edge, but stubbornly refuses to drop. He slips to -10.
Bogey for Paul Casey at the last. It’s a one-under 71 and he ends the day at -6 for the tournament. Back on 13, Thomas is in a swale to the side of the green in two. He bundles a mud ball up to five feet, and that’s a relatively easy birdie opportunity. Ancer is struggling to make his par, though, leaving his first putt from 70 feet a good ten short.
Reed is putting the pedal to the floor. He arrows his tee shot at 16 straight at the flag, and he’ll have an eight-foot birdie putt to join the group in second. Meanwhile Ancer can only batter out from the pines on 13, jarring his wrist in doing so. He seems OK to continue, though his third into the green isn’t all that. He’ll have a long two putts for par.
Updated
Reed is over the back of 15 in two. A brave chip back up, hit confidently with check, ignoring the water on the other side should things go wrong, screeches to a halt five feet away. He strokes in the birdie putt to move into sixth on his own at -10.
DJ’s eagle effort from 50 feet on 13 stops three short. In goes the birdie, and he moves four clear at -15. Back on the tee, Thomas sends a booming draw around the corner into prime position. Ancer however pushes his tee shot into the pines on the right.
Thomas misreads his par putt on 12, giving it too much on the right. He admonishes himself: “Dead straight!” He slips back to -11, alongside Ancer, who can’t make the birdie putt but walks off happy enough this time with par. DJ has a three-shot lead again, and there’s a fair chance it’ll be growing further once he’s finished on the 13th green.
-14: D Johnson (12)
-11: Frittelli (15), Im (13), Ancer (12), Thomas (12)
-9: Munoz (15), Reed (14), Smith (11)
A little trouble for Thomas, who sends what initially looks like a lovely tee shot at 12 a couple of yards over the back. That leaves him with an awkward putt from the fringe. He sends it six feet past the flag, and this is a big par putt coming back. Especially as Ancer has knocked his tee shot pin high, and will have a look at birdie from 15 feet, while DJ is on the par-five 13th in two.
Par for Tiger on 18, and the defending champ signs for a level-par 72. He remains at -5, and won’t be holding onto his title. A scruffy par for Im on 13, after a weak bunker shot and a duffed chip. In the end, he’s pretty pleased to escape after nailing a tricky 12-footer. He stays at -11. And another birdie for Frattelli, who has been going about his business in a very quiet and efficient manner. He’s just three off DJ’s lead at -11, too.
Oh no. Ancer’s wood into 11 was so sweet, but he can’t convert, pulling a short one to the left. You can’t complain with par at 11, ever, I guess, but his shoulders slump nonetheless. That was a huge chance to move to within two shots. Thomas makes no mistake, and that’s a great up-and-down from 80 yards.
-14: D Johnson (12)
-12: Thomas (11)
-11: Im (12), Ancer (11)
-10: Frittelli (14)
-9: Reed (13), Smith (11)
-8: McIlroy (F), Conners (16), Koepka (15), Munoz (14), Pan (12), Rahm (12)
Thomas has to pitch out sideways from the woods at 11. Big approach coming up. And he eases an exquisite wedge 12 feet past the flag, spinning it back to four feet. That’s delightful, and may just have saved his par. Meanwhile, across the way on the 12th green, Dustin makes his par and continues on his serene ramble around Augusta.
Paul Casey finally makes it back to -7, where he spent most of yesterday before royally ballsing up 18. A lovely clip into 16, and he pops in the four-footer he leaves himself. Meanwhile a couple of sensational approaches: Ancer with a fairway wood from 220 yards to seven feet at 11, and Koepka knocking a long iron to six feet from the same distance at 15. Koepka tidies up for eagle, and he’s not out of this by any means at -8.
A fine save by Im on 12. He flies his tee shot halfway up the bank at the back, where the azaleas usually bloom. The ball drops down to the hollow behind the green. He takes the flat stick, and judges the undulating putt brilliantly, working it up onto the green and rolling it to four feet. He knocks in the saver, and remains at -11. Meanwhile there’s potentially some bother for Thomas at 11, as he flays his drive towards the trees on the right. Tiger got away with a couple of those last year, so if he gets a good lie, it might be a sign.
Justin Thomas strokes a lovely right-to-left putt up 10 and into the cup. That’s his third birdie of the day. He’s not been tearing the place up, but he hasn’t been making mistakes. No bogeys as of yet. He moves to within two!
-14: D Johnson (10)
-12: Thomas (10)
-11: Im (11), Ancer (10)
-10: Frittelli (13)
-9: Munoz (13), Reed (12), Smith (10)
-8: McIlroy (F), Pan (11), Rahm (10)
After a brief lull, things are starting to happen again. Another birdie for Dylan Frittelli, this time at 13. He’s -10. Thomas gently draws his second at 10 to 12 feet; he’ll have a good look uphill at birdie. And on 18, McIlroy chips up from the bank on the right of 18 to a couple of feet. In goes the par putt, and that’s another excellent round, this time of 67, to go with yesterday’s mighty 66. Just a shame about that nonsense yesterday morning, when he stuttered his way to a 75. He’s not out of this, at -8, but it’s a long shot unless the leaders collapse en masse.
And this might start a fire too! Im Sung-jae is down in Larry Mize’s Hollow. He scoops his chip up onto the top of the bank, rolling his ball into the green and releasing it straight into the cup! That was guided in gracefully from 75 feet, and the birdie brings the 22-year-old Korean up to second place ... on debut! That’s a glorious chip, and one Im celebrates by pointing after it, Jack Nicklaus style, before it dropped. He knew. He’s -11!
It’s all gone a bit lukewarm. Times like these you really miss the patrons, who would be hollering and crackling and trying to whip up a charge. So it’s good to see this: the 2018 champ Patrick Reed tramlining one across 12 for a birdie that moves him to -9, just five off Johnson’s lead. A chance to send out a signal on the par-fives coming right up.
The English charge hasn’t exactly happened. Justin Rose and Danny Willett are both two over for their rounds, and -5 overall. Tommy Fleetwood is one over today; he’s -6. Lee Westwood and Matt Wallace are both in red figures today, but they were a wee bit further down the standings and less was expected of them; they’re -3 and -4 for the tournament respectively. And Paul Casey’s 65 seems quite a while ago; he’s currently -6, having been unable to press on since the opening day. All still within striking range, of course, especially if Dustin Johnson channels his old self and suffers another major meltdown. But there are a lot of people ahead in the queue, even if that happens.
Par for Dustin Johnson at 9, and the big man hits the turn in 31 strokes. Nobody behind him is making a move, though of course this tournament doesn’t begin in earnest until DJ hits this exact point tomorrow. A long way to go, in other words.
Now then! McIlroy follows up his salvage job on 15 with birdie at 16. An iron eased to ten feet, and a putt gently steered in downhill from the left. He’s -8 again, and now’s as good a time as any to update the leader board.
-14: D Johnson (8)
-11: Ancer (8), Thomas (8)
-10: Im (9)
-9: Frittelli (11), Smith (8)
-8: McIlroy (16), Munoz (11), Reed (10), Pan (9), Matsuyama (9), Rahm (8)
Dylan Frittelli is trucking along very nicely. Birdies at 2, 8 and now 11. All of a sudden he’s back in the middle of it all. The chance of becoming South Africa’s fourth Masters champion, after Gary Player, Trevor Immelman and Charl Schwartzel, is very much alive.
Rory McIlroy tickles in his par saver. He stays at -7 and the dream remains alive, just. Back on 10, Patrick Reed whips a sand escape into the cup to return to -8. And on 11, Justin Rose takes putter from Larry Mize’s Valley, and rolls in a monster birdie putt! That was the best part of 80 feet! A broad smile as the smattering of people in the immediate environs whoop and holler, but having bogeyed 4, 7, 8 and 10, it’s a bittersweet celebration. He’s -5.
DJ, having been forced to wait while Rahm went on his adventures, hits a poor birdie putt. A chance gone begging, and he remains just - just! - three in the lead at -14. Rahm shows moxie by knocking in a very missable double-bogey putt. He wanders off with a seven, and a face on. He clatters back to -8, six off his playing partner’s lead. Time for a few deep breaths. He’s certainly blowing out hard.
Rahm gives his bogey putt a good rattle. And for a second it looks as though he’s going to make it. But it races millimetres past the left lip and keeps on going. He’ll have a testing eight-footer coming back for his double. Up on 15, McIlroy gives himself a chance of escaping with par by wedging to eight feet. And an escape is completed on 13 by Tiger, who was greenside in two, but misjudged a chip from a swale that went up onto the dancefloor before turning tail and finding another valley. A good up and down, and that’s par. He remains at -4.
Rahm is forced to take an unplayable from the bush. From the drop, he does extremely well to whip a chip over the trees and find the green. He’ll have a look from 35 feet to salvage a bogey from this farcical situation.
While Rahm stands stock still, seething in the shrubs, DJ plays some Ready Golf. Having sent his approach wide right of 8, he chips over a mound and rests his ball 15 feet past the hole. He’ll be able to have a run at that for birdie. Meanwhile another par-five looks to have done for McIlroy, as he flashes an iron into the water on 15. Shades of Seve in 1986. Ah well, the pipe dream was good while it lasted.
From the middle of the 8th fairway, Rahm gives his 3-wood welly ... and hollers in a mixture of anger and embarrassment as he tops it in the weekend style! The ball scuttles off along the turf and hooks violently into deep trouble on the left. Good luck with that. And he doesn’t get any good luck, as his chip back out to the fairway caroms off the trunk of a tree and balloons further back into even deeper nonsense. That might be in the shrubs, and this could be an extremely costly hole indeed. If he doesn’t keep his head, his Masters could end right here. That trick-shot hole-in-one on 16 in practice suddenly seems a lifetime ago. What a fiasco.
A great par save from 25 feet on the par-five 8th by Im Sung-jae. He’d been faffing around in the woods down the right, and while par’s not ideal on the fourth easiest hole today, bogey would have felt a hell of a lot worse. He remains at -10. Meanwhile back on 7, Ancer sends his second over the flag to eight feet, and curls in a left-to-right birdie putt to move into a share of second. He’s -11.
DJ crashes another one straight down the middle, this time at the par-five 8th, flying the bunkers 315 yards away. He ambles off after it without a care in the world. He couldn’t look more insouciant if he was wearing a linen suit and carrying a whisky sour in one hand. He’s in complete control of his game at the moment. Look at how his last six starts have panned out!
- PGA Championship: T2
- TPC Boston: Won
- BMW Championship: 2
- Tour Championship: Won
- US Open: T6
- Houston Open: T2
A first birdie of the day for Tiger, who sends his tee shot at 12 straight at the flag and strokes in the straight ten-footer he’d left himself. He’s -4 again. Meanwhile on 7, the leader Dustin Johnson tidies up for his birdie, and that’s his third of the day. File alongside his eagle at 2, and this is a world-class performance from the world number one.
-14: D Johnson (7)
-11: Thomas (6)
-10: Im (7), Rahm (7), Ancer (6)
-9: Munoz (9), Matsuyama (7), Smith (6)
-8: Frittelli (9), Pan (7)
-7: McIlroy (13), Reed (8), Cantlay (7)
That was no time for McIlroy to be yipping a short putt. That’s because elsewhere, Justin Thomas finally makes a move, clipping his tee shot at 6 to 12 feet and guiding home the right-to-left curler; he’s -11. And up on 7, DJ whips his second over the flag and sends it spinning back to a couple of feet. He’ll most likely be stretching his lead to three again, but for the moment, the very top of the leader board looks like this:
-13: D Johnson (6)
-11: Thomas (6)
A careless three-putt bogey for Tiger on 11. The defending champion is going the wrong way, still without a birdie. He’s -3, now ten off the lead. Meanwhile on 13, McIlroy drives into the pines down the right, and is forced to lay up. He wedges his third to 15 feet, but can’t make the left-to-right slider coming back down the green. In fact he seriously overcooks it, the ball gliding four feet past. He doesn’t make the one coming back, and that’s his first step backwards today. A really poor putt, always missing on the right. He’s -7.
Dustin can’t make his birdie putt on 6, which curls off dramatically to the left. The greens are much faster now, and he’s got a tricky three-footer for par. But he’s not worried, calmly and smoothly stroking in to remain at -13. Just the par for Rahm, too. Dustin and Rory aside, the rest of the field are keeping their powder dry right now.
Well, well, well. Rory doesn’t connect cleanly with his tee shot at 12, and cries in anguish as his ball threatens to slam-dunk in the water. But it makes it over, just, and disappears into the bunker instead. You know full well what happens next in situations like this. Yep! In goes the splash out, one of those that was obviously dropping from the moment it landed on the putting surface, and it’s a fourth birdie in five holes! He’s -8 and absolutely part of this now!
-13: D Johnson (5)
-10: Im (6), Rahm (5), Ancer (5), Thomas (4)
-9: Munoz (7), Matsuyama (6), Smith (4)
-8: McIlroy (12), Pan (6)
This is DJ’s moment all right. He pushes his tee shot to the right of the 6th green, with the flag on the other side. He yelps in irritation. But his ball takes a friendly bounce left, then rolls across the green and stops 15 feet below the hole. Lucky chap. But then think about the astonishing catalogue of bad luck the poor guy has suffered over the years in the majors. He deserves a little something back. The majors owe him. He’s still well in credit.
DJ has left himself a long two putts for par on 5. And he leaves the first one six feet short. But he keeps calm and strokes the par putt into the centre without fuss. He remains at -13. Patrick Cantlay however bogeys to drop back to -7. Jon Rahm’s two-putt par keeps him in a tie for second at -10.
Matsuyama tramlines a birdie putt at 6. That was really travelling, and would have already been halfway to South Carolina had the hole not got in the way. A good bounce-back birdie after a dropped shot at 5. He’s back to -9.
McIlroy cradles his putt from the fringe to kick-in distance. The run of three consecutive birdies comes to an end, but there’s nothing wrong with par at 11. He’s taking a quarter of a shot off the field. He stays nicely placed at -7.
McIlroy’s second into 11 isn’t sensational - he’s a little irritated with himself as he saunters down the hole - but it’s on the fringe at the front and decent enough. Par shouldn’t be a problem, but that might not be the limit of his ambition. A fair chance he’s decided that he may as well go full throttle and see what happens; he blamed playing within himself, a little too cautiously, for his first-round woes, after all. Meanwhile a huge break for DJ on 5; his ball stopped just short of the big bunker, and instead of being forced to take his medicine, he can lash his second into the heart of the green.
A little hope for the chasing pack, though, as Dustin drives straight into the deep bunker Reed found on 5. That chasing pack now officially includes Rory McIlroy, by the way; he makes his third birdie in a row to move to -7. That opening round of 75 is becoming increasingly irritating. Why does he keep handicapping himself at the majors?!
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A disaster at 5 for Patrick Reed. His tee shot finds a fairway bunker. There’s a huge face to get over, so getting to the green in regulation is impossible. His third stops just short of the green, but he’s only 18 feet from the flag. He chips to four feet, then misses the putt. A double-bogey six that he really can’t afford, not least because Dustin Johnson has extended his lead further after draining a 40-footer on the par-three 4th. Reed slips to -7. But DJ is something else. Eagle-birdie-birdie. Nobody can live with this sort of carry-on!
-13: D Johnson (4)
-10: Im (4), Rahm (4), Ancer (3), Thomas (3)
-9: Munoz (6), Matsuyama (4), Smith (3)
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Abraham Ancer joins the second-place party at -10. He birdies 3. His playing partner Justin Thomas has the chance to pull away again, but pushes his 12-foot birdie effort right of the cup. Meanwhile Tiger is always out of position zig-zagging up the par-five 8th, and three putts puts the tin lid on it. Bogey, after seven pars, and the defending champion is now eight shots off the lead at -4. He clenches his eyes tightly as he walks off, perhaps contemplating that a sixth Masters title might be falling out of reach.
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A double-bogey for Louis Oosthuizen at 6. Pair that with his bogey at 2, and this is a miserable start to the afternoon for the 2010 Open champion. He grimaces, processing the fact that, at -3, his race is totally run. See also: Phil Mickelson, who registers his fourth bogey of the day at the hole to drop to -1. And the third member of the group, Brooks Koepka, isn’t in much of a better mood. He bogeys as well, his second in a row, and though he’s clinging onto the periphery of the main action at -5, there’s not much cheer in this group at the minute.
McIlroy continues to mooch up the standings. A fine birdie at 9, whistling his second from the pine straw on the right to 12 feet, moves him up to -6. He turns in 33, and celebrates by cracking a drive down the centre of the track at 10.
Dustin pulls away again at the top! He clips his second at the short par-four 3rd to eight feet, and makes the birdie putt. His irons look red hot today. The rest of the pack shouldn’t get too discouraged yet; the big man started with a birdie blitz yesterday only to go very quiet for most of the remaining round. But he doesn’t look in the mood to hold back today. This is a real field-splitting start.
-12: D Johnson (3)
-10: Im (3), Rahm (3), Thomas (2)
Birdie for Justin Thomas at 2. His playing partners in the final group, Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith, have both opened with a pair of pars. Jon Rahm birdies 3, Justin Rose bogeys 4, and suddenly the top of the leader board has yet another fancy makeover.
-11: D Johnson (2)
-10: Im (3), Rahm (3), Thomas (2)
-9: Munoz (4), Reed (4), Matsuyama (3), Ancer (2), Smith (2)
-8: Pan (3), Cantlay (2)
Rickie Fowler makes a Seve-style birdie on 7. He flays his tee shot into the trees on the right, sends his second 50 yards left of the green, and holes out with his third. He theatrically counts the number of shots he’s taken with the fingers on his hand, then laughs heartily. Over the other side of the fairway, an equally amused Tiger gives his friend a round of applause. That’s got Rickie back on track. He’s -4 again.
A second birdie of the day for Rory McIlroy, who is taking care of the par-fives. Having picked up a shot at 2, he does it again at 8, and rises to -5. Still tantalisingly out of reach of the serious action. That back nine early yesterday morning must sting like hell. Another birdie for 2019 rookie of the year Im Sung-jae, meanwhile, this time at the short par-four 3rd, reward for chipping his second up from 60 yards to six feet. He’s grabbed second place for himself at -10.
Dustin tidies up for a sensational eagle. Rahm can’t get up and down from the sand so has to settle for par, as does Cantlay. But it’s three birdies in a row for the 27-year-old Colombian Sebastian Munoz, the latest at 4, and I have a feeling this leader board is going to throb, rattle, hum, wow, flutter, pulsate and mutate for the rest of this round. Buckle up!
-11: D Johnson (2)
-9: Munoz (4), Reed (3), Im (2), Matsuyama (2), Rahm (2), Ancer (1), Smith (1), Thomas (1)
-8: Fleetwood (3), Pan (2), Cantlay (2)
Going to venture out onto a limb here. That nine-way tie for the lead isn’t going to last much longer. Dustin Johnson has just creamed his second at the par-five 2nd from 220 yards to three feet after flicking the flagstick. So close to becoming only the second player to record an albatross on this hole at the Masters, after Louis Oosthuizen did so in 2012. That is absurd. What a statement that is. Rahm meanwhile plonks his second into the bunker guarding the front.
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CT Pan is going round with Im Sung-jae and Hideki Matsuyama, in a grouping that could well be breaking all sorts of viewing figures in Asia. Im and Matsu birdie 2 as well, and we have a nine-way tie at the top!
-9: Reed (2), Im (2), Pan (2), Matsuyama (2), D Johnson (1), Rahm (1), Ancer (1), Smith (1), Thomas (1)
-8: Rose (3), Munoz (3), Fleetwood (2), Cantlay (1)
-7: Scheffler (4), Koepka (3), Frittelli (3), Willett (2)
Fowler sheds another shot, this time at the tricky par-four 5th. He slips to -3. Five consecutive pars for Tiger, who remains at -5. Another three putt bogey for Mickelson, this time at 4, and he’s done at -2. Back-to-back birdies for Dylan Frittelli and Sebastian Munoz, the pair joining Rose and a few others at -8. And birdie at 2 for CT Pan, who looks to be riding the wave of his second-round 66! He joins the ever-expanding community at the top of the standings.
Patrick Reed joins the leaders! He creams his second onto the right-hand portion of the 2nd green, leaving himself two uphill putts from 40 feet for birdie. Like Koepka before him, he’s plotted his way down the hole brilliantly, and he’s -9. He’s going round with Tommy Fleetwood, who also birdies to keep on his tail at -8. Meanwhile pars for Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay and Dustin Johnson at 1.
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A three-putt bogey from relatively close range for Phil Mickelson at 3. Following bogey at 2, that’s a serious blow for Lefty. He doesn’t look comfortable on these suddenly souped-up greens. If memory serves, he four-putted one green at Muirfield during the 2013 Open, yet still won that, and he’s always been liable to miss the odd tiddler. But with so many players ahead of him, he can’t afford a slip-up like that. The grim look on his weathered coupon suggests he knows his dream of becoming the oldest-ever major winner at 50 has just evaporated in the space of 20 minutes or so. Next year, maybe.
Back-to-back birdies for Brooks Koepka! He sends his drive at 3 into the second cut on the left. He chips up to 15 feet. He’s left with an uphill slider for his birdie. In it goes with great authority. Suddenly he’s just two off the lead at -7. This is warming up nicely and the final groups will be out and about any minute now.
Another birdie for Scottie Scheffler! He chips up from the bottom of the bank at the front of the short par-four 3rd, making sure to leave himself an uphill putt. He’s only five feet away, and rolls it in to move to -7. Meanwhile a birdie for Justin Rose at 2. He’s now just the one shot off the lead at -8, and having come close here on a couple of occasions, most famously in 2017 when Sergio Garcia beat him in a play-off, can be forgiven for thinking Augusta National owes him one. Could this be his time? He said in interview last night that playing here is “fun” ... and the expression on his face suggested he genuinely meant it. That mindset could prove a huge advantage as the pressure builds over the weekend.
Fowler’s tee shot at the par-three 4th is short and right. He chips crisply over the bunker and straight at the cup, only for his ball to clack the flagstick and stay on the lip. That deserved to drop. He stays at -4, though par is nothing to be sniffed at on a hole that’s already averaging 3.4 in this third round. So close to snatching nearly a shot-and-a-half from the field.
A dispiriting start for the 2016 champion Danny Willett, who finds the centre of the 1st in regulation only to make a thoroughly avoidable three-putt bogey. He’s back to -6 in short order. Another sign that these greens are going to demand the utmost attention from the 60-strong field.
Yep, all of a sudden, this is not quite the same course. The greens are proving a real test now. Louis Oosthuizen and Phil Mickelson both come unstuck on 2, dropping a stroke apiece to slip back to -5 and -4 respectively. But carnage isn’t guaranteed, not if you plot your way around carefully. Brooks Koepka, the third man in this grouping, makes sure to send his second shot down the right of the par-five hole. Chipping and then putting uphill, he’s able to make a confident run at the hole to secure his birdie. He’s -6, and last year’s joint runner-up has that look in his eye.
The greens are certainly firming up and getting faster. As a result, they’re even harder to read. Three-putt bogeys for Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel on 3; they drop to -4 and -3 respectively. Tiger, having watched his playing partners give up shots with indecent speed, takes an eternity over a two-footer, on account of it being downhill. Take no chances. He tidies up for par and stays at -5.
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Birdie at 2 for the rookie of the year, Scottie Scheffler. The 24-year-old from New Jersey has already proved his major-championship moxie: he won low amateur at the 2017 US Open, and tied for fourth at the recent PGA, right in the mix until Collin Morikawa eased away over the final furlongs. He’s going well after opening rounds of 71 and 68, and at the par-five 2nd, wedges to 12 feet from 70 yards, tidying up from there. He’s -6.
Early days in this third round, of course, but nobody’s flown out of the blocks. Birdies at a premium. A suggestion that the course is playing a little more like its old self now, recovering from the soaking it took on Thursday morning. The Georgia sun, with a little help from the SunAir system, has been doing its job. The course will still play softer than normal all weekend, mind, so let’s not jump to too many conclusions about scoring just yet.
Koepka chips up deliciously to a couple of feet. Par successfully scrambled. He remains at -5. Up on 2, Tiger very nearly tickles in his quick downhill birdie putt, but it somehow stays up on the left. He’s -5, as is his playing partner Rickie Fowler, who was putting from the other side of the hole and could give his uphill birdie effort a proper run. In it drops, and it’d be lovely to see Fowler shoot low today. Signs that he may be coming back into form, after a period of struggle with his game, at just the right time.
Tiger wedges to ten feet, but he’ll have a dribbly putt down the slope. Meanwhile back on 1, Brooks Koepka could do with a fast start, but his approach to 1 spins off the left-hand side of the dancefloor and away down the swale. An up-and-down test to save par for the four-time major winner.
McIlroy’s drive at 3 threatens to head towards DeChambeau Country down the left, but stops short of the thick stuff. He chips up to 12 feet, but can’t make the birdie putt. He remains at -4. Tiger meanwhile has parred the opening hole and is three-quarters of the way down the par-five 2nd, hoping his wedge will set him up a nice birdie chance. He’s found two fairway bunkers with two drives so far. Radar off just a smidgen.
A miserable start to the third round for John Augenstein. Last year’s US Amateur runner-up will go head-to-head this weekend with the man who beat him to that title, Andy Ogletree, for the silver medal. He started the round two shots clear of Ogletree, but after slicing into trees down the 1st and running up a double-bogey six, the amateurs sit alongside each other at -1. Ogletree goes out in ten minutes or so, starting from the 10th.
Third round
Here we go again, then. The first big name to make a move is Rory McIlroy, who gets up and down from the bunker guarding the front right of the par-five 2nd to rise to -4. He’s really going to regret yesterday morning when he turns away from Magnolia Lane on Sunday, isn’t he.
The tee times for the third-round groupings can be found here. Split tees again. Three-balls. Our live coverage will get going again at 4pm GMT.
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Your 36-hole leaders
The tee times for the third round will be announced soon, and play is expected to start at 10.30am local, 3.30pm GMT. News of that when we have it, with more live action to come a little bit later.
-9: Ancer, Smith, Thomas, D Johnson, Rahm
-8: Cantlay, Im, Pan, Matsuyama, Reed
-7: Willett, Fleetwood, Rose
-6: Munoz, Frittelli, Oosthuizen
-5: Mickelson, Koepka, Conners, Scheffler, Casey, Woods
-4: Fowler, Horschel, Simpson, Janewattananond, Schauffele
-3: Augenstein (a), Langer, McIlroy, Perez, Howell III, Na, Kim
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Rafa Cabrera Bello makes his par at 9, remains at evens, and secures his weekend participation. Meanwhile on 18, Graeme McDowell chips up from the bank to the left, beautifully so, but his gentle left-to-right curler stops one turn short of dropping for birdie. He ends the second round at +1, the width of a Titleist away from making the final two rounds. The 2010 US Open champion is one of several big names to have missed the cut. We’re also saying goodbye to: Matt Kuchar, Henrik Stenson, Gary Woodland, Matthew Wolff, Tyrrell Hatton, Kevin Kisner, Larry Mize, Jason Kokrak, Francisco Molinari, Fred Couples, Jason Day, Sandy Lyle, Lucas Glover and Jose Maria Olazabal. Goodbye for now, dear friends, we love you all.
Cut is made at level par
Speith strokes his left-to-right par saver into the cup! A wry smile as he signs for a 70, and the former champion will be here for the weekend. That’s because Cabrera Bello’s chip stops ten feet from the flag. Everyone at level par is saved! The Spaniard, at evens right now, needs his par putt to survive.
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Spieth jabs at his chip with great uncertainty. His ball only just gets up onto the green, and he’s left with a 15-footer for par. He’ll be gone, unless he can make that. Meanwhile on 9, Cabrera Bello loses his second down the bank on the right, and unless he’s about to trundle a dramatic chip into the cup, everyone currently on level par - Bryson, Morikawa, Finau et al - will be here for the weekend!
Spieth’s actually got a shot, and he whips his second down the bank to the left of the green. He’s pin high. We’ve just seen Tiger hit the flagstick from there. Meanwhile Cabrera Bello splits the 9th fairway. Bryson’s blood will be pumping. Other big names at level par with their fate hanging in the balance: the PGA champion Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, Zach Johnson, Matthew Fitzpatrick, and Spieth and Cabrera Bello themselves.
We’re still not sure where the cutline will be, with US Open champion and pre-tournament favourite Bryson DeChambeau’s fate still in the balance. The 2003 champion Mike Weir birdies 8 to rise to -1, but that doesn’t move the projected cut, as all those on even are tied 50th. Realistically, it all comes down to whether Jordan Spieth birdies 18, or Rafa Cabrera Bello birdies 9. And Spieth has just wanged his tee shot into the trees down the right. At the moment it’s looking very good for Bryson.
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Ogletree knocks in his putt, and he’ll be here this weekend! Bogey to finish, but that’s a fine 70 from the amateur, who’ll battle with Augenstein for the silver medal over the next two days. Tiger chips up daintily, hits the flagstick, and tidies up for par. A 71, and he’s just four off the lead. He departs patting Ogletree on the back and giving the young US Amateur champ words of encouragement. A lovely heart-warming scene.
Ogletree hits one of the putts of his life, rolling it up to a couple of feet. His nerves must be jangling like the introduction to Eight Miles High. While he waits, Shane Lowry makes his par and the 69 ensures he’ll be here this weekend; the Open champ is -1.
Uh-oh. Ogletree tickles a putt up onto the green ... past the hole ... and it’s a facsimile copy of the route DeChambeau’s ball took earlier. It’s a good 50 feet past. Two putts for bogey will still do it. Come on! Fingers crossed, everyone.
Tiger coming up the last. He’s in prime position. Some effing and jeffing follows as he tugs his approach down the bank on the left. Matsuyama got up and down from that position earlier, so par’s far from a pipe dream, but it’ll take a delicate chip up. Tiger’s been going round with the US Amateur champion Andy Ogletree, who is putting a marvellous round together. After dropping a shot at 2, he’s birdied 9, 10, 13 and 14, and currently sits at -2. Ogletree’s just off the back in two, but providing he does no worse than bogey, he’ll battle for the silver medal this weekend with the only amateur to have so far guaranteed his weekend participation: John Augenstien, who coincidentally is the man he beat in the final of the US Amateur! That should be a great B-story over the weekend. God speed, Andy Ogletree.
The 2015 champion Jordan Spieth is level par right now. A birdie will move him to -1, and with it the cut, which would mean farewell to Bryson DeChambeau. The reigning US Open champ, nervously awaiting his fate in the clubhouse, will have been happy to see Spieth walking off the 15th having taken three putts for par. He’ll be even happier now, having seen him creaming his tee shot at 16 to six feet, only to shove the birdie putt right of the hole. Bryson hanging on by a thread.
Two putts for Paul Casey, and that’s a damaging double-bogey to finish. He signs for a 74, and slips to -5. That 65 seems a long time ago now. Closing birdie for Patrick Reed, though, the reward for a lovely manufactured slice around the corner to six feet, and that’s his second 68 of the week. Look at the sheer quality of this 36-hole leader board!
-9: Ancer, Smith, Thomas, D Johnson, Rahm
-8: Cantlay, Im, Pan, Matsuyama, Reed
-7: Willett, Fleetwood, Rose
Casey unleashes his fairway wood, under full instruction from his caddy to give it “everything you have”. But even then, he can only find the front fringe of the green. A chip that ends a good 20 feet behind the flag, and this could be a costly denouement to his round. We’ve already had the DeChambeau drama; now this. And it’s only the end of the second round! Goodness knows what’ll go down on 18 come Sunday afternoon.
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Casey can’t keep driving like this, though. He sends his tee shot at 18 into the bushes down the left. Good luck with that. He finds his ball at the base of a bush. He’s got a swing, though, and can punch out, albeit only onto the pine straw. He could do with limiting the damage here, getting to the clubhouse quickly, and regrouping.
A brilliant par for Casey on 17. From a dreadful position in the trees, he finds the front bunker, then gets up and down to stay at -7. His partner Reed makes a proper horlicks of the hole, though. A clumsy bogey from a perfect position on the fairway: a short approach and a lame first putt, and he’s back to -7.
DeChambeau lags his long par putt up to a couple of feet, and taps in for bogey. After a bogey-bogey finish, he walks off ashen-faced; that 74 may well have sent him home. But hold on: his bogey’s sent the cut out to level par again. It’ll be a waiting game for the US Open champion, who sits on level par right now. Meanwhile just the par for Rahm, who never gives his birdie effort enough on the left. It’s a superb 65, though, and he’s got a share of the halfway lead. Par and 70 for Oosthuizen, three behind at -6.
DeChambeau looks like toast. He bumps his chip up from the back of 18. For a second it looks like the ball’s stopping pin high, ten feet from the flag. But it keeps turning slowly, then picks up pace as the slope takes it away. He’s left with a 50-footer coming back up for his par. Anything else, and he’s most likely away home.
Tiger’s been quiet this morning. No longer! He sends a tramliner into the cup for birdie on 15. He’s suddenly -5 and has that look in his eye again. Up on 18, Rahm sends his second over the flag and he’ll have a look at birdie from 15 feet. It’d give him a 65. DeChambeau however takes one club too many and sends his approach over the green and down the swale at the back. He’s facing a hellish up and down for his par. If he slips to level par, there’s a fair chance he won’t be here this weekend.
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Nah. Out comes the driver, and he absolutely stripes it. What nerve. What moxie. He’s in prime real estate on the fairway. Rahm and Oosthuizen are in good nick too. Not so Paul Casey, who has hoicked his drive into the pines down the left of 17. Not many options from there.
Patrick Reed is on the move. His third birdie in four holes, after creaming his tee shot at 16 to four feet. He’s now just one off the lead at -8. Up ahead, DeChambeau can’t get up and down from the back of 17, and he slips to -1. Right on the cut line. Par up 18 will suffice. Time for a nice easy 3-wood down the middle. What do you say, Bryson? Eh?
DeChambeau powers his ball out of the forest and over the back of 17. That’s as good as he could have done from there. Meanwhile a pleasant end to rookie of the year Scottie Scheffler’s round. He chips in from the side of 18 to finish birdie-birdie. Back in 33 for a 68 that puts him firmly in the mix at -5.
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Reed is over the back at 15 in two. A careful chip up and a putt, and he’s -7. He’s alongside his partner Casey, who was on in two but overcooked his long eagle effort and had to settle for a three-putt par. Meanwhile here’s one of the shots of the week from the reigning Open champion Shane Lowry! He was below the cut line, but may have saved himself with an outrageous wedge from the front of 14. This is where Oosthuizen took a putter only for his effort to come back to his feet off the false front. Lowry lands his ball just before the top of the ridge, sending it rolling over, checking, then curling on a gorgeous left-to-right arc into the cup. He celebrates his birdie in style. He’s -1 and here for the weekend as things stand.
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DeChambeau makes it four birdies in five holes. He draws his tee shot at 16 to eight feet, and makes no mistake with the gentle left-to-right slider. He’s -2, and that ludicrously unfortunate lost ball on 3 yesterday evening is beginning to look even more costly, albeit in a different way. Where once he was worrying about surviving the cut, now he’s counting the price of a noggin-gone triple. In an alternate universe, he’d found his first tee shot, ground out a par, and is currently sitting four off the lead. But here we are ... and here he goes again, sending a tee shot whistling into the lap of the golfing gods / the trees down the right of 17. Pars for Rahm and Oosthuizen, incidentally.
A nerveless up and down from the back of 18 by Hideki Matsuyama. Par, and he’s signing for his second 68 of the week. He’s placed almost perfectly at -8. Louis Oosthuizen makes his bounceback birdie at 15, though Bryson DeChambeau is forced to settle for par, his run of consecutive birdies ending on three. And near misses for Reed and Woods at 14 and 13 respectively. No birdies for the former champions, and they stay at -6 and -4.
Old-school comic cuts from Xander Schauffele on 6. He tugs his tee shot miles left, and though it’s still on the green, he’s left with a 70-foot monster putt up and over a ridge. His first attempt gets to the top of the ridge, teeters awhile, then comes all the way back to his feet. Augusta National baring its teeth again in the traditional manner. He has another go, and rolls his second attempt to kick-in distance. A bogey - his second of the morning, after a dropped shot at 4 - but it could have been a whole lot worse. He’s -4. Speaking of which, Lee Westwood had been busy clattering down the leader board, dropping strokes at 3 and 5, but he’s just raked in a 50-footer on 7 to stem the bleeding. He’s -2.
Rahm bounces his ball halfway up the bank, where it stubbornly stops. Suddenly bogey looks a good score. He’s still faced with a tricky chip and putt if he wants to make it. But nobody panic! In the stereotypical Spanish genius style, he bumps a crisp second chip up onto the green and it’s always heading into the centre of the cup. Quite delicious. Seve would be proud. He remains in a share at -9.
DeChambeau is snookered behind a tree and forced to lay up. Rahm is in the middle of the fairway but opts to do that too. Oosthuizen makes it three. He’s first to fire in a chip, and nearly spins his ball into the cup. He’ll get back one of the shots he dropped at the last to return to -6. DeChambeau’s wedge isn’t all that. Finally Rahm has a go. Up and down and he’ll be the sole leader. But he gets “an absolute flyer” and sends his ball bouncing through the green and down the big bank at the back. He’ll have a hell of a chip coming back up, with not much green to work with. Ah well, at least he didn’t get wet.
DeChambeau has now made three birdies in a row. This is a really impressive battle back from the brink. But he’s put too much into his drive at 15, and whistles it into the pines down the right. He’ll be forced to lay up from there. Meanwhile it’s two putts for birdie for Reed on 13, and he moves up to -6. Marc Leishman is going along nicely, too: he’d left an eagle putt on 15 a good ten feet short in the gloaming last night, so opted to come back and sort it this morning. Wise decision, as he made his birdie putt; he’s -5.
DeChambeau makes no mistake with his birdie putt on 14. In it goes, and the US Open champion is fighting the good fight. He’s -1, which is also the gently oscillating projected cut line once again. A costly double-bogey for Oosthuizen, though, who screws his approach back off the green, then sees his putt up the false front come back to his feet. He’s -5. A birdie for Paul Casey on 13, snatching back the shot he carelessly shed at 10 last night: he’s -7 again. And on 9, CT Pan makes his par to sign for a superb round of 66. He’s -8 and this is one hell of a leader board.
-9: Ancer (F), Smith (F), Thomas (F), D Johnson (F), Rahm (14)
-8: Cantlay (F), Im (F), Pan (F), Matsuyama (16)
Webb Simpson hands one of his shots back in double-quick time. He pulls his tee shot at 16 into the bunker front right, and can’t get up and down. The 2012 US Open champ slips back to -4. Back on 13, the 2018 Masters winner Patrick Reed swishes a glorious 7-wood into the heart of the green. He’ll be taking a shot at eagle from 15 feet.
A big moment for DeChambeau! First off, the cut moves out to level par. Second, his drive clatters into trees down the right of 14 but bounces out into the first cut. Third, he takes advantage of his fortune by sending his second from 150 yards onto the top tier of the green, using the camber to gather his ball right and down towards the cup! He’ll have a look at birdie from five feet! For all the yammer about his power game, it’s easy to forget this young guy is one hell of a talent. That was quite sensational.
CT Pan was going along very nicely indeed last night. The Taiwanese turned 29 on Thursday, and this could be a very special birthday week if he keeps going like this. Birdie at 8, and he’s one off the lead. Meanwhile Tiger, who started out with a very tricky second into 11 from the first cut on the left, eases his second to the front of the green. A chip and a putt and he makes off with par that keeps him in good nick at -4.
This is not a bad way to start your day. On 15, Webb Simpson picks up where he left off last night, stroking in an eagle putt to move to -5. But this is even better! Jon Rahm rolls in his birdie putt on 13 and joins the leading pack at -9! As for his playing partners? Bryson DeChambeau misses a 12-foot eagle attempt and has to make do with birdie. He’s back to level par, but still outside the cut line, which is now projected at -1. Meanwhile par for Louis Oosthuizen, who misses a nine-footer for birdie and stays at -7.
Preamble
It’s an extra-special Masters, so how about an extra-special Moving Day? We don’t yet know where half the field will be moving from, you see. The second round is yet to be completed, a legacy of that three-hour rain delay on Thursday morning. So from 7.30am local time (12.30pm GMT) the second wave of the second round will resume play. Once they’re done, the cut will be made, third-round tee times will be allocated, and Moving Day will start in earnest (at about 10.30am local, 3.30pm GMT). It’ll be a long one, but if the first two days are anything to go by, well worth sticking around for. Here’s where we stand:
-9: Ancer (F), Smith (F), Thomas (F), D Johnson (F)
-8: Cantlay (F), Im (F), Matsuyama (15), Rahm (12)
-7: Willett (F), Fleetwood (F), Rose (F), Pan (16*), Oosthuizen (12)
-6: Munoz (F), Frittelli (F), Schauffele (12*) Reed (11), Casey (11)
-5: Mickelson (F), Koepka (F), Howell III (15*)
-4: Fowler (F), Horschel (F), Janewattananond (15*), Leishman (14), Woods (10)
-3: Augenstien -a- (F), Langer (F), McIlroy (F), Conners (16*), Simpson (14), Scheffler (13)
So let’s get straight out there. It’s on!
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