Anyway, that’s your lot, at the end of a very good day for a very good number of players. Take your pick. We’ll be back here tomorrow in time for the resumption of the second round at 7.30am local, 12.30pm GMT. See you then, and thanks for reading. Nighty night!
-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)
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Matsuyama rolls in the birdie putt, and he’ll be very happy with his decision to continue. He ends the day at -8, with just three holes left to play. He’ll be hitting his first shot tomorrow morning at the iconic 16. The water on the left will get the juices flowing. No need for a coffee.
With darkness quickly descending, Matsuyama bumps up nicely to six feet. He marks. He’s going round with Marc Leishman, who is ticking along nicely at -4 and on in two. He’ll have a run from 40 feet at eagle. He leaves it a good ten feet short.
The klaxon goes for the end of the day’s play. Anyone who wishes to finish the hole they’re on can do so. Matsuyama is one who’d like to continue. For a second, it looks like he’s regretting the decision, pulling a long iron left of 15. But it clears the water and stops on the bank behind.
DeChambeau only just clears Rae’s Creek with his wedge. And even then the ball nearly spins back in. But it catches the camber of the green, turns towards the hole, and stops pin high. He’ll have a look at eagle from 15 feet. Oosthuizen and Rahm both have good looks at birdie, too.
Rahm’s drive whistles towards the pines on the right. He’s lucky that it comes down, bounces on the straw, and makes its way to the second cut. An easy lay-up. A lot of players trying to get as much golf in before the klaxon as they can. This is ready golf all right. See, they can play quickly when they want to.
DeChambeau has clearly decided that he might as well be hung for a sheep as a lamb. He goes for the big blooter over the trees at the dogleg on the par-five 13th. “Did you hear anything?” he asks his playing partners. They respond in the negative. And no wonder: his ball has cleared the trees, chopped off the dogleg, and landed within pitching distance. Wow.
Rahm makes his birdie putt at 12, and with the wind behind him, he’ll be sorry to see the sun disappear. He joins the group one off the lead at -8. Par for Oosthuizen who remains at -7. Birdie also for Bryson, who isn’t going down without a scrap. He’s +1 and with a couple of inviting par-fives to come, there’s every chance of his avoiding the cut. Meanwhile birdie for Matsuyama at 13, and he’s -7.
Casey limits the damage to bogey at 10. He slips to -6. Meanwhile it’s pars all round for Oosthuizen, Rahm and DeChambeau on 11 ... and three lovely shots into 12. All three with great chances for birdie.
There are still more than 20 minutes of daylight, so don’t be rushing off to bed quite yet. But just to say Ewan Murray’s first dispatch from Augusta has landed. And here it is!
Paul Casey played the front nine in 36 strokes. Nine pars. That run looks likely to be broken at 10, albeit not in the matter he’d like. Down to the left of the green, he tries a soft lob but thins the ball across the green and off the other side. Meanwhile back on 9, Tiger pars to turn in 36. He remains at -4.
Pretty much as expected, Oosthuizen’s is the shortest of three cracking drives down 11. Just as on 10, he’s closest to the pin in two. DeChambeau only just reaches the green. Rahm’s nearer to the flag but on the fringe. Oosthuizen will have another look from 15 feet or so. To be fair to all three players, those were all cracking shots played into a blinding setting sun.
DeChambeau’s long par putt is always, like Frank Costanza, stopping short. He taps in for bogey, and at +2 needs to get a wriggle on if he’s to survive the cut and stay around for the weekend. Rahm gets out of Dodge with his four. He stays at -7. Par for Oosthuizen, too, after his 15-foot birdie attempt dies off to the right. He’s -7. Birdie for Tiger at 8. He kind of had to make it; he’s still five shy of the leading mark at -4.
DeChambeau is all over the shop. From the bottom of the hill at the front of the green, he skulls a chip past the flag and nearly off the back of the green. That’s little short of abysmal given his ability around the greens. Rahm by contrast uses soft hands to flop gently on the green from his high vantage point to the right, sending his ball delicately rolling to a couple of feet. He’ll salvage his par, surely. DeChambeau almost certainly won’t.
“MUD!” Rahm squeals in anguish as his iron into 10 sails off to the right unexpectedly. He’ll have a hell of a chip, up on the bank, over sand, the flag fairly close, the green sloping away. Good luck with that one. DeChambeau isn’t particularly enamoured with his approach either, hitting an out-of-rhythm fat one that doesn’t even reach the front bunker. The third man in the group, Oosthuizen, gracefully dispatches his second to 15 feet. He was the furthest from the flag. All of which shows you, kids, that power and distance aren’t everything.
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Another birdie for Patrick Reed, this time at 8. Time for a leader board update, because the 2018 champ is on it!
-9: Ancer (F), Smith (F), Thomas (F), D Johnson (F)
-8: Cantlay (F), Im (F)
-7: Willett (F), Fleetwood (F), Rose (F), Pan (12*), Rahm (9), Oosthuizen (9), Casey (8)
-6: Munoz (F), Frittelli (F), Matsuyama (10), Reed (8)
-5: Mickelson (F), Koepka (F), Simpson (10)
-4: Fowler (F), Horschel (F), Janewattananond (11*), Schauffele (8*)
Birdie at 9 for Louis Oosthuizen, who has been a little bit off CBS’s radar but turns in 33. He’d also picked up strokes at 2 and 8, and he’s -7. Rahm follows him in for birdie of his own, and he turns in 32. He’s -7 as well. And DeChambeau does very well to lag his long birdie putt to three feet, and he saves his par. He turns in a rather less attractive 39 strokes, and he’s +1.
Rahm sends a sensational wedge at 9 to four feet. DeChambeau gets his all wrong, though, the ball screwing back off one level, then another, and nearly off the green. He’s spared that indignity, but he’ll have a hell of a birdie putt from 50 feet over two ridges. Meanwhile bogey for Tiger at 7. The defending champ is suddenly a little bit adrift at -3.
A second birdie of the day for Hideki Matsuyama. The first came at 2, a second would have come at 8 but for a missed tiddler, the third now at 10. He’s -6 and if his putter suddenly gets hot, watch out field. The man loves a birdie blitz.
Birdie for Rahm at 8, too, while DeChambeau was faffing around. He’s serenely moved up the standings to -6, and follows that up by crashing a beauty down the middle of 9. Bryson takes out his frustrations by sending his ball 20 yards past the Spaniard’s. Back on 2, Pan’s eagle putt was never likely to reach, but he’ll be happy enough with his birdie. He’s -7, two off the lead on his Masters debut!
Bryson gets twitchy over his eagle putt. He pulls out of it, having decided he needs to realign his ball. After an interminable period of fussin’, he eventually prods it right of the cup. You do wonder how much the lines on the ball help these guys sometimes. A birdie that feels like a bogey. He’s +1. Meanwhile on 2, CT Pan creams his second into the heart of the green, and he’ll have a 20-foot look for eagle!
Another birdie for CT Pan! He drains a 30-footer across 1 to move to -6. This is some performance from the 28-year-old Taiwanese on his Masters debut. Meanwhile one of the shots of the day from ... who else? ... Bryson DeChambeau. He’s coming off the back of another bogey, at 7, and skelps a big drive down the middle of the par-five 8th, then whip-cracks an iron from 234 yards to four feet! That was as clever as it was powerful, using the camber to the right side of the green to gather his ball towards the pin. A big difference to the mood music if he makes that, given he’s currenly two strokes below the cut line, currently projected at level par.
Westwood got away with a big mistake at 15. He doesn’t on 16, though. He finds sand with his tee shot, and can’t get up and down. He slips to -3. Speaking of water-bound shenanigans at 15, Schauffele gets away with one, his approach threatening to roll back into the creek, but somehow holding up, Couples-on-12-style. He nearly drains the chip, then tidies up for a par before cracking into a broad smile. He remains at -4.
Birdie for Patrick Reed at 6. He moves to -5. The 2018 champion has been going about his business in a very measured fashion this week. “Surely there’s a special term needed for how much joy certain golf fans take in the travails of Bryson DeChambeau? DeChambeaufreude, if you will.” Jared Barnes, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try the pimento cheese.
Im Sung-jae’s round threatened to go pear-shaped for a while. But he’s recovered his poise magnificently, with closing birdies at 6 and 9 that secure a 70. After yesterday’s excellent 66, the 2019 rookie of the year sits one off the lead at the halfway point (unless anyone gets to double figures, but you get the gist).
-9: Ancer (F), Smith (F), Thomas (F), D Johnson (F)
-8: Cantlay (F), Im (F)
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A par on the par-five 15th for perennial major bridesmaid Lee Westwood. Usually those feel like bogeys, the 15th being one of the easiest holes on the course, but this one will feel like a birdie. How so? Because he found the water with his approach, then sunk a 30-footer to avoid the dropped shot. He’s opened with six pars and remains at -4.
News of Justin Rose! He’s catapulted himself into serious contention with a closing birdie blitz. Birdies at 6, 8 and 9 rescues a round that was going nowhere. He signs for a 70, and he’s a couple off the lead at -7. CT Pan eagles 15 and birdies 16 to rise to -5. He’s alongside Jazz Janewattananond, who has birdied 12 and 15 this afternoon. And here’s me old pal Bryson, who having bogeyed 5 as well, swishes his tee shot at 6 to 18 inches or so, and that’s his second birdie of the round today. He’s back to +1. Just the one par so far today. Say what you will, but the guy gets himself into a hell of a lot of entertaining scrapes.
Bryson’s triple-bogey: the big debate. “I’m not sure what was so disproportionate about it,” writes Geoff Wignall. “It wasn’t simply punishment for a ‘garden variety hook’ as you suggest. He hooked two drives, both with 3 wood, then thinned an approach and made a mess of a chip. When a single bad shot often equates to bogey, a triple after four rank bad shots seems fairly mild.” Ha. Well, yes, when you write it up like that ... I guess my point was, while the initial tee shot was indeed pretty bad, you don’t often see balls lost in not particularly wild rough the second cut. The unusually boggy ground played a factor too. Compare and contrast to McIlroy flaying a much wilder hook, much deeper into trouble on 13, and finding it in the middle of this ...
All Bryson’s subsequent mistakes came as a result of an understandable case of Noggin Loss. However, having said that, here’s Steve Buist, who is standing four-square alongside Geoff: “First mistake – a bad drive and a lost ball. No patrons to help him find his ball? Boo-frickety-hoo. Then don’t hit it there. He didn’t learn from his first mistake and four others followed. Seems pretty proportionate to me.” Ah well, I suspect I’m not going to convince anyone about this. Tough crowd. Still love you both, though!
An up-and-down start to Xander Schauffele’s round. A double-bogey six at 11, having found Ray Floyd’s Pond to the left of the green. Then a birdie at 13 brings last year’s runner-up back to -4. Meanwhile a three-putt bogey for Tiger on 3; he slips back to -4.
Jon Rahm has started brightly. Two birdies in the first four, at 2 and now 4, the latter the reward for sinking a 35-foot putt, have moved him up to -5. He’s going around with Bryson, who ships another shot after finding the sand at the front of the par-three 4th. He’s +1 and now below the projected cutline. He lets his head hang low, feeling a little sorry for himself. Any weekend hacker will sympathise.
Birdie for Dustin Johnson, though, and after traipsing around in nondescript fashion since that early three-birdie burst, he joins the leaders in the clubhouse. Par for Patrick Cantlay, who ends one off that lead with a fine 66.
-9: Ancer (F), Smith (F), Thomas (F), D Johnson (F)
-8: Cantlay (F)
-7: Willett (F), Fleetwood (F), Im (16*), Casey (3)
Rory McIlroy screeches his drive at 9 down the middle, then screeches his wedge from 133 yards to a halt 11 feet from the flag. He can’t make the birdie putt, but the par gives him a 66, and he’s been as impressive this afternoon as he was appalling for the last nine holes of his first round this morning. He’s -3, and once again it looks like a cold start is going to cost him at a major, unless he does something out of this world over the weekend. Bittersweet brilliance is all good and well, but he’s got to get to the bottom of this.
Tiger’s second at 2 finds the bunker front right. His third lands softly on the lip of the hole, and nobody can work out how it didn’t drop. He taps in for birdie and moves to -5. Meanwhile birdies for McIlroy (-3) and Cantlay (-8) on the par-five 8th, but no reward for DJ, who had found a fairway bunker from the tee, then saw his wedge spin back off the green in hysterical fashion. Just a par, and a suggestion that the greens are drying out and beginning to act in a more traditional, uncooperative fashion.
Bryson flies his fourth over the green. He hangs his head. It’s all going wrong for the US Open champion. He chips back up, and nearly sends it back off down the front of the green. This is all beyond unfortunate. He leaves his putt short and that’s a triple-bogey seven. He crashes back down to level par, but that’s a disproportionate punishment for the initial mistake, a garden-variety hook. His ball may well have become plugged in an area still boggy from yesterday’s tempest. So unlucky, and it all unravelled from there.
DeChambeau, understandably running a little hot, tries the same thing off the tee ... and sends his 3-wood into the same spot. This time his ball is sitting up, so at least we won’t be venturing into the realms of pure farce. But this is still a real test now for the pre-tournament favourite, who would snatch your hand off for a bogey now. Meanwhile up on 9, Koepka drains a 30-footer for birdie. He’d made one on 8 as well, and it’s a superb 69 that keeps him in the mix. He’s -5. His partner Justin Thomas meanwhile played the hole in textbook fashion, and he’s closed birdie-birdie for 69 as well. He joins Ancer and Smith in the lead.
-9: Ancer (F), Smith (F), Thomas (F)
-8: D Johnson (17*), Cantlay (17*)
-7: Willett (F), Fleetwood (F), Im (15*), Casey (2)
Frittelli has been wild off the tee on this back nine. He pulls another left, and he’s always chasing par from the trees. He ends up with a bogey that drops him back to -6. Meanwhile drama on 3, where DeChambeau hooks a 3-wood miles wide left of the fairway. His ball disappears into the second cut ... and nobody can find it. How he could do with some patrons; a gallery would have been standing there and spotted that in a sweet moment. He makes the lonely journey back to the tee to hit his third.
The afternoon wave has crashed onto the scene. Tiger’s second into the 1st is awful, over the back right of the green. He’s got a really tricky chip up, but caresses it to four feet and escapes with his par. He remains at -4. That’s a street-fighting save. Meanwhile up on 2, Bryson DeChambeau leaves himself a long downhill two-putt for his birdie, after pulling his short iron into the green. A delightfully judged first putt means he’s moving to -3 in short order.
Some brilliance on the par-five 8th from Justin Thomas. He’s in the pines to the left in two. He sends a low runner out, over the bank, and past the flag ... then using the camber on the other side of the green to send the ball rolling back towards the cup! It stops three feet away, and in goes the birdie putt. He’s back to -8.
Cameron Smith joins Abraham Ancer at the top of the leader board! He creams his second into 18 to 12 feet, and knocks in the fairly straight birdie putt he’s left himself. That’s a 68 to go with yesterday’s 67, and it seems a long time ago now that Dustin Johnson held a three-stroke lead at -10!
-9: Ancer (F), Smith (F)
-8: D Johnson (15*)
You’ll have noticed Tommy Fleetwood handsomely placed on the leader board there. That’s because he sent his second at 18 to ten feet, and rolled in the uphill putt for a 66. Meanwhile on 9, Ancer lashes a low iron under the pine branches, through a tunnel, and into the heart of the green! That’s a lovely bit of improvisation and it saves his par. He signs for a 67 and is the new clubhouse leader.
-9: Ancer (F)
-8: Smith (17), D Johnson (15*)
-7: Willett (F), Fleetwood (F), Thomas (16*), Cantlay (15*), Casey (1)
A three-putt bogey for Im, who is beginning to struggle a little. He slips to -6. Frittelli takes his medicine from the trees on 15, then knocks in a putt from the fringe for a very unlikely birdie. He’s back to -7. And on 9, the leader Ancer sprays his tee shot into the trees down the right. Let’s pop the leader board up while he’s still on top of it.
-9: Ancer (17*)
-8: Smith (17), D Johnson (15*)
-7: Willett (F), Fleetwood (F), Thomas (16*), Frittelli (15), Cantlay (15*), Casey
-6: Munoz (F), Im (13*)
Ancer let a chance to take sole ownership of the lead slip by on 7. He doesn’t make the same mistake at 8. Just off the front of the par-five in two, he chips from 60 yards to three feet, and tidies up for birdie. Meanwhile Cam Smith continues to mine a rich seam, making a 25-footer on 17 for birdie; that’s four shots gained in three holes! And on 18, a delighted Danny Willett caresses his approach from 150 yards to six feet and rolls in the birdie putt! What a story here! That’s a 66 after opening with a double-bogey at 10! He’s -7 and the 2016 winner is in very good nick at the halfway mark.
What a way to end a round! Sebastian Munoz sends his second at 18 over the back. He’s down the bottom of a swale. He bumps his chip up onto the green, gets the perfect amount of check, and releases his ball straight into the cup. A satisfying clack of the stick as it drops. A brilliant birdie, and he’s back in 34 for a round of 68. He’s -6.
Birdie for Cameron Smith. Fuelled by that eagle on 15, he sends his tee shot to 12 feet at 16 and he’s -7, just one off the lead. This is a fine response to a mid-round slump that saw him ship three shots in four holes between 7 and 10. Meanwhile Frittelli’s wobble continues, as he hoicks his tee shot at 15 into the pines down the right.
The amateur John Augenstein rolls in a 20-footer for birdie at 8. Having just come off the back off a triple at 7, having got into all sorts of bother with a big slice off the tee, that’s timely. It means he’s back to -3, and with just the one hole to play, in with a great shout of making the cut, which is currently projected at -1. There’s also a fair chance he’ll be the only amateur to make it, with all the others currently over par. If that’s the case, and he manages to complete all 72 holes, he’ll win the silver medal for low amateur. He’d be in decent company: recent winners have included Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau.
An aggressive three-putt bogey on 6 by Koepka. He slips back to -3, and he needs to rediscover his momentum else all the good work from earlier will unravel. Par for Thomas who stays at -7. And up on 7, Frittelli sends his first putt ten feet past, and can’t make the saver coming back. He slips to -6. He’s tried his hardest to drop a shot over the last two holes, and there it is.
Ancer misses the chance to take sole ownership of the Masters. He yips his short birdie putt on 7, and wanders off pretending that he doesn’t care too much. Hey, whatever you’ve got to tell yourself to keep going.
-8: Ancer (16*), D Johnson (13*)
-7: Thomas (14*), Frittelli (13), Cantlay (13*), Im (11*), Casey
-6: Willett (16*), Fleetwood (16), Smith (15)
Im Sung-jae stems the bleeding on 2. He bounces back from consecutive bogeys with birdie that moves him back to -7. Meanwhile Frittelli is in more pine-related bother, this time down the right of 14. He’s got a route out towards the green, though, and may be able to send one scuttling up from 120 yards. And that’s exactly what he does, firing a low one into the heart of the green. He’ll have another tricky two-putt for par, but that’s a result from where he was.
The shot of the day by Cameron Smith at 15. He draws a glorious fairway wood from 250 yards to kick-in distance. That’s going to be an eagle that takes him back into red figures for his second round, and -6 overall. That must have felt good. His smile betrays that fact pretty quickly. Also looking the picture of contentment: Abraham Ancer, who creams a 9-iron at 7 straight at the flag, the ball screeching six feet short.
An up and down from the back of 15, and Fleetwood moves to within a couple of shots at -6. Meanwhile Frittelli judges his first putt on 13 almost perfectly, happy enough to tap his second in for an adventurous par. He remains one off at -7.
Abraham Ancer joins DJ at the top of the leader board at -8! He nails a 25-foot birdie putt at 6, and it’s his fifth birdie of an increasingly superb round. Back-to-back birdies for his partner Phil Mickelson, too; Lefty moves to -5. And some fun and games involving Frittelli, who hooks his tee shot at 13 into Rory Country, hacks out from the trees, and sends his third back left of the green. It’ll be a testing two-putt, but if he makes it, he’s escaping with par.
DJ is so close to extending his lead at 3. He’s got a little eight-feet dribbler down the green. His gentle prod looks like dropping all the way, but the ball does a full 360 around the cup and stops up. That is so unlucky. Just the par. Cantlay birdies, though, having landed a gorgeous soft chip to a couple of feet, and he’s closing on on the lead. Im’s heading the other way, though, another weak chip costing him, this time at 1.
-8: D Johnson (12*)
-7: Ancer (14*), Thomas (13*), Frittelli (12), Cantlay (12*), Casey
-6: Willett (15*), Im (10*)
McIlroy sends his chip at 3 a good 20 feet past the flag. It’s not the ideal spot, coming back down a glassy green. A two-putt par far from a gimme. But he nestles it close and taps in for a par that didn’t look likely when he was watching his tee shot sail off towards woody bother. He remains at -2. A three-putt bogey for Cameron Smith at 14, meanwhile, and he slips back to -4.
A couple of decent birdie chances slip by. Justin Thomas at 3; Tommy Fleetwood at 14. They remain at -7 and -5 respectively. McIlroy, fresh off birdie at 2, slices big into the trees down the left of the risk-and-reward par-four 3rd ... and gets a huge break as his ball caroms off the pines and back out to the fairway, stopping at the bottom of the bank in front of the green. Not a bad place to be at all.
Dustin can’t make his 20-foot birdie putt on 2. Like Koepka before him, he’s walking off the easiest hole on the course with only a par. He’s not taken advantage of the par-fives today: that follows his soggy bogey at 15. He remains in the lead at -8, though. Bogey for Koepka at 3 meanwhile and he’s back to -4.
It’s almost impossible for DJ to stop his sand splash anywhere near the hole. He does extremely well to stop it rolling further than 20 feet past. Meanwhile a bogey for Im on 18, the punishment for an excitable approach that toppled over the back.
-8: D Johnson (10*)
-7: Ancer (13*), Thomas (11*), Frittelli (10), Im (9*), Casey
Dustin may be in the process of buggering up the 2nd as well. After a trademark blooter of a drive down the middle, he slam-dunks his second into the bunker guarding the front right of the green. He’s shortsided himself there. Not a lot of green to play with. A job to get up and down for birdie. Meanwhile up on the testing 5th, the 2016 champ Danny Willett caresses his second to eight feet, then prods with great uncertainty at the birdie effort. Par, but a great chance to snatch nearly one-and-a-quarter strokes on the field is gone. He remains at -6.
Koepka plays the par-five 2nd in very strange fashion. He pulls his drive into the first cut down the left. He’s not got any view of the green, but hooks around the trees towards the front. Then he clunks an uncharacteristically awful chip 30 feet past the flag. Finally he nearly drains the putt coming back, but it rolls around the edge of the cup and stops tantalisingly on the lip. He taps in for par, remaining at -5, and that’s giving over half a stroke back to the field on the easiest hole on the course. Birdie for JT, who claws back one of the shots he’d just dropped. He’s just one off the lead again at -7.
A good up and down from the side of 17 by the co-leader Im. DJ fails to hit a birdie opportunity at 1. Dylan Frittelli follows up birdie at 8 by rolling in a 20-footer across 10 for another. He’s back where he started the round. Justin Rose misses a short birdie putt on 18 and turns in 37, -4 for the tournament. And Phil Mickelson is going backwards, sandwiching birdie at 2 with birdies at 1 and 3. He’s -3. Here’s where we are.
-8: D Johnson (10*), Im (8*)
-7: Ancer (12*), Frittelli (10), Casey~
-6: Willett (13*), Augenstein -a- (13*), Thomas (10*)
Thank you sir. Back just in time to see Brooks Koepka, who smoothly sent his second from the second cut down the left of 1 to eight feet, tidy up for birdie. That moves him to -5, just three off the lead, a state of affairs that seemed barely possible when he was standing on the 15th tee at +2. JT can’t get up and down from the back, though, and you can trace that double-bogey back to his wild drive. He slips out of the lead to -6.
Anyway, no more rhetorical questions from me. I’m going to hand you back to the master himself. Ladies and gents, it’s Scott Murray...
Quick Rory update. He completes his first nine, the back, in 4-under to climb from 3-over to 1-under. That’s currently worth tied 40th and seven off the pace. Problem is, he’s now about to embark on the half of the course where he’s struggled. Would he take 1-under on this nine and then gear himself for a weekend challenge? Or will he be chasing something around 3-under on 1-9, knowing that he needs to cash in now while he’s on a roll?
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Danny Willett is on fire. The 2016 Masters champion won the Green Jacket four years ago with a 72-hole score of 5-under. Today, he’s played his last nine holes in a slightly ridiculous 7-under thanks to an eagle and five birdies, the latest two par breakers coming at 2 and 3. From nowhere, he’s just one off the lead. Amazing stuff.
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Justin Thomas may or may not have been called ‘Tommy’ in his youth. But he’s gone all pinball wizard at No.1. Playing from the pines, he pulls back the spring, releases and his ball ricochets off a tree 30 yards away, flying to the right. JT has another go and sends his third to the par-4 opener off the back of the green. Bogey at best now.
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The live mic now on Patrick Cantlay as he prepares to hit his second to 18. He’s having a lengthy chat with his caddie. First thought: you wouldn’t want to be stuck in a lift with him. Second thought: overthinking often backfires. He finally pulls the trigger and dumps his approach into the right bunker.
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It’s a three-way tie at the top! After Dustin Johnson lost some focus and made consecutive bogeys when hitting double digits under par, he’s been joined at -8 by compatriot Justin Thomas and Korean Sungjae Im. Thomas’ birdie streak is now four after another at 18 (although a loose drive into the trees down the left at No.1 suggests he won’t extend it to five). Im has just gone birdie-bogey-birdie-birdie at 12-15. March’s Honda Classic winner hasn’t got the hang of majors up to this point (four MCs and no top 20s in six starts) but he’s having a Masters debut to remember so far.
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Fantastic stuff from Rory. This has a Royal Portrush vibe; terrible first round before a dramatic revival. Hopefully the outcome is different this time though as McIlroy missed the cut in that 2019 Open Championship. Here, he’s the right side of the cut line for the first time in (checks watch but no answer) a while thanks to a 20-footer for birdie at 17. McIlroy was all over the place near the end of round one but he’s playing this same stretch (the back nine) superbly. A birdie at 18 and he’ll be out in just 31 blows. What a man. Having no time to think between rounds has clearly helped. No questions from the pesky press to further stir those inner demons.
Talking of eating hats, that brings to mind Stan Laurel being forced to eat his bowler hat after losing a bet with Oliver Hardy in ‘Way Out West’. Ollie is a well-known figure in these parts. Why? He was born in nearby Harlem and there’s a Laurel and Hardy museum just a 30-minute drive along the I-20 from Augusta National.
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Some numbers to help us find the winner from here...
70, 69, 71, 70, 64, 69, 69, 69, 69, 67
11-4-4-9-1-2-10-4-7-2
The first batch are scores shot by the last 10 winners in round one. The second is their position after 18 holes. It seems that the best first-round number to shoot is 69. Those who like a bit of mode rather than mean or median include Jon Rahm, Phil Mickelson and Tony Finau. They all fired 3-under. The other take is that you need to be in the top dozen after 18 holes. With scoring low this year, that means 68 or lower. Those who managed that: 65 Paul Casey, Dustin Johnson, Dylan Frittelli, 66 Justin Thomas, Sungjae Im, 67 Cameron Smith, Justin Rose, Webb Simpson, Xander Schauffele, 68 Tiger Woods, Patrick Reed, Louis Oosthuizen, Lee Westwood, Hideki Matsuyama, Cameron Champ, Abraham Ancer and, erm, Bernhard Langer. If the winner isn’t in that lot, I’ll eat my hat.
Frustration for both Rory and DJ at the par-3 16th. Rory’s birdie try dribbles right and Johnson’s won’t quite dribble enough after starting left. The third member of the gang, Patrick Cantlay, has an easier putt and the quiet man of American golf is now making some noise. Birdies at 13, 15 and 16 have taken him to -5 and just three back. Justin Thomas has an even better streak going after a sexy three-in-row run at 15, 16 and 17 takes him just one back.
The English challenge is gathering pace. Paul Casey (65) and Lee Westwood (68) had excellent opening rounds but they’ve now been joined in the top 12 by 2016 Masters winner Danny Willett and Tommy Fleetwood. The latter duo have both played their first nines (Willett the back and Fleetwood the front) in 3-under to reach 4-under, good enough for T11. Willett deserves a big pat on the back after starting round two with a double bogey.
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Rory getting his schizzle together. Birdies at 10, 12 and now 15 following a lovely pitch down the green and calm putt have hauled him back to even par and tied 52nd. Only the top 50 and ties make the weekend so McIlroy can’t take his foot off the gas yet. He’s now eight behind leader Dustin Johnson, who takes a messy bogey at classic birdie hole, 15. That’s back-to-back scorecard squares for DJ. Where’s this come from? Showing notable panic (not really), he then floats his tee-shot right over the flag at 16. An obvious chance for a bounceback birdie.
Here’s a fun fact. Well, there are probably better ways to lighten your day, but let’s reveal it anyway. While it’s easy to get caught up in the thrills of birdies and eagles, the Masters winner is often the one who makes the fewest mistakes. The evidence: seven of the last 12 Masters winners ranked No.1 in Bogey Avoidance for the week. There’s also a magic number associated with all this. In total, 11 of the last 12 Masters winners didn’t rack up a bogey or worse count of more than +10 for the week. In other words, you could have maybe eight bogeys and a double bogey over the 72 holes and just about get away with it. Even three doubles and four bogeys would scrape in. But when that count goes to +11, a klaxon sounds. A klaxon that says You’re Not Winning. Which is a long-winded way of saying Rory has had it. His bogey or worse count of +5 in round one means he’s used up 50% of his allocation. Tiger’s count is zero after his first bogey-free round in a major since 2009. I’m sure John King would have said it more eloquently than this.
Thanks Scott and hello viewers. And as I join you there’s fresh drama as Dustin Johnson finds water at 15 while, at the hole ahead, Justin Thomas rolls in his birdie to get to -6. A gap was opening up between the two American big guns but that could be down to just two if DJ can’t get up and down. And that may well be the case with Johnson facing around 10 feet for his par 5.
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Thomas looks to be well over his slow start to the second round. His tee shot at 16 gathers down towards the cup and for a second looks like dropping in for an ace. But it stops a couple of feet from the flag. He’ll tidy that up for another birdie, one that’ll take him back to where he started the second round at -6. Meanwhile Im Sung-jae follows up his birdie at 12 with another at 13 ... and at -8 the 22-year-old Korean is one shot off DJ’s lead! This is hotting up nicely, and we’re not even nine holes into the first wave of the second round. The majesty of the Masters, right there.
On that subject, here comes the majestic David Tindall, who’ll take you through the next hour of action. See you again soon!
Bogey for Smith at 7. He drops out of a share of second, to -6. Only his second bogey of the week. Birdie for Ancer at 16 and he reaches the same mark. Frittelli meanwhile can’t relocate his first-round mojo. He’s begun his second round bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey. He’s currently -5 for the tournament through the first five holes.
DJ drops his first shot of this year’s Masters at 14. He pulls his approach into the green, and is lucky that his ball stays on top; it’s inches away from toppling down a ridge and back down the fairway. But he doesn’t take advantage of his good fortune, and a three-putt bogey slips him back to -9. Meanwhile up on 15, Brooks Koepka birdies, and he’s suddenly only five off the lead at -4. Birdie for Justin Thomas, too, and he’s -5.
And another! Augenstein sends his second at 17 from 140 yards to four feet. The birdie moves him up to -6, a tie for fifth. Augusta National co-founder Bobby Jones would surely approve. No amateur has ever won the Masters, though Frank Stranahan (1947) and Ken Venturi (1956) both finished as runner-up. Venturi really should have won, taking a four-shot lead into the final round in ‘56, only to crumble to an 80. Like Rory McIlroy years later, he’d later bounce back from fourth-round Masters misery with a US Open win at Congressional, but I’m going well off piste now. Back to the future, then.
Another birdie for the amateur John Augenstein! He clips his tee shot at 16 to three feet, and in goes the putt that takes him into a tie for sixth at -5. This is a fantastic effort by the 23-year-old, making his Masters debut after making the final of last year’s US Amateur. Also rising to -5: Phil Mickelson, who birdies the par-five 15th. And a birdie at 12 for Im, after he sticks his tee shot to five feet! An exciting leader board for various reasons, though DJ is very much in control of it right now. But you know how quickly things can change around Augusta.
-10: D Johnson (4*)
-7: Smith (6), Im (3*), Casey
-5: Augenstein -a- (7*), Mickelson (6*), Ancer (6*), Frittelli (4), Simpson, Schauffele
McIlroy wedges pin high at 13 to 12 feet. Great chance for birdie, though the putt across the green is treacherous. He taps it gently, but it’s always sliding right. He makes do with par and remains at +1. He’s now 11 strokes behind Dustin Johnson, who birdies the hole in an extremely insouciant manner. At -10, he’s now three clear of Smith and Casey. Birdie for Cantlay too; he rises to -4.
-10: D Johnson (4*)
-7: Smith (5), Casey
Tommy Fleetwood completed a garden-variety 71 this morning. He quickly slipped back to level par with bogey at 1, but he’s subsequently carded three birdies in a row, the last of those the reward for curving a huge right-to-left breaker across the back of the par-three 4th. He’s now -3 through 6.
Elsewhere, birdies at 12 and 14 for Abraham Ancer, offsetting an opening second-round bogey at 10. The 29-year-old Mexican, who has no history to speak of in the majors, is threatening to make some this week. He’s -5. Speaking of those seeking to lay waste to history: here’s 63-year-old Bernhard Langer. He’s level par through his first four second-round holes: bogey-birdie-birdie-bogey. He remains -4 through 4.
Koepka nearly curls his 12-foot left-to-right eagle effort into the cup at 13. But it stays up on the high side, and birdie will have to do. He’s -3 and heading purposefully in the right direction today. Back up the hole, McIlroy, understandably spooked by the appalling hook into the woods of earlier, sends his drive into the pines on the right. He’s got an easy bump-and-run out and down the fairway, though, and will be wedging in three.
Thomas is threatening to make a right pig’s lug of this 13th hole. He has an easy wedge into the green, but only just makes the green. He’s imparted so much backspin onto the ball that it will surely end up in Rae’s Creek ... but the slightly longer grass on the bank holds it up! Shades of Fred Couples at 12 in 1992. He takes a chip and a putt, and takes his leave of the hole in a mood, but that could have been a lot worse in the end. He slips to -4. Fitzpatrick bogeys also, and he’s +3, unlikely to be here for the weekend unless he gets his act together quicksmart.
Fitzpatrick had also hit his drive into the oomska down the left of 13. So while he and Thomas figure out what to do, Koepka, never one for fannying around, plays some ready golf and whips his second pin high. He’ll have a look at eagle from 12 feet! Thomas takes a drop way back and sends his third down the fairway, hoping to get up and down for par. Ditto Fitzpatrick, who’ll also have some work to do.
McIlroy guides his right-to-left birdie effort into the cup at 12. That’s two fine birdies and a save in his first three holes. Too little, too late, almost certainly, because at +1 he’s still ten shots off the lead, his partner Dustin Johnson rolling his rock into the hole from ten feet. Meanwhile another birdie for Cameron Smith, at 4, and he grabs a share of second.
-9: D Johnson (3*)
-7: Smith (4), Casey
-6: Im (1*)
Up on 13, Thomas hooks into McIlroy Country down the left. Good luck with that. Back on 12, the man himself lands his tee shot 12 feet from the flag. It’s one of three fine shots, Cantlay and DJ also giving themselves good looks at birdie.
McIlroy sends his second at 11 towards the Mize Valley. He elects to putt up, and leaves himself eight feet short, but makes the par saver to remain at +2. Birdies for both Cantlay and DJ, though, reward for two superb approaches. Cantlay moves to -2, while the world number one hits the lead!
-8: D Johnson (2*)
-7: Casey
-6: Smith (3), Frittelli (1), Im
Thomas and Koepka send their tee shots at 12 over the flag, landing 20 feet past. Thomas’s right-to-left curler stays one inch high; he taps in for par and remains -5. Koepka, having gone to school on his compatriot’s putt, rolls it in for birdie. He’s back to -2.
You may remember the US Amateur runner-up John Augenstein chipping in earlier at 13 for eagle. He parred his way home for a 69, and now the 23-year-old Kentuckian enjoys the hole again, making birdie to move into the top ten! He’s -4.
The other featured group of the morning wave: Justin Thomas (-5), Matthew Fitzpatrick (+2) and Brooks Koepka (-1). All three par 11. Back up the hole, with barely a wisp of wind breathing through Amen Corner, McIlroy wangs his drive into the trees down the right. But he gets a lucky bounce back out, into the second cut. It’s not the ideal angle to come in, with the water on the left, but it’s better than nothing.
McIlroy strokes his birdie putt at 10 into the cup without any fuss. Yes, I know exactly what you’re thinking. Me too. Shall we make a pact, though? Let’s not do this to ourselves. Promise. He’s +2. Also in this featured group: bogey for Patrick Cantlay, who drops to -1, and par for Dustin Johnson, who remains -7.
Birdie for Cameron Smith at 2. The 27-year-old Australian played the front nine holes in 31 strokes this morning, so what an opportunity to do it all again while his eye’s in. He’s -6, one off the lead ... and he’s joined there by Dylan Frittelli, who drives into trouble down the left of 1, the bogey costing him a share of the lead.
-7: Casey, D Johnson
-6: Smith (2), Frittelli (1), Im
McIlroy has little to lose after that morning meltdown. The pressure off, he crashes a drive down the middle of 10 - why didn’t he do that in 2011?! - then whips his second pin high to ten feet. His game’s surely not in good enough nick right now to launch an absurd comeback ... but then this is the whole point of sport, a world in which these things happen. Having said all that, here’s Simon McMahon: “Loving ‘Where’s Rory?’, need to get the book ready in time for Christmas. A guaranteed bestseller, and the perfect stocking filler companion to The Phantom of the Open. Plus it got me wondering, I’m old enough to remember when coloured golf balls were a thing, but has anyone ever played with a green ball? Rory would be as well to sometimes.”
The second round, then ...
... and Justin Thomas moves backwards immediately with bogey at 10. He slips to -5. His playing partner Brooks Koepka also drops a shot, immediately undoing some of his marvellous early-morning work to drop to -1. He’d have taken the position he’s in right now when standing on the 15th tee earlier at +2, but still.
Im salvages his par at 18, working his second around the trees, then getting up and down from the front. So here’s where we are right now, with the first round completed and a few early second-round matches out on the course.
-7: Casey, Frittelli, D Johnson
-6: Thomas, Im
-5: Smith (1), Rose, Simpson, Schauffele
-4: Munoz (2), Mickelson (2*), Champ, Matsuyama, Oosthuizen, Westwood, Reed, Woods
Some early second-round news. Sebastian Munoz birdies 1 and 2 to move to -4. The 27-year-old Colombian shot 70 on his very first competitive round at the Masters. Phil Mickelson meanwhile birdies 10, having sent his second from 190 yards to ten feet. He makes the putt to move back to -4. Rickie Fowler, coming off the back of a first-round 70, birdies 11; he’s -3. But Matthew Wolff is heading in the wrong direction. He didn’t have a great morning as he completed his first round, bogeying 4 and 9 to end up with a slightly disappointing 70, and he’s followed that up with a bogey at 1. He’s -1.
An opening round of 68 for Cameron Champ. His playing partner Justin Rose gets up and down from the bunker guarding the front of 18 for a par and a 67. Back down the hole, Im sends his drive into the first cut down the right, and may have blocked his route into the green. He needs a par for a 66 and a share of fourth, one off the lead.
There’s one big advantage for the lads turning around quickly this morning. They’ll benefit from a softer course, allowing them to continue attacking the flags while the going’s good. It’s expected to become a little drier later on, and a wee bit harder to hold the greens. Relatively speaking, that is: it’ll still be soft by normal Augusta National standards. As the week goes on, and we get further and further away from yesterday’s deluge, the course is expected to act more like its old self.
Dustin Johnson shows McIlroy what’s what. He gently lands his approach 15 feet past the flag, then teases in the downhill putt for his fifth birdie this morning. He becomes the third player to sign for a 65. His card is blemish-free as well. The world number one might take some stopping.
-7: Casey (F), Frittelli (F), D Johnson (F)
-6: Thomas (F), Im (16)
-5: Simpson (F), Schauffele (F), Smith (F), Rose (17)
McIlroy plays the 18th in farcical style. He lands his second by the flag, but spins it 50 yards off the green and back down the hole. Then he hits the flagstick with his chip, a rare sighting of his short game. He taps in for a dismal 75, and I doubt very much he’ll be looking forward to going straight back to the 10th tee in 30 minutes or so.
Im responds to his dropped shot at 15 by landing his tee shot 20 feet from the 16th flag ... and calmly rolling in the putt. He’s back to -6. Meanwhile on 9, Frittelli leaves a straight 15-foot birdie putt one dimple short, and he’ll have to settle for a 65 and a share of the first-round lead at -7.
Birdie for Brooks Koepka at the last, and what a morning he’s had! He’s finished eagle-birdie-par-birdie, back in 33 and signing for 70. He’s -2 and that’s a battling statement of intent by last year’s runner-up that the rest of the field will have noticed. Par meanwhile for Justin Thomas, who will be delighted with his 66.
Par at the last for Bernhard Langer, and the German living legend signs for an out-of-this-world 68. It’s his first opening round in the 60s at Augusta since 1993, when he last went on to win. A sign from the golfing gods? Well, you’d love to think so, but he’ll be back on the 1st tee for his second round in just over half an hour, which is asking a lot for a 63-year-old, even one who keeps himself in tip-top shape. God speed, Bernhard.
Im Sung-jae dunks his second in the water at 15, and there goes a shot on the third-easiest hole on the course. The young South Korean slips back to -5.
The PGA champion Collin Morikawa ends with a par on 18 and a two-under 70. Bogey for Adam Scott, though, and he’s signing for a 70 as well. Meanwhile a three-putt par for the co-leader Dylan Frittelli on 8. He walks off ever-so-slightly irritated, having passed up a good chance to grab sole ownership of the lead. He remains at -7 alongside Paul Casey.
McIlroy drains his long bogey putt from the fringe of 16. He has the good grace not to celebrate as he drops back to +3. Langer isn’t going away, though. Having dropped a stroke at 7 after failing to get out of a bunker, he comes back with a vengeance at the par-five 8th. The birdie takes him back to -4. And Cameron Smith, who finished tied fifth a couple of years ago after a 66 on Sunday, whips his approach at 9 to three feet and tidies up for birdie. It’s the 27-year-old Aussie’s fifth on the back nine, and he’s home in 31, signing for a 67. It’s a good-looking leader board, this:
-7: Casey (F), Frittelli (16*)
-6: Thomas (17), D Johnson (16), Im (14)
-5: Simpson (F), Schauffele (F), Smith (F), Rose (15)
“That’s so bad. Oh my god.” Rory tugs a dreadful 8-iron at 16 into the drink. His next attempt from the drop zone doesn’t go anywhere close. His head drops as he considers the shocking state of his game. Meanwhile up on 18, Abraham Ancer holes a straight 12-footer for his fourth birdie in the last six holes. He’s back in 33 and signing for a four-under 68. But it’s a dropped shot for his playing partner Phil Mickelson, who pulls his approach into sand on the right, chips out wonderfully, and yips the short par saver. He’s signing for a 69 and looks thoroughly miserable at the denouement to an otherwise fine round.
DJ is on one. He gracefully clips his tee shot at 16 straight at the flag. An easy-as-you-like 8-iron. He’ll kick that one in for another birdie and will be moving to -6 shortly. Meanwhile the new PGA champion Collin Morikawa has been on an eventful run this morning: birdies at 13 and 14, bogey at 15 and now another birdie at 17, the latest a result of whipping a notoriously difficult approach to a couple of feet. He’s -2.
Koepka follows his eagle at 15 with birdie at 16. All of a sudden, he’s hauled himself back into this tournament, and for the first time he’s in red figures: -1. Meanwhile back on 15, a birdie for McIlroy, who had found the dancefloor in two. He’s back to +2, but doesn’t celebrate, knowing full well that there’s almost certainly too much damage to repair.
Dustin Johnson is sauntering around Augusta without too much of a care. He tickles in a downhill left-to-right slider on 15 for another birdie. He’s yet to drop a shot, and joins Simpson, Schauffele and Rose at -5.
An extremely deserved bounce-back birdie for Adam Scott. Taking the awful luck at 15 on the chin, he rolls in a 25-footer from the fringe at 16 to move back up to -3. Meanwhile another birdie for Phil Mickelson, who appears to be in the mood for this. He’s -4 through 17.
Birdie for Justin Thomas at 15, the result of a lovely chip that nearly ended up in the cup. His playing partner Brooks Koepka makes eagle, having swiped his second to ten feet, and his hopes aren’t quite extinguished yet. He’s suddenly back to level par, and a strong finish could shape the rest of his week.
-7: Casey (F), Frittelli (15*)
-6: Thomas (15), Im (13)
Dylan Frittelli grabs a share of Paul Casey’s lead by knocking his tee shot at the par-three 6th to 12 feet and calmly rolling in the putt. Meanwhile Im Sung-jae is hot on his tail, taking a couple of calm putts for birdie on 13 after reaching the green in two. And coming after Im, Cameron Champ nearly holes out from the fairway for eagle. The ball clanks the flag and stays up, but he’ll be moving to -4 very shortly.
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So perhaps we were a bit hasty in suggesting Hatton has his noggin under full control these days. He tugs his tee shot at 16 into the water, and then sets about his immediate environs with his club. Oh Tyrrell! But we feel his pain. Don’t tell anyone on the committee, but we’ve all helicoptered clubs into thickets, right?
McIlroy is a complete non-event. Having visited the trees again, this time on 14, he fails to get up and down from the back and that’s yet another stroke shed in double-quick time. He’s +3. It’s over. But our new children’s puzzle franchise isn’t! So let’s play Where’s Rory? again. Where’s Rory in this one? Can you spot him, kids?
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A watery grave for Adam Scott on 15. The 2013 champion’s second doesn’t have enough juice, hitting the bank and rolling back into the drink. Then from the drop zone, his fourth clanks into the flagstick, spinning back violently and into the deep blue again. He’s still got three to go if he wants to match Sergio’s total as defending champion in 2018, our hapless hero finding water five times on this hole en route to a record-equalling 13. Ah, Sergio needn’t worry, his place in the record books is secure. Scott clips his sixth to 12 feet and rolls in the putt. It’s a double bogey seven, and he slips to -2. Just a few yards off with his first approach, and outrageous luck with a chip; it doesn’t take much for things to unravel around Augusta. Scott is going round with Tyrrell Hatton, who hit a much better approach into the green, only to see his ball gather back towards the briny. He scrambles for par, though, and remains at -1. In the past, Hatton’s head might have gone; that’s a fine level-headed salvage job.
Rose rolls his eagle putt on 13 up to a couple of feet, and knocks in what’s left. Birdie; he’s -5. Also moving the correct way: Abraham Ancer. The 29-year-old Mexican birdies 13, 14 and 15 to rise to -3. And he’s joined there by Phil Mickelson, whose attempt to become the oldest major-winner of all time is a live one. Birdie at 16 for Lefty.
Last night, Justin Rose achieved what Rory just couldn’t; a scrambled par after some high-grade nonsense. Having hooked into trees on 8, he bladed a chip, then duffed one coming back, before nailing an absurd par saver. A pivotal moment, perhaps, because he birdied 9 before sundown, and this morning he’s kept the momentum going. Birdie on 12, and now he’s on the 13th in two. A look at eagle coming up from 30 feet.
Nope. McIlroy’s par putt slides harmlessly by the hole, and that’s another shot gone on a hole that’s averaging 4.5. Losing over a shot to the field on the third-easiest hole on the course isn’t championship form. He’s +2.
Where’s Rory? This would make a good children’s puzzle book. Can you spot him, kids?
Ah there he is! He’s deep in the green jungle, camoflauged in forest hues. He’s found his ball and is forced to take a drop - and politely apologies to the rules official when a branch threatens to dirty his lovely green jacket. He drops in a small clearing, then punches out back onto the fairway. He chips his fourth into the heart of the green, and will have the chance to salvage an outrageous par.
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Tell you whose week it most certainly won’t be: Rory McIlroy. If you thought his tee shot towards the cabins at 10 on that fateful Sunday in 2011 was bad, you should see what he’s just done at 13. Trying to force things at +1, he sends a snap-hook over Rae’s Creek and deep into the verdant funk. He’ll do well to find that, and slams an apologetic provisional down the track. Not for the first time here, McIlroy is proving difficult to watch.
It doesn’t look like Koepka’s week. Desperately seeking some forward momentum at +2, he lands his third at the par-five 13th six inches past the cup, then watches his ball spin back, hit the flagstick, but refuse to drop and roll six feet away. He gnaws on his glove like a determined puppy. How he could have done with a hole-out for eagle. He should still get his birdie, though. Stay tuned.
Also on the charge: Dylan Frittelli. He’s followed up that birdie at 1 with another at the generous par-five 2nd. He snatches second place for himself. Look at the 1985 and 1993 champion Bernhard Langer, 63, though, alongside the world number one, the big-hitting Dustin Johnson. Golf is an amazing, unique, beautiful sport.
-7: Casey (F)
-6: Frittelli (11*)
-5: Simpson (F), Schauffele (F), Thomas (12), Im (10)
-4: Matsuyama (F), Westwood (F), Oosthuizen (F), Reed (F), Woods (F), Scott (13), Langer (12*), D Johnson (12)
Check out this charge by last year’s rookie of the year Im Sung-jae! He’s just birdied four holes in a row, the last the result of a chip in from the bank at the front of 10! Things are beginning to happen this year for the 22-year-old South Korean. His 22nd place at the recent US Open was his best finish in the majors to date, and he won his first PGA Tour event at the Honda Classic back in March. He’s now two off the lead on his Masters debut at -5!
Thomas doesn’t quite hit his birdie effort on 12. One more joule of energy and it would have maintained its line and dropped. As it is, it dies to the left and Thomas swings his putter around in baroque frustration. He’s -5. Koepka meanwhile chips up to a couple of feet and scrambles his par to stay at +2. Across on the 11th, McIlroy sends a hot putt from the fringe eight feet past the hole. He rolls in the one coming back to save his par, and blows his cheeks out hard. He knows he’s clinging on by his fingernails, and needs something big to happen on the two par-fives coming up soon. He remains at +1.
Speaking of Thomas, he isn’t able to make his birdie putt on 11, the ball drifting by the right of the cup. But he’s going to get another chance on 12, easing a 9-iron into the heart of the green and leaving himself a 15-footer. He’s going round with Brooks Koepka, one of last year’s runners-up. The four-time major winner is struggling with his form of late, and it’s not going well here. Already two over, he sends his tee shot at 12 over the back. He imparts so much backspin on the ball it nearly makes its way back up the slope and onto the green, but that would have been an outrage too far. He’ll have his work cut out to get up and down.
Bernhard Langer is 63 years of age. He’s just followed up last night’s late birdie on 1 with another at 2. This is astonishing. He’s -4. At the other end of the scale, here’s John Augenstein, who is making his Masters debut at the age of 23 after reaching the final of last year’s US Amateur. A good friend of Justin Thomas, he’s just earned himself some crystal after chipping in from sand to the left of 13 for eagle. He’s -3 and the only amateur in red figures right now.
The 30-year-old South African Dylan Frittelli was in sensational form yesterday evening. Eagle on 13, birdies on 14 and 15, then another on 16 when he was an inch or so away from an ace. He kept his momentum going with a fine up-and-down from the bunker to the right of 18 before the klaxon sounded, and now he’s opened up by sliding in a 20-footer on the 1st to move into a tie for second at -5.
McIlroy can’t make his par putt on 10. He slips back to +1 and needs something to happen quickly, given the low scoring elsewhere, or he’ll need to start thinking about completing this career slam next April. Meanwhile on 12, Mickelson gets up and down easily enough and remains at -1.
At five under, Justin Thomas is the hottest property out on the course right now. He was going along like a train yesterday, and picks up where he left off. His tee shot at 11 leaks a little left, but he whips his second into the heart of the green and will have a good look at birdie from 20 feet or so. Here’s a reminder of where we are at the moment:
-7: Casey (F)
-5: Simpson (F), Schauffele (F), Thomas (10)
-4: Matsuyama (F), Westwood (F), Oosthuizen (F), Reed (F), Woods (F), Wolff (11*), Scott (10), Frittelli (9*)
-3: Janewattananond (F), Rahm (F), Wallace (F), Fowler (11), Langer (10*), D Johnson (9), Rose (9)
If McIlroy’s opening shot this morning was tricky, Phil Mickelson’s is something to behold. It’s the tee shot at the famous par-three 12th. Even three-time Masters champions get jittery over this one, and he pulls one that only just gets over the water. He’ll need to get up and down from the fringe to stay at -1.
Play resumes with Rory McIlroy’s head poking out the top of the big bunker to the right of the 10th green. As first shots of the day go, it’s a doozy. He pops it out gently enough, but the ball still rolls a good 12 feet past the cup. He’ll have his work cut out to save his par and stay level. The next putt could set the course of the rest of his Masters.
Preamble
Welcome to day two of the 2020 Masters Tournament. We lost three hours to rain yesterday, so the schedule is now all out of whack. Paul Casey may have had the time to get home in 65 strokes, more than seven shots better than his career average around Augusta National, but plenty of others still have to complete their opening round. That resumes at 7.30am local time (12.30pm GMT) and the first wave of the second round will go out from 9.35am local (2.35pm GMT). The second round is extremely unlikely to be completed today, but we’re catching up and should be back on schedule by the end of Saturday. No need to worry about a Monday finish unless some freak, unexpected weather turns up. So let’s not hang about. The players are in position, ready to swing. It’s on!
The second round tee times:
(USA unless stated, all times local, -5hrs from GMT, -a- denotes amateurs)
Starting at hole 1
0935 Justin Harding (Rsa), Shugo Imahira (Jpn), Nick Taylor (Can)
0946 Chez Reavie, Sebastian Munoz (Col), Byeong-Hun An (Kor)
0957 Bubba Watson, Matthew Wolff, Tommy Fleetwood
1008 Francesco Molinari (Ita), Billy Horschel, Cameron Smith (Aus)
1019 Bernhard Langer (Ger), JT Poston, Christiaan Bezuidenhout (Rsa)
1030 Fred Couples, Max Homa, Dylan Frittelli (Rsa)
1041 Jose-Maria Olazabal (Spa), Andrew Putnam, -a- James Sugrue
1340 Sandy Lyle, Jimmy Walker, Yuxin Lin -a- (Chn)
1351 Webb Simpson, Marc Leishman (Aus), Hideki Matsuyama (Jpn)
1402 Kevin Kisner, Adam Hadwin (Can), Scottie Scheffler
1413 Jon Rahm (Spa), Bryson DeChambeau, Louis Oosthuizen (Rsa)
1424 Patrick Reed, Paul Casey, Tony Finau
1435 Tiger Woods, Shane Lowry, -a- Andy Ogletree
1446 Jordan Spieth, Gary Woodland, Ian Poulter
1457 Graeme McDowell, Si Woo Kim (Kor), Nate Lashley
Starting at hole 10
0935 Sung Kang (Kor), Erik Van Rooyen (Rsa)
0946 Danny Willett, Rickie Fowler, -a- John Augenstein
0957 Phil Mickelson, Abraham Ancer (Mex), Bernd Wiesberger (Aut)
1008 Adam Scott (Aus), Collin Morikawa, Tyrrell Hatton
1019 Justin Thomas, Matthew Fitzpatrick, Brooks Koepka
1030 Dustin Johnson, Patrick Cantlay, Rory McIlroy
1041 Zach Johnson, Justin Rose, Cameron Champ
1052 Victor Perez (Fra), Sungjae Im (Kor), Brendon Todd
1340 Lucas Glover, Corey Conners (Can), Cheng-Tsung Pan (Tai)
1351 Brandt Snedeker, Charles Howell III, Jazz Janewattananond (Tha)
1402 Larry Mize, Andrew Landry, -a- Lukas Michel (Aus)
1413 Matt Kuchar, Lee Westwood, Kevin Na
1424 Xander Schauffele, Jason Kokrak, Henrik Stenson (Swe)
1435 Charl Schwartzel (Rsa), Jason Day (Aus), -a- Abel Gallegos (Arg)
1446 Vijay Singh (Fij), Lanto Griffin, Tyler Duncan
1457 Mike Weir (Can), Rafael Cabrera-Bello (Spa), Matt Wallace
