It’s hard to keep up with all the goings-on at Augusta – so let us keep you up to speed with what you may have missed in our daily Masters Report. Moving onto…
Masters Report Day 2
It was a thoroughly entertaining Friday at Augusta – and not all for the right reasons. We had wind, rain, and play was suspended twice for inclement weather. And that’s just the start of it…
So what happened?
Brooks Koepka wasn’t in the mood for slowing down on Friday as he burst into the solo lead in the hunt for a fifth major title and his first in four years.
The 32-year-old was solid as he was deadly on day two, making 14 pars, three birdies, and an eagle on the 8th hole to card a 67, taking the outright lead on 12-under-par.
After his round, Koepka provided more clarity on the rules issue that came up on hole 15 in the first round, where he and his caddie were cleared of passing on clubbing info to Gary Woodland.
Koepka showed the form that helped him to win four major titles, and he suggested if he remained injury-free during the last few years, he may have reconsidered moving to LIV Golf.
Jon Rahm birdied holes 8 and 9 to reach 9-under-par before play was suspended for the second time.
This halted the Spaniard’s tilt at a first Green Jacket, while the third of the trio of 18-hole leaders, Viktor Hovland, fell one shot back to 6-under-par before play was called with the Norwegian just past halfway through his round.
Rahm made a bogey on the 18th hole on Saturday morning to finish his second round on 10-under-par.
Koepka will enter the third round on a wet third day with a two-shot advantage.
Despite making bogey on 17 and 18, Tiger Woods finished on 3-over-par and crept into the cut. He has now equaled the record of 23 consecutive cuts made at the event by Gary Player and Fred Couples.
And how are our boys getting on?
Rory McIlroy’s ninth attempt at winning the Grand Slam ended with him missing the cut by miles after rounds of 72 and 77 saw him finish at 5-over. And, according to the Belfast Telegraph journalists sitting with NCG in the media centre this week, McIlroy was back home in Jupiter, Florida, before the horn went.
His fellow Northern Irishman, amateur Matt McClean, is also headed home, as is 2016 champion Danny Willett. Sandy Lyle’s final Masters appearance lasted just two days.
The English quartet of Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Tyrrell Hatton will provide the UK’s representation for the remainder of the week.
An amateur champion?
Take a bow, Sam Bennett. The US Amateur champion carded a second consecutive 68 to sit just four back of leader Koepka.
While it would take some effort to become the first amateur to win a men’s major in the modern era, we’ve been following this game far too long to know stranger things have happened.
Bennett’s mark of 8-under-par after 36 holes is the best score of any amateur in any major championship since Ken Venturi reached 9-under-par halfway through the 1956 Masters.
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LIV and die
If Greg Norman is to get his wish of LIV players storming the 18th green on Sunday, he’ll need a few of them to hang around and kick their heels for a couple of days.
Bryson DeChambeau’s miserable major run continues after back-to-back rounds of 74 meant he finished at 4-over-par (or 14-over-par if he’s still playing it as a par-67).
The 2020 US Open champ will miss the weekend for the first time at a tournament where he still hasn’t cracked the top 20, while fellow LIV stars Sergio Garcia, Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen, Thomas Pieters are also out.
Phil Mickelson has certainly proven the doubters wrong so far in Georgia. Lefty had carded rounds of 71 and 69 to position himself in the top 10.
In other news, Garcia was not happy when asked about the PGA Tour-LIV Golf divide – or lack thereof – at the Masters. You can read his full comments here.
What was the biggest talking point?
On a stop-start day in Georgia, the weather dominated the headlines. The action was stopped for the first time at 3.07pm local time, but this delay only lasted 21 minutes.
After play was suspended for the second time at 4.22pm, the second round was suspended until Saturday.
And it wasn’t just the golf the weather was spoiling, after three trees fell between the 16th green and 17th tee. Despite the worrying images, no one was hurt. You can read more behind the link.
Si Woo trolls Phil (probably)
If there was any question about where Si Woo Kim’s loyalties lie in golf’s current civil war, perhaps this tweet provides some clarity…
What was the best shot of the day?
Cameron Smith found the fairway bunker on the par-5 8th hole, but with a fairway wood, he hit a stunning approach to set up an eagle chance, which he promptly nailed…
And the best stat?
Brooks Koepka could join another illustrious major-winning club this week…
Alex Perry
