Masters 2016: Day Two at Augusta

Masters 2016: Day Two – Highlight of the day

Given what went before, Ernie Els’ round of 73 was nothing short of heroic. He opened with a double-bogey six, meaning the 1st hole took him 15 shots to play twice. Had he made THAT two-footer on Thursday, he would have comfortably made the cut. Good luck, Ernie, in your fight against the yips.

Best shot

Rory’s second, with a fairway wood, to the 15th was the Northern Irishman at his very best. Playing into the wind, the hole was, for once, a genuine three-shorter for most of the field. Not Rory. He pounded a wood into the heart of the green and duly converted the two putt for a birdie.

Worst shot

Bryson DeChambeau was brilliant but his final tee shot of the day was a shocker – low and left, quickly. Back to the 18th tee he went – which is something you very rarely see. It cost him three shots and it could have been even worse.

Masters 2016: Day Two – talking point

The USP of the Masters is supposedly birdies and eagles, interspersed with the odd disaster. On Day Two, there were only three sub-par rounds, and every one of them a 71 (McIlroy, Merritt, D Johnson).

As we head into the weekend, only seven players are under par. It was windy, yes, but some extremely harsh pin positions didn’t help and with the course set up to be firm and the greens running so quickly it all made for a bit of a grind.

Expect much work behind the scenes overnight, some accessible pins and a very different story on Saturday. It might be a very good day to be out early and move through the field before anyone has really noticed.

We are surprised by

A top 10 going into the weekend that includes Bryson DeChambeau, Danny Lee, Scott Piercy, Hideki Matsuyama, Soren Kjeldsen and Kiradech Aphibarnrat. What no former champions and Augusta specialists Adam Scott, Bubba Watson, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Charl Schwartzel? No, not one of them.

We are not surprised by:

Massive galleries lining every fairway for what was Tom Watson’s final round in Major Championship golf. The 66-year-old wrapped up a Masters career that has taken in 43 instalments and brought him two Green Jackets (1977 & 1981).

He briefly threatened to make the cut but eventually finished at +8. Not that it mattered. There were tears on the 18th green, and why not. Thanks, Tom.

Masters 2016: Day Two – worst outfit

Only one contender here. Phil Mickelson pulls out some corkers from time and this all-grey ensemble was up there. The shoes, trousers and shirt would go with almost anything. Apart from each other. Really, what was he thinking of?

Masters 2016: Day Two commentary highlight

This isn’t quite commentary but hearing DeChambeau’s caddy explaining his player’s predicament on the 18th was brilliant. “We’ve got 265 yards,” he said. “To the front.” And this was his 4th shot.

Best tweet

Read more:

Masters 2016: Pictures from Day Two

Els: I couldn’t get the putter back

Masters 2016: Els proves he is a true champion