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Key events
A bogey-bogey finish for Phil Mickelson. He signs for a 75, but the 53-year-old Californian – three times a former champion – will nevertheless make the cut. Speaking of which, Jon Rahm’s chances of competing this weekend have just taken a positive turn, as he sends his third into 15 over the flag, and rolling in the 12-footer that remains. The defending champ is back to +4; the projected cut is currently +5.
On the subject of slow play, Tyrrell Hatton has been telling it as he sees it. Patrick Reed, Im Sung-jae and Kurt Kitayama are in his sights.
The pace of play is not the quickest. Understandably so, given the blustery conditions, but here we are. We should get everyone back in the big house by sundown – an hour and 20 minutes time, give or take – though it’ll possibly be nip and tuck.
A three-putt bogey for Cameron Smith at 13. He slips back to -1. Meanwhile up on 14, Rory McIlroy chips up from the back of the green only for his ball to take a sharp left and travel off down the Jon Rahm Highway. There goes that dream another shot. He’s +4. Scottie Scheffler meanwhile dinks his chip from the back to kick-in distance and remains at -6.
The conditions are hellishly difficult, but Scottie Scheffler is nevertheless getting a little ragged. His second into 14 disappears over the back. He’s not a million miles away from the flag, so will fancy getting close with the chip, but a look of vague concern washes across his face nevertheless.
Meanwhile our old pal Gary Naylor has clearly been watching too much 50th-anniversary-of-Abba’s-Waterloo programming on BBC Four, as you’ll see.
“In the always thrilling Eurovision voting,” he begins, “Albania or Montenegro or somebody always get a couple of big scores early and the camera picks them out in the Green Room, gurning and flashing Vs for victory. Ten votes on, they’re back in the pack and we catch a glimpse of them again, heads down, counting the minutes until they can get away.
“I think Majors have a similar deal. Early face on the leaderboard, plenty of TV even for big standard two putts. But we hear of a double-bogey, and the next we see of them, they’re missing a three-footer on the 18th and signing for a 76.
“Let’s hope it’s not Danny Willett’s fate.”
For the second time today, the defending champion Jon Rahm is made to look like a rank amateur by these absurdly difficult greens. He’s already putted off the 3rd green, his ball ending up 25 yards back down the fairway. Now a seven-foot par putt on 14 takes a sharp left turn and, grabbed by a ridge, rolls 18 feet away! Two putts later, that’s a double. As things stand, Rahm is +6 and will miss the cut.
Scheffler looks to have made his par saver, but it drifts to the right on the final turn. He grimaces in irritation; that’s his third bogey of the day. Par for McIlroy.
-6: Homa (F), DeChambeau (F), Scheffler (13)
-4: Hojgaard (F)
-3: Davis (F), Morikawa (F)
-2: Aberg (F), Fitzpatrick (13), Smith (12)
Scheffler drops and chops onto the green at 13. Not the perfect wedge, off the downslope near the creek, but he’s got it to ten feet and will have half a chance of escaping with par.
A huge unforced error by Scottie Scheffler on 13. Having battered a huge drive down the middle of the track, he sends his approach into Rae’s Creek for the second day in a row. However today it doesn’t ping out and stick on the bank. He’ll have to take a penalty drop. And meanwhile, who’s this coming up on the rail? It’s the 2022 Open champion, is who! Cameron Smith follows birdie at 9 with another at 12, and oh-so-quietly the 30-year-old Aussie is right in the mix at -2.
Matt Fitzpatrick nearly drains a 40-footer for birdie on 13. It drifts by the edge and he remains at -2. Meanwhile Ryan Fox pars the last, and signs for a 74 having dropped strokes at 11, 12 and 14 on the way back. He’s -1.
The destiny of the Silver Cup for low amateur has already been decided. Neal Shipley will be awarded it as the only amateur who’ll make the cut. He shot 76 today, after yesterday’s 71 put him comfortably above the line at +3.
Scottie Scheffler elects to putt from the fringe at the back. He sends a hot one eight feet past the hole. That’s not the greatest effort. But no matter! The one coming back drops into the plumb centre of the cup. He remains at -7. Rory McIlroy makes his missable par putt to complete a staunch up and down. He stays at +3.
The projected cut has moved out to +5. If that makes the likes of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm feel any better. Which it probably won’t. Then Rory doesn’t get the rub of the green An got on 16, his chip from the back of 12 hitting the flag but cannoning four feet off to the left. He’s not played well but he’s not had much luck either. It just doesn’t feel like his year (part 16 in an ongoing series).
The new sole leader Scottie Scheffler sends his tee shot at 12 over the flag, the ball resting in the first cut behind the green. Rory McIlroy meanwhile watches his ball topple off the back-left of the dancefloor. Meanwhile up on 16, An Byeong-hun sends a chip from the back of the green scampering into the cup at warp speed. Goodness knows where that would have ended up had it not hit the flagstick and disappeared. Probably not the water, but … well, you never know. It’s a birdie, and the Korean moves into red figures at -1.
McIlroy can’t make his bogey putt. He thinks there’s right-to-left break, but it’s bang straight. It’ll be a double, and as he slips to +3, the cut heaves into view. Par for Scottie, who now has the sole lead, because up on 18, Bryson balloons his second 65 feet past the flag. He leaves his first putt six feet short, and the next one is always staying on the high side. A bogey to close, his third in the last eight holes, and that’s a 73 to go alongside yesterday’s best-of-round 65. Still, while he no longer holds the overall lead, he’s joint leader in the clubhouse with Max Homa.
-7: Scheffler (11)
-6: Homa (F), DeChambeau (F)
-4: Hojgaard (F)
-3: Davis (F), Morikawa (F)
-2: Aberg (F), Fitzpatrick (12)
Scheffler lags a putt up from the fringe at 11 to a couple of feet. He’ll surely tidy up for par. McIlroy meanwhile drops and wedges to six feet, from where he’ll have a decent chance of salvaging bogey. “Your description of the high winds playing havoc with the scoring is taking me back to my Sega Mega Drive PGA Tour days,” begins Simon McMahon. “The wind arrow at the bottom of the screen would suddenly change direction, and increase, without warning, at the top of my backswing, resulting in me dumping my approach to the 18th at Sawgrass in the water. So I know exactly how these elite golfers feel.”
Rory McIlroy watches Scottie Scheffler send a low approach at 11 under the right-to-left wind and into the green … then sends his approach high into the air. The ball’s grabbed by the wind and flung into the drink to the left. He responds to a what-did-you-do-that-for-style question from his caddie with short shrift. The career slam looks at least another 12 months away.
The defending champion Jon Rahm is in danger of missing the cut. He only just gets onto the front of the 11th green with the pin tucked at the back. He’s left with a 72-foot putt … and leaves it 25 feet short. He nearly makes the par saver, but it stops on the lip. He’s now +4, right on the current cut line. Did the wind put Rahm off that first monster putt? There’s a case to be made. On Sky, Wayne Riley doesn’t think we’ve got to the stage of suspending play quite yet. But it’s close.
Bryson DeChambeau hits a 372-yard drive down 17. He chips up to six feet, but snatches at the straight birdie putt. The wind gets the blame. To be fair, it is blowing. But there goes a chance to take sole ownership of the lead. He remains at -7.
A dismal end to Danny Willett’s round. He gets a huge break after sending his tee shot into the trees down the right of 18, his ball almost making it to the 10th fairway, giving him a shot in. But he tugs at his second and sends it into the big bunker at the front of the green. His first effort to escape it hits the face and springs back. His second is a clean pick, and his ball sails 55 feet past. Running hot, he sends his bogey putt seven feet past the hole. True disaster looms, and two more putts later, that’s a triple-bogey seven. All of a sudden a decent second round is a three-over 75, and he ends the day at -1. The dream of a second Masters to go alongside his surprise 2016 victory has moved significantly to the “pipe” end of the scale.
The wind continues to whip around Augusta. The flagsticks are going through some proper stress tests. If play is suspended, it’d be a huge boost to the players out there, as they’d be coming out to finish their rounds, presumably tomorrow morning, in much better scoring conditions.
Here’s an instructive stat that illustrates how the high winds have done a number on the field today. Yesterday’s cumulative score by the field was +75. Today’s, including the conclusion of the first round, is +272. And on the par-three 16th, Gary Woodland prepares to putt, only for a gust of wind to take the ball 60 feet away! He replaces and makes his par. The conditions aren’t quite unplayable yet, but if this gets any worse the committee might have a decision to make.
McIlroy is up and out of his right-to-left swinger immediately. He’s sent it five feet past the hole. That’s an awful putt. He remains at +1. Scheffler however rolls his birdie effort in with ease. This is absurdly good. Meanwhile over at 16, DeChambeau flies the green and whistles his ball upside some poor patron’s nut. Thankfully no serious harm seems to be done, to either patron or player; Bryson nearly guides the chip from the fringe into the cup, but will settle for a par that seems about right all told.
-7: DeChambeau (16), Scheffler (10)
-6: Homa (F)
-4: Hojgaard (F), Willett (17)
-3: Davis (F), Morikawa (F)
-2: Aberg (F), Fitzpatrick (10)
Scottie Scheffler booms a 350-yard drive down 10. That’s 13 yards longer than anyone else has managed today. He then sends his second pin high from 137 yards to five feet. His playing partner Rory McIlroy is ten feet from the flag after two magnificent shots of his own; under normal circumstances he’d be within his rights to start doing laps of the Butler Cabin. But Scottie’s stuff is on a different level completely.
Bryson plays the 15th in atypical fashion. He lays up for a better angle to wedge across the water. He chips to eight feet … only for his birdie putt to somehow lip out. Let’s see how he plays it tomorrow, then. “The theme song!” cries Hans. “Where is it? I’m watching Swedish national broadcast and not once has the syrupy notes of ‘Augusta’ been heard. Is it the same for you? There’s no surer sign of spring than a disgruntled Rory to the tune of that lovely melody.” We aim to please, Hans. Here it is, for your leisure and pleasure, on a one-hour loop.
Rory McIlroy has been going slowly backwards today. Bogeys at 5 and 7. He’s got a great chance to snatch a shot back at 9, after wedging to eight feet, but he prods with great uncertainty at the ball, which is always heading right. Just a par, and he remains at +1. Subsequent theatrics suggest he thinks the extremely brisk wind affected the line, but Scottie Scheffler then steps up to make one from similar range and under similar conditions without too much fuss. Scheffler escapes the hole with a par, having earlier succumbed to the famous Greg Norman-bothering false front.
A strong finish to Tommy Fleetwood’s round. Birdie at 15 followed by another up the last, reward for an excellent approach to three feet, and Southport’s finest is -1 for the tournament. Nicely placed for Moving Day. But hold on! What’s happened to poor old Viktor Hovland? Having shot an opening one-under round of 71, he’s crashed down the standings to +6 after a mere seven holes of his second. Ah, the spirit broken by farcical events at 2, it would seem: a drive into unplayable filth down the left, then after taking relief, his next shot caroming off a tree and back into the oomska. He ended up with a triple-bogey eight, and has since taken four to get down from the fringe at 4. Throw in another couple of garden-variety bogeys, and there you have it. Why make changes to the swing, Viktor? Did Sandy Lyle’s career nosedive for nothing?
Collin Morikawa will enjoy his supper tonight. He creams his approach at 18 from 150 yards to 12 feet, and makes the birdie putt. He signs for a 70 to go alongside yesterday’s unheralded but highly decent 71. The former PGA and Open champion is in good position to take a tilt at part three of his career slam. He’s -3 going into the weekend.
DeChambeau nearly drains his par saver! A lovely putt that somehow horseshoes out. No idea how that didn’t drop. Just the one clear at the top now.
-7: DeChambeau (14)
-6: Homa (F), Scheffler (8)
-4: Hojgaard (F), Willett (15)
Trouble for the leader Bryson DeChambeau at 14. Having sent his tee shot into trees down the right, he hacks out to the bottom of a greenside swale. His chip up isn’t all that, and he’s fairly fortunate his ball doesn’t double back and end up at his feet again. But he’s left with a 20-footer for his par. Big putt coming up, especially because Scottie Scheffler has just made a bounceback birdie at the par-five 8th.
Jordan Spieth ends his week with a 74 to go alongside the 79 of earlier. No second win at Augusta for the 2015 champion, not yet, though he did make his mark with that quadruple-bogey nine at 15 this morning: he’s the only player in the last 20 years to make nine or more at that hole on two separate occasions.
A dispiriting, but also sort of uplifting, end to Ludvig Aberg’s round. He sends his tee shot at 18 into the trees down the right. Forced to chip out, his approach lands short, and his chip ends up 12 feet past the flag. Not great. But, staring double bogey in the face, he steers in the bogey putt to limit the damage. He signs for a best-of-day-to-date 69. The major-championship debutant clearly at home at this level … like that’s breaking news. What a talent! He’s -2 going into the weekend.
Tiger’s new record of 24 consecutive Masters cuts made, though. Just to put that into some context, he’s just beaten the record jointly held by himself, Fred Couples (1983-2007) and Gary Player (1959-1982). Tom Watson is next on the list with 21 (1975-1995).
Thanks Alex. Great stuff. Now then, what’s happened here, just as Scottie has dropped a shot on 7? It’s Bryson making birdie at 13, that’s what, despite flaying his drive deep into the pines. That’s not quite up there with Phil Mickelson’s jaw-dropping Lee Westwood-bothering efforts on the same hole in 2010, but it’s something … and here’s what the top of the leader board looks like now.
-8: DeChambeau (13)
-6: Homa (F)
-5: Scheffler (7)
-4: Hojgaard (F), Willett (14)
-3: Davis (F), Aberg (17), Fox (11)
-2: Morikawa (17), Cantlay (9), Zalatoris (8), Fitzpatrick (8)
Scheffler misses a difficult par putt on the seventh, so he’ll be dropping a shot. McIlroy’s woes continue with a missed putt for par as well. And with that, I’ll hand you back to the live Masters master, Scott Murray. Thanks for joining me for amateur hour.
Collin Morikawa moves to within four of the lead, on -3, after a fine, curving birdie putt on the 16th. He read that perfectly. Scheffler, having a tricky seventh, went from the woods to the sand and now to the rough edges of the green.
Woods keeps his focus to par the 18th and finish on +1. A very impressive display, considering everything. Tiger sets a new record for making Masters cuts, with 24, and the five-times champion will be back tomorrow.
Homa pars the 18th to finish his second round at -6. His attempt at a birdie was disrupted by a whipping wind which is blowing sand into players’ eyes and making play very tricky. Jason Day drops a shot on the 18th and finishes on +4. Tiger Woods is shielding his eyes from a minor sand storm in his face.
Homa is on the 18th. He finds the green out of the sand after a lovely shot which drifts slowly back towards the hole. He’ll be pleased with that shot. Scheffler, meanwhile, finds the woods off the tee at the seventh. He’ll be less pleased with that.
DeChambeau takes the sole lead at -7 after a birdie on 12. The American produced an immaculate approach then holds his nerve to hole the putt from reasonably close range.
What a sensational shot from Scheffler! A brilliant chip from a fiendish position on the sixth puts him within inches of the hole, and he taps home to save par. He’s sharing the lead on -6 with DeChambeau and Homa.
Jon Rahm’s struggles to defend his title continue. The big man is +3 now after he misses a short putt and bogies the sixth. He looks fairly exasperated.
Scheffler lips out a very short put for par and bogies the fifth. He looks understandably disappointed and he’s lost the sole lead at Augusta after holding it for not much more than a minute.
… as I type that, McIlroy hits a wonderful recovery shot to land right next to the hole. That’s what he can do at his best, but he’s struggling for consistency in his play thus far.
Rory McIroy is struggling at the fifth. He’s overhit his approach, it goes past the green and he’s in the rough. The Irishman is in a spot of bother there.
Many apologies to Danny Willett. Mentioning how well he’s been going seems to have put the hex on him. He sends his tee shot over the back of 12 and can’t get up and down to save his par. He slips back to -4.
… and with that, I’m handing over to Alex Reid for a bit. See you again soon!
The best round of the day so far has been posted by the 2018 champion Patrick Reed. A two-under 70 that brings him back to level par for the tournament.
Danny Willett is going along so nicely. Two fine shots into the centre of the 11th green; his 30-foot birdie putt only just dies to the left on its final turn. The 2016 champion remains at -5.
Back-to-back birdies for Ludvig Aberg. The Masters and major-championship debutant sends his second into the heart of the par-five 13th. Two careful putts later, he’s up to -2.
Just below that leading bunch, it’s a disappointing bogey-bogey finish for Nicolai Hojgaard. He’s in the clubhouse with a 73 to go with yesterday’s 67. He’s -4 overall and despite it all, you can bet the debutant would have taken that on Thursday morning. Meanwhile Ryan Fox, who was leading this tournament at one point yesterday at -5 after making eagle at 8, only to ship strokes at 13 and 16, makes his first birdie of the day at that same 8th hole. It’s been good to him, and he’s -4 overall. He’s been extremely steady so far, no bad attribute at Augusta National.
Bryson DeChambeau’s putter malfunctions for the third time this afternoon. Another shaky prod, this time back down 9. He leaves himself four feet short, but manages to make the par saver. It’s the mid-range putts rather than the short ones that he’s jittery over right now. He remains in a tie for the lead at -7. Meanwhile a fist-pump from Rory McIlroy who makes a ten-foot par saver on 3. He stays at -1.
-7: DeChambeau (9), Scheffler (3)
-6: Homa (14)
-5: Willett (10)
To be fair to Sergio … he birdied 16 after that.
A grand fiasco unfolds on 3. The defending champion Jon Rahm, 50 feet behind the flag in two, overhits his putt and watches in impotent horror as the ball sails past the pin before toppling serenely down the bank at the front and 26 yards back down the fairway. He does extremely well to keep his fume to a minimum temperature, getting up and down and limiting the damage to bogey. He’s +2. Blushes saved? Well, probably not, given the standards these guys set themselves, but as defending-champion farces go, at least it’s nothing like Sergio’s 13 on the 15th in 2018.
Scottie Scheffler lays up at 2. A chip and a putt later, and he joins Bryson DeChambeau at the top. Meanwhile Danny Willett, who has already holed out from distance for eagle once today, at 8, nearly repeats the feat at 10. A tap-in and he’s just a couple off the lead. Coming the other way, it’s Nicolai Hojgaard, who misjudges a chip into 17 and pays the price. After a long period of – let’s face it – bugger all happening, this is beginning to get going again.
-7: DeChambeau (8), Scheffler (2)
-6: Homa (13)
-5: Hojgaard (17), Willett (10)
Ludvig Aberg has responded sensationally to back-to-back bogeys at 5 and 6. Birdies at 8 and 9, and now another at 12, the latest thanks to a 30-foot right-to-left slider that drops into the cup on its last turn. Perfectly judged, and the major-championship debutant moves into red figures at -1.
Matt Fitzpatrick should have posted a much better score than 71 yesterday. Bogeys at 14, 17 and 18 wrecked a very decent card. But the 2022 US Open champ isn’t letting that get him down. A walk-in birdie putt at 2 brings him back to -2 in short order. Fitzpatrick, Danny Willett … Sheffield is getting proper representation here this week.
Par for Danny Willett at 9, and the 2016 champion turns in 36 strokes. Willett’s otherwise below-average performances at the majors makes it easy to forget he’s won a couple of big titles in Europe: the DP World Tour Championship in 2018 and the flagship BMW PGA a year later. The man’s no one-hit wonder. He’s currently -4. He couldn’t, could he? Again?
OK, so a couple of big changes at and near the top. Danny Willett makes a sensational eagle on the par-five 8th, his wedge from 95 yards taking two gentle bounces and disappearing into the cup. He’s back to -4 and very happy indeed. Meanwhile after making two of the worst putting strokes at 4 and 6, Bryson DeChambeau rolls in a lovely 20-footer on 7 for a birdie that delivers him sole ownership of the lead again. Opening pars meanwhile for Rory and Scottie.
-7: DeChambeau (7)
-6: Hojgaard (15), Homa (12), Scheffler (1)
-4; Willett (8)
Anyway, Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy are out in a minute. So before the action hots up, it’s time for a pimento cheese. Back in a bit!
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