Key events
Thanks for reading and please join Scott for the weekend rounds. You’ll be in safe hands and it promises to be a cracker.
And this leaderboard could provide all the drama we’re demanding. The veteran wiles of Justin Rose, the razzamatazz of Bryson DeChambeau, the career Grand Slam-chasing Rory McIlroy, the shrewd major performer Shane Lowry, the World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Tyrrell ‘Tantrum’ Hatton.
We’re set for a sensational weekend of golf and we’re due. Since Tiger Woods overwhelmed Francesco Molinari in the 2019 final round, we’ve had three winners hold onto significant 54-hole leads then two winners romp four strokes clear on Sunday. We’re craving a thrilling Moving Day, a tense front nine on Sunday, and a final round back nine full of roars echoing around Amen Corner.
Scottie Scheffler on his second round: “Definitely the wind was up and I wasn’t as sharp as yesterday. I didn’t have my A game. I was relieved when my ball came out of the bushes on 12. Very fortunate and I took advantage of it.”
Bad news for Bernhard Langer. His missed cut is confirmed. Other big names with a free weekend include Dustin Johnson, Sergio Garcia, Tony Finau, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott, Phil Mickelson, Robert MacIntyre and Will Zalatoris.
36-hole leaderboard – Justin Rose ahead by one shot
A reminder that in recent times Masters champions have been right in the mix heading into the weekend rather than making a late charge. Each of the last 30 winners was T12th or better after 36 holes and 26 of them were tied sixth or better. The four golfers currently -3 are T12th so those numbers suggest that the winner will come from these names:
-8: Rose
-7: DeChambeau
-6: McIlroy, Conners
-5: McCarty, Lowry, Scheffler, Hatton
-4: Højgaard. R , Hovland, Day
-3: Im, Åberg, Matsuyama, Reed, Morikawa
Tyrrell Hatton doesn’t much like the tee shot at 18. He admitted as much last year. But he finds the fairway and his approach is a good one, finding the top level. He two putts for par and a round of 70. He’ll be sore about his dropped shots at 16 and 17 but this has been another good round at Augusta and he’s right in the hunt at -5.
What did Nick Dunlap get up to last night after his first round 90? “I hit a couple of buckets of balls at my Airbnb into the woods,” he said. “I don’t know if there were any houses or anything back there.” And on his return today? “I had more of a knot in my stomach today than I’ve ever had starting a round of golf.”
A birdie at 18 would have paired Scottie Scheffler with Rory McIlroy in the third round. As it is, he’s missed the green with his third shot and is fighting to stay within four blows of the lead – but a smart up-and-down secures a bogey-5.
-8: Rose (F)
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: McIlroy (F), Conners (F)
-5: McCarty (F), Lowry (F), Scheffler (F), Hatton (17)
Scottie Scheffler is exercising his glutes here. A wide, low stance. Then on his knees. Now he’s sat on his bottom. He’s concerned – maybe “concerned” – that some broadcast equipment is in his way. Nothing too substantial – wires and microphones. Finally, he settles on a standing shot. He’s not comfortable, but he bunts it clear of the trees and onto the short grass. (Meanwhile Tyrrell Hatton misses a tiddler at 17 to make a second consecutive bogey.)
Scottie Scheffler’s volatile round continues. After mopping up a birdie at 17 from just 6 feet, the World No. 1 has hoicked his tee shot at 18 left and into trees. As with so many of his shots today he peered after it looking a bit baffled. It doesn’t look in a good position. His best hope might be a little poke forward but it’s not entirely out of the question he whiffs it so he’ll need to take care.
Congratulations to Simon Evans: “Nottingham Trent University has the Lee Westwood Sports Centre. What flavour are the crisps?” Just plain, Simon. Solid. I might be making this tale up but I think I recall Paul Heaton (of The Beautiful South) excitedly chatting to the blog’s Dave Tindall about Augusta crisps on Twitter many years ago.
A puzzler for Tyrrell Hatton at 16, one that befuddles him with his putt going up the hill in the middle of the green … and then back down again. Talking of puzzlers, I had an awkward moment in a pub quiz on Wednesday night when the following question was asked: “Which university named its sport centre after the golfer Lee Westwood?” My team all turned to me whereupon my head briefly hit the table. An imaginary bag of Masters crisps to the first reply with the correct answer.
Bogey for Scottie Scheffler at the par-3 16th. His tee shot left him a huge task from the bottom part of the green and he couldn’t find the hole in two putts. In the next group on the tee, Tyrrell Hatton turns away in disgust after finding the same spot as Scheffler with his tee shot.
A tap-in birdie for Tyrrell Hatton at 15 and he’s into a share of second with Bryson DeChambeau. “It’s a hard golf course, one that I’ve always really struggled on,” the Englishman said last year despite finishing ninth. “It doesn’t suit my shot shape and I’m not going to change how I play golf just to get around one golf course.” He’s building on that fine performance and also seeking to emulate Danny Wilett and Sergio Garcia in winning the Dubai Desert Classic and Masters in the same year.
A bogey-bogey-bogey finish for Nick Dunlap, but what a fightback. He finishes last but does so with pride after scores of 90-71. By the way, Rory McIlroy had a big reversal of form today. His previous two second rounds at Augusta National were both 77s. Today’s 66 was a significant improvement.
Scottie Scheffler could only splash out into the middle of the green at 15 and he couldn’t make birdie from there. He stays -6 for the tournament. Ahead of his stroke, we were treated to excellent drone footage which revealed just how perilous the putting surface is. It sits high on the bank with steep slopes in all directions towards water.
“The air is heavy out here right now,” says Wayne Riley on TV as Scottie Scheffler launches his approach to the par-5 15th. The balls finds the right greenside bunker and it will be a nasty task to get up-and-down in two.
Dan Christmas emails (responding to the 22:03 post): “The trains! They even put that sound in the Tiger Woods games, but I’d completely forgotten about it until you mentioned it. If they’re not running anymore, someone should be piping the sound in.”
The Scottie Scheffler fightback continues. In his relentless and deceptively straighforward way, he overcomes difficulties and setbacks. That chip-in at 12 made up for one of the back nine dropped shots and a birdie from 12 feet at 14 evens up the post-turn card. He’s back to -2 for the day and -6 for the week.
-8: Rose (F)
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: McIlroy (F), Conners (F), Scheffler (14), Hatton (13)
-5: McCarty (F), Lowry (F), Day (14)
No luck for Freddie. It turns out TV wasn’t aware that he’d reached the green in three. Another decent effort, however. Behind him, Corey Conners – currently sharing third with Rory McIlroy and Tyrrell Hatton – finds the green at 18 in two.
Joe Pearson emails: “You know, I hardly ever root against golfers, but I want every golfer still on the course at +1 or +2 to screw up going down the stretch so that Bernard Langer can make the cut. I know I’m not alone here.” It’s going to need something ugly and it’s not really blowy enough. Guess what though? Freddie Couples has just given himself a chance of playing 72 holes. He has almost the very same putt Langer has!
“A fantastic 41 years,” says Bernhard Langer. “I got many standing ovations around the course. It was so nice to see my family waiting for me on 18. So many memories. So much to be thankful for.”
From the middle of the leaderboard to the bottom of it. But quite a tale. Nick Dunlap won on the PGA Tour last year as both an amateur and a professional. He’s -4 through 15 holes today so how is he bottom of the scoring?! It’s because he carded 90 in round one. He’s on the way to improving his score by 22 shots which would be a major championship record-equalling improvement of a round one to two score (since the Masters was inaugurated).
Langer Watch. He’s reached 18 on the cut line (+2) and hits the fairway but he pulls his approach shot into the patrons. He almost certainly needs to get up-and-down from 11 yards to play the weekend in his final Masters appearance. It’s a big moment for Europe’s Big Five, this. Severiano Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam – born within months of each other, all Masters champions, and they drove a European golfing renaissance. Langer alone is still swinging at Augusta … and his scramble doesn’t quite make the putting surface. He has four yards to make the weekend. Come on Bernhard! Gah! It brushes the edge but misses. The patrons rise to him. A wry smile. A slight grimace. A lot of pride.
Still no-one quite threatening the lead of Justin Rose. Tyrrell Hatton has found the green at 12 and has two par-5s to come. Scheffler has those long holes to play, as well. He’ll also hope to narrow the gap.
-8: Rose (F)
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: McIlroy (F), Conners (15), Hatton (11)
-5: McCarty (F), Lowry (F), Day (12), Scheffler (12)
You know what I miss at the Masters? The mournful cry of the freight trains. It was a haunting sigh that drifted through the trees from the railroad. Does anyone know what has happened to them?!
Ridiculous scenes! Scottie Scheffler chips in for birdie after his ball popped out of the bush. He initially looks a little frustrated, a reaction to the tee shot and two bogeys at 10 and 11, but then starts to smile. He’s back under par for the day and -5 for the tournament. “Popped out and then popped in,” says Nick Faldo on TV.
“Oh gosh, oh my gosh,” cries Scottie Scheffler as his tee shot flies towards – and over, well over – the green at the par-3 12th. It disappears into a bush but pops out. “Thank goodness,” says Scheffler. He spent a long time faffing about on the tee, worried about that wind, and he did the same thing on the previous tee. He’s looking a bit flustered.
A remarkable day for Austria’s Sepp Straka. He opened the tournament with a disappointing 78 but a burst of five birdies in seven holes either side of the turn today got him inside the cut mark. Whereupon he contrived to finish bogey-triple bogey. +1 on the 17th tee, he ended the day (and week) +5.
Scottie Scheffler’s approach shot at 11 has completely flummoxed the TV commentators. He’s never, of course, a swinger of great beauty but this was a particularly brutal effort with his shape all lost in the aftermath. No-one said a thing. In fact, they didn’t know what had happened to it. He had 212 yards to the pin and the tracker says he hit it 117 yards, leaving himself 102 yards to the green. “He must have clipped a tree,” says Laura Davies as he hits on to the green and gives himself a 22 foot par putt.
Tyrrell Hatton closed the front nine with three consecutive birdies, and then gave himself a great look from 14 feet at 10 to extend the run but it slips by. He’s -3 for the day, -6 for the week and on course to complete his first-ever sub-73 score in round two at Augusta National (at the ninth time of asking).
Bernhard Langer’s entire career has been a grind and he needs more of the same to make the cut. It feels a little rude to describe his career in those terms but it is genuinely meant as a compliment. He’s overcome the yips (on multiple occasions), he’s overcome terrible back injuries, and he overcame the scepticism of those in Germany who thought he’d never make a career in golf. Some would argue he’s overcome a swing that looks less than ideal. But he’s fit, he’s not afraid of a scrap, and he thrives on adversity. However he finds water at 15, scores double bogey-7, and he is now +2 for the week. He needs to play 16, 17 and 18 in level-par or better to extend his final Masters appearance into the weekend.
A messy three-putt bogey from Scottie Scheffler at 10. Not a good way for his back nine to start. His first putt had 45 feet of green to cover but he came up 6 feet shot and the par putt never looked like it was going in. He slips back to -1 for the day and -5 for the week.
What else did Rory McIlroy discuss? “Overall just proud of myself with how I responded today after the finish last night,” he said. “I just had to remind myself that I played really good golf yesterday, and you know, I wasn’t going to let two bad holes dictate the narrative for the rest of the week.
“My mindset was, I shot even par yesterday. I probably need to get to somewhere between 12- and 15-under to win this tournament and there’s plenty of time to do that.”
Earlier today Scott described Rory McIlroy’s second shot at 13 as “outrageous”. He clipped a ball from under the trees and off the pine straw to 9 feet from where he made an eagle-3. Talking about that shot, he told the press: “It was 189 to the front. I don’t think it was really a decision to go for it or not, but I was between a 4- and a 5-iron. Usually the ball comes out spinnier from the pine straw. So I hit a 4-iron, and the follow-through, definitely I saved it, and I was glad that I hit 4-iron.
“When the ball was in the air, I was like, you idiot, what did you do? Rode my luck a little bit with that second shot, but was nice to take advantage of it.”
Im Sung-jae’s round of 70 was quite an improvement on his recent effort at the Masters on Friday. The Korean’s last four second round scores (all in April, his debut was in November) had been 80-74-76-74. He’s -3 for the week and currently in the top 20.
Defending champion update. Scottie Scheffler, the World No. 1, has made the turn in -2 for the day and -6 for the week. He’s on the quest to win a third green Jacket in four tournaments, a ridiculous feat but one that looks well within his reach. He has the difficult 10 and 11 to come before he gets to attack the two par-5s, 13 and 15.
A frustrating finish for Tommy Fleetwood. He misses a tiddler on 18 to make his only bogey of the day. He completes a 69 and is -2 for the week. My mother knows absolutely nothing about golf, but she has taken a shine to the Southport man and is always asking me, “Is Tommy covering his expenses?” I don’t really want to reveal how much he has earned in his career because she’d go from unnecessarily fretting about his welfare to being completely appalled.
Shane Lowry was a happy man after his 68 left him four shots off the lead. Speaking to the press he said: “I played Amen Corner beautifully. I felt like I did everything right. I’m pretty happy with my day’s work.”
On his weekend prospects: “Look, I don’t come here just to enjoy myself. I come here to compete.”
On what he’ll do next: “A lot of rest over the next day and get out tomorrow afternoon and get after it. I’m in a great place. I’m very happy.”
A subdued looking Jon Rahm on the 18th green. He had 35 feet for birdie but it was up the steep slope and he didn’t come close to giving enough of a whack. It pulls up 10 feet short. If he drains it, he’ll stay one shot inside the cut mark. Miss it and he’ll have to hope the late starters struggle because he’ll be one shot outside the cut. Gutsy: he makes it and completes a second round 71.
Canada’s Corey Conners has knocked his approach shot at 11 to 4 feet. He’s superb tee-to-green in general and it has helped him to three top 10s at Augusta National. But he’s needed that long game consistency because through his first seven visits he’s saved par at a rate of just 39%. He knocks the birdie putt in to go -2 for the day and -6 for the week.
Bryson DeChambeau and Shane Lowry complete pars at 18. Both will sign for scores of 68. The Irishman was one ball roll shy of a 67 but he’ll be feeling chipper about his weekend chances. The top of the leaderboard looks mighty fine right now.
-8: Rose (F)
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: McIlroy (F)
-5: McCarty (F), Lowry (F), Conners (10), Day (8), Scheffler (7)
Regular email correspondent Simon McMahon asks: “What news of Oban’s finest Bob ‘Robert’ MacIntyre? I had high hopes for him this week…” He’s level-par through 9 holes today and +3 for the week. Currently +2 is making the weekend. Yesterday he said: “I came here the first two times and made a hell of a lot of birdies. Today I’ve just played completely the opposite and been defensive.”
Oh dear. Rory McIlroy is making things difficult again. He finds the green at 18 in two blows after flirting with the trees from the tee. But his first putt from 38 feet comes up 5 feet shot, and it’s a far from enticing prospect down the hill. The Northern Irishman has worked his socks off today and doesn’t want to end on a downer. A big moment … and he makes it! “Huge for him,” says Butch Harmon on TV. A 66 leaves him two behind the clubhouse leader Justin Rose. A really good spot heading into the weekend.
Russell Henley was fancied by many this week. He finished top 10 in the last two majors of 2024, was fourth here in 2023, and won the Arnold Palmer Invitational last month. However, he carded a 79 in round one before bouncing back with a 69 today. His honest chat afterwards included this admission: “It’s tough. I’m never really that calm. I might look like it, but I’m a pretty nervous person. Yesterday just was terrible. Really stunk to start my first day like that. I really wanted to come play well today. I knew I could do it, so hopefully it’s good enough to play the weekend.” He’ll need the wind to blow and blow hard. He’s two shots outside the mark as it stands. It might happen though …
Nicola Molloy emails: “What on earth happened to Koepka!! That’s my fantasy golf team gone for the weekend.” Koepka really is an intriguing case. He opened 65-67 in 2023 to lead but closed 73-75. Those two sub-60 scores were real outliers. He was 2-for-12 at breaking 73 in the last four tournaments and has carded 74-45 this week. Sorry Nicola!
There was an intriguing line from the 2007 champion Zach Johnson after his first round. He made bogey at 14 after coming up short of the green and said: “It chapped my rear end a bit.” It’s not an expression I’m familiar with and not an image easily forgotten. It unfortunately comes to mind because he’s nearing the 14th hole right now as he fights to make the cut.
Thinking of those comments from Justin Rose about competing in majors last year at the age of 44, he’d be entitled to believe that he performed well enough to have won in other circumstances. Of course, sport doesn’t work like that. By necessity, there is a bottom line and winning is what matters. But Rose at Royal Troon recalled Chris DiMarco at Augusta 20 years ago this week. The American went toe-to-toe with peak Tiger Woods and the pair finished seven strokes ahead of the rest of the field before Woods prevailed at the first extra hole. DiMarco is rarely discussed as one of the finest players to never win a major, but he had lost a play-off in the previous year’s PGA Championship and he would again finish second to Woods (this time three shots ahead of the rest of the field) in the 2006 Open. Sometimes the best golf goes unrewarded.
It’s not just about the golfers on the first page. The scoring is currently offering a harsh reminder of the fickle nature of form in elite level golf. Last year Matthieu Pavon won on the PGA Tour, was T12th at Augusta and fifth in the US Open; Thriston Lawrence contended in the Open; and Nick Dunlap was a two-time winner. The three are now among those propping up this year’s leaderboard.
Clubhouse Leader Justin Rose has been talking to the press. Asked about what he learned from contending in last year’s PGA Championship and Open he said:
“You know, sometimes you’ve just got to knock on the door. I don’t think I can do anything differently. On both those occasions, I got more and more comfortable as I got further and further up the leaderboard. Remarkably comfortable in those situations, really.
“That’s what I’ve learned. But if it was a secret recipe, you’d know it by now. It’s just about playing great golf. The leaderboard is stacking up so you’re going to have to play great golf, and you’re going to have to go out there and want it and go for it and get after it. It’s as simple as that.”
Norway’s Viktor Hovland is on fire. He’s made birdie at 13, 14, 15 and 16 to join Rory McIlroy in a share of third on -6. The recent winner of the Valspar Championship after a year of poor form, Hovland’s still a popular combination of cheeky smile and brutal swing.
-8: Rose (F)
-7: DeChambeau (15)
-6: Hovland (16), McIlroy (16)
-5: McCarty (F), Åberg (16), Lowry (15), Conners (7), Scheffler (4)
Another 6 foot putt for Rory McIlroy. This one at 16 is for par rather than birdie. In it drops. A confident strike and he exited the green with a touch of the McIlroy bouncy stride that comes when he’s feeling it.
Rory McIlroy is not going to make the final three holes easy. His tee shot at 16 finds, according to TV’s Wayne Riley, “the bottom groove”. Rich Beem didn’t like the swing. The result could have been much, much worse, however. He’s missed the green on the right but he looks to be fair enough up the hole to have the bunker out of the equation – had he needed to chip over it he’d have had almost no landing space before the pin.
Rory McIlroy’s eagle putt at the 15th is about as long as it possibly can be. The pin is on the left, his ball sits on the right edge. The pin is 90 feet away and his lag putt (he’s not aiming to hole it really) comes to rest 6 feet short. It’s a fine effort but needs polishing off – and he does so. It had a wobble but a much-improved effort on last night – birdie instead of double bogey. “No player has won the Masters since 1982 with two double bogeys for the week,” says a cheery Paul McGinley. Remember: that’s what McIlroy carded at 15 and 17 yesterday.
