Round 2 review: Masters Tournament

A look at some of the big stories from the second round of the Masters Tournament.

THE LEADER

Taking advantage of benign conditions Friday morning, Brooks Koepka fired a bogey-free 67 to post 12-under 132 and take a three-shot lead when play was suspended Friday afternoon.

Koepka’s round hinged on the four par-5s. He birdied the second, 13th and 15th holes and stuck his second shot from 250 yards out on the par-5 eighth to 13 feet and made the putt for eagle. The rest of his day consisted of 14 pars.

“It was really solid,” Koepka said. “Didn't really do too much wrong.”

It has looked relatively stress free through two rounds for Koepka, who held a share of the lead after shooting 65 in the first round. He has hit 24 of 28 fairways and 28 of 36 greens. Koepka’s lone bogey of the tournament came Thursday on the par-5 13th.

Koepka’s form is a reversal of his results in majors last year, when his best finish was a solo 55th place at the PGA Championship. He missed the cut at the Masters and The Open Championship.

This week, he looks like the man who won four majors from 2017-19. Koepka said he feels “pretty similar” this week to how he felt during that stretch, when he won back-to-back U.S. Opens in 2017-18 and back-to-back PGA Championships in 2018-19.

“I feel really good. I like the way I'm swinging the golf club, putting it, chipping it, driving it, iron play is solid,” he said.

STORYLINES

Weather, tree damage leads to suspension: Nearly half the field will need to finish its second round Saturday after thunderstorms and high winds caused the delay of play twice Friday afternoon. Play was ultimately suspended until Saturday morning after trees fell on the course and a cold front blew into Augusta/

The first delay lasted only 20 minutes, but play was stopped less than an hour after it resumed due to inclement weather and three trees falling left of the 17th tee box. Augusta National Golf Club confirmed no injuries were reported in connection with the incident.

“The safety and well-being of everyone attending the Masters Tournament will always be the top priority of the Club. We will continue to closely monitor weather today and through the Tournament,” the club said in a statement.

Play is scheduled to resume at 8:00 a.m. Eastern on Saturday morning.

Tiger fighting to play the weekend: Tiger Woods was even-par through 11 holes and 2 over for the tournament when play was suspended. With the cut currently projected at 2-over, Woods has some work to do if he is to tie the record for most Masters cuts made in a row (23).

Woods’ round started with six pars before an errant tee shot on the seventh led to a bogey. He got it back on the next hole, the par-5 eighth, nearly reaching the green in two before pitching his ball to 3 feet and making the birdie putt. For shot-by-shot updates to Woods’ round, click here.

Sam Bennett ready to contend: Sam Bennett, the 2022 U.S. Amateur champion has already knocked off a slew of amateur records this week. His opening round 68 was the lowest round by an amateur in more than two decades. It was also the first bogey-free round by an amateur at the Masters since 1992.

However, the Texas A&M senior doesn’t seem content with just low amateur or a few footnotes in the record books. Bennett, currently sixth in the PGA TOUR University rankings, vaulted himself into second place at 8 under with a second round 68.

“I knew my golf was good enough to compete out here,” Bennett said. “I found myself in a situation that now I've got a golf tournament that I can go out and win.”

Even-par on his round through seven holes, Bennett birdied the par-5 eighth then stuck his approach on the ninth hole to 2 feet to make the turn with a pair of birdies. He made three pars on the tough stretch of 10, 11 and 12 before adding two more birdies coming in at 13 and 14.

Rory to miss the cut: Rory McIlroy’s search for the elusive green jacket will need to wait another year. After an even-par 72 on Thursday, McIlroy bogeyed four of his first seven holes Friday and never recovered. He will miss the cut after shooting 5-over 77.

Well documented as the one major McIlroy has yet to win, it’s a disappointing and unexpected outcome for one of the pre-tournament favorites. The four-time major champion couldn’t sustain stretches of solid play at any point over two rounds. He bogeyed the par-5 second, the second-easiest hole on the golf course, as well as the par-4 third, despite leaving himself in great position of the tee.

His first birdie didn’t come until the par-5 13th when he was already 5-over on the day. He hit his second shot on the par-5 15th to within 6 feet, offering a glimmer of hope he could make the weekend. He missed the eagle putt, however, settling for birdie, then bogeyed 16 and 18 to seal his fate. It’s the third time McIlroy has missed the cut in 15 appearances at the Masters.

Scottie drops back: Scottie Scheffler’s woes on the greens continued Friday as the defending champion tallied 36 putts and carded a 3-over 75, just the second over-par round in his Masters career. He is 1-under for the tournament.

Standing on the ninth green even-par for the round and 4-under for the week, Scheffler ran his 31-foot birdie putt by the hole. What would normally be a routine clean-up par turned disastrous. He blew the 4-foot comebacker by and then missed the 5-foot bogey putt. A four-putt double-bogey 6.

Then on 13, after knocking his second shot to 17 feet on the par 5, Scheffler cozied up his eagle bid to within 3 feet but missed the short birdie chance and settled for par.

It’s been that type of week for Scheffler, who shot 68 on Thursday despite missing seven birdie putts inside 15 feet.

Jason Day falters on second nine: Perennially comfortable at Augusta National, Jason Day again finds himself in the hunt at the Masters. Day is 5-under for the tournament after a second round 72.

Day is surely in the mix, though he could be even closer if not for a few mistakes down the stretch. Day made a double-bogey on the 15th after he hit his third shot into the water. On the par-3 16th he failed to hit his tee shot onto the proper level of the green and three-putted for a bogey. Then on 18, Day three-putted from 33 feet to drop another shot.

Day called the finish “very disappointing,” as he dropped from three shots back of the lead to seven.

“Seven shots is a long way,” Day said. “But there's still 36 holes to go. I'm just going to not even focus on that, just got to focus on just hitting the best shot I can at the time and then add them up after the next few days.”

Still, Day maintained an even-par round thanks to five birdies, including a chip-in on the 11th, and has positioned himself with a chance heading into the weekend. The Australian has six-top 20 finishes at the Masters, including three inside the top-5. He finished T2 at the 2011 Masters Tournament.

NOTABLES

Jon Rahm (-9 thru 11, 2nd): Rahm drew the tougher end of the draw but still put together a front-nine 34 with birdies on Nos. 8 and 9 before play was suspended.

Collin Morikawa (69-69, T4): Morikawa has improved in each of his three Masters appearances, from T44 in 2020 to solo fifth last year. He’s in position to improve again but he sits six shots back of Koepka.

Viktor Hovland (-6 thru 10, T4): Hovland is 1-over in his second round but has continued to putt well. He made a 55-footer to save par on the first.

Jordan Spieth (69-70, T6): Spieth grabbed momentum with three birdies early to notch a front-nine 34. He parred his last 10 holes Friday to head to the weekend with a chance to win his second green jacket.

Sam Burns (68-71, T6): After missing the cut last year in his Masters debut, Burns will be playing the weekend and have a chance for much more. Burns has only one top-20 finish in 10 major championship appearances.

Cam Young (-5 thru 9, T6): Young posted an even-par 36 on the front nine. He dropped a shot on the seventh after he couldn’t get up and down from a greenside bunker. He was able to get up and down for birdie on the par-5 eighth after nearly reaching the green in two.

Justin Rose (69-71, T10): Rose has 13 top-25 finishes, including a pair of runner-up finishes, in 17 Masters appearances. He’s once again in contention. Will this be the year he puts it all together?

Max Homa (71-73, T38): A rollercoaster second nine yielded four bogeys, three birdies and two pars. The No. 5 player in the world will play the weekend but has some work to do to catch up to the leaders.

BY THE NUMBERS

39: The number of players whohave yet to finish their second round.

105: The number of minutes the second round was delayed on Friday before it was officially delayed until Saturday

82: The combined number of appearances of Larry Mize and Sandy Lyle at the Masters. Both men are competing for the final time this year. Lyle was on the 18th green when play suspended. Mize was playing the 17th. Both will miss the cut.

21: The number of bogeys or worse made at the par-3 sixth during the second round. The hole location, tucked on the top right of the green next to a severe slope, gave players a fit. Five made double-bogey or worse.