Key events
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.
Lucky/unlucky 13 for Shane Lowry. He misses from 13 feet for birdie at 13, but holes from the same distance for a par breaker at 14. The Irishman is now -4 for the day and -5 for the week. He’s bang in the hunt.
Here we go – Rory McIlroy’s approach to 15. He walks after it as if content and it does find the putting surface but only just. Paul McGinley suggests on TV that it would have slipped back into the water yesterday. The greens are a little softer today. McIlroy might still walk very quickly to mark the ball!
There was a wonderfully downbeat assessment from Matt McCarty after his second round 68 vaulted him into contention. What made the difference, he was asked, between his double bogey-bogey start and his eight birdies in 12 holes from the 6th. “I started hitting the ball better for sure,” he said. “I think that’s very helpful.” He’s another left-handed golfer and, of course, they’ve had plenty of success at Augusta (three winners, in fact). McCarty is pretty downbeat about that idea, as well, as it happens. “I think for the most part, those guys moved the ball both ways,” he said. “I think it’s less about being left-handed.”
Thanks Scott and hello everyone – thank you for spending Friday evening with me. It’s been a tremendous afternoon and we’ve no reason to think the pace is going to relent in the next five or six hours. What a way for my run to start – with Rory McIlroy’s return to the 15th, the hole that tripped him up last night. He completed his par at 14 after his visit to the trees, and his tee shot at 15 has found the middle of the fairway.
… and with that, I’ll hand you over to Matt Cooper, who’ll take this baby home. See you tomorrow for Moving Day.
-8: Rose (F)
-7: DeChambeau (12)
-5: McCarty (F), Im (15), McIlroy (13), Conners (5), Scheffler (2)
Justin Thomas repeats Patrick Reed’s chip-in antics on 2. Eagle, and suddenly he’s in the red at -1. His partner Scottie Scheffler nearly curls in for an eagle of his own, but the putt stops on the lip. Birdie. Max Homa pars the last to sign for a 70, and he’ll be here for the weekend, the relief on his face clear. And Justin Rose tidies up for his par and a one-under 71. He’s currently leading the way at -8.
There’s little green for Rose to work with to the side of 18, so instead of lobbing up, he uses a fairway wood in the putting style. He judges it pretty well, and he’ll have a six-footer for his par. Meanwhile on 14, when you’re hot, you’re hot, and Rory McIlroy, deep in the woods, lashes a high wedge over the treetops and into the heart of the green. What an escape! That threatened to be a proper momentum killer. Two putts should secure his par.
Rory McIlroy has just started the back nine 3-3-3-3 … and so … “Fore right! [word redacted by Family Website editor] ” Yep, deep into the trees down the right of 14 he goes. Good luck with that. Meanwhile Justin Rose is stumbling towards the clubhouse. From the centre of 18, he pulls a 7-iron towards a swale to the left of the green. He’ll have a job on to get up and down for his par.
Rory McIlroy makes his eagle putt on 13! He absolutely rattles it into the cup. As his ball disappears from view, the gallery go berserk. This is on again! McIlroy would now be leading this Tournament were it not for those inexplicable mind-melts on 15 and 17 last night. And that’s without bringing up that tiddler he missed on 14. Still, this is back on, and once again McIlroy and his fans can dare to dream! What an absurd game golf is.
-8: Rose (17)
-7: DeChambeau (12)
-6: Im (14)
-5: McCarty (F), McIlroy (13), Conners (4)
-4: Åberg (13), Lowry (12), Scheffler (1)
-3: R Højgaard (15), Hovland (13), Riley (10), Day (2)
A poor drive by Rory McIlroy on 13 … followed by an outrageous second shot! He’s in the pines out on the right, the spot from where Phil Mickelson did for Lee Westwood all those years ago. He cracks an iron off the straw from 214 yards, over Rae’s Creek, to nine feet. Huge eagle putt coming up. Meanwhile back on 12, Bryson DeChambeau gets a read of his downhill right-to-left birdie putt from Shane Lowry. The Irish star’s effort kinks off to the left; the US Open champ’s somehow stays high on the right. A dimple’s width away from a share of the lead. Just the par, though.
An opening par for Scottie Scheffler. He nearly steers in a 20-foot left-to-right birdie swinger, but he’s one dimple shy. Meanwhile trouble for the leader at 17. Justin Rose’s second is fat and short, and dunks into the sand at the front of the green. The subsequent splash out is no good, and though he gives the downhill right-to-left curler a good go from 25 feet, that’s a second bogey in four holes, and the lead is down to one.
-8: Rose (17)
-7: DeChambeau (11)
-6: Im (14)
-5: McCarty (F), Conners (4)
-4: R Højgaard (14), Åberg (12), Lowry (11), Scheffler (1)
-3: Hovland (13), McIlroy (12), Riley (9), Reed (3), Hatton
Patrick Reed loves this place. He won in 2018, of course, but he’s also got top-12 finishes in five of the past seven stagings. And now he’s inserting himself into the narrative again, chipping over the bunker guarding the front-right of the 2nd green and in for eagle. He’s -3.
A diminuendo end to Matt McCarty’s round. His drive at 18 is tight down the right side of the fairway. He manufactures a cut around the corner to find the right-hand edge of the green. His long birdie putt stops a couple of feet short … then he pulls the par putt wide left. A shame, but that’s still a wonderful round of 68 to go along with yesterday’s 71. The 27-year-old Masters debutant is in the hutch at -5 and nicely set for Moving Day.
The champion and world number one Scottie Scheffler takes to the 1st tee. He cracks his opening drive down the middle. Here he comes, then. And here’s Rory, who opts to putt up from the swale back-left of 12 rather than chip. That takes the water out of play, if nothing else. He rolls to four feet and strokes in the par saver. That’s a great up and down, and an impressive refusal to look a gift horse in the mouth. A lucky break with that tee shot. He remains at -3.
A quite sensational up-and-down on 16 by Max Homa. He lobs gently over the bunker, landing on the fringe, and rolls in the 12-foot par saver. One step closer to making the cut! He remains at level par. Meanwhile his playing partner Justin Rose, having clacked his tee shot to eight feet, walks in the birdie putt to re-establish a two-stroke lead at the top.
-9: Rose (16)
-7: DeChambeau (10)
-6: McCarty (17), Im (12)
-5: Conners (3)
-4: Åberg (11), Lowry (10), Scheffler
-3: R Højgaard (13), McIlroy (11), Theegala (8), Riley (8), English (4), Reed (2), Hatton
Rory McIlroy may feel the second nine owes him something after yesterday’s fiasco. If so, he’s after that payback! Having birdied 10, thanks to a glorious approach, he bashes a monster drive down 11, clips his second from 159 yards to five feet, and that’s another stroke picked up! Then perhaps the biggest payback of all, as he pulls a godawful tee shot at 12 into the azaleas to the left of the green. His ball disappears for a second or two, before dribbling back out, down the bank and into the swale. Not ideal, because he’s shortsided, but at least he’s got a chance to scramble his par.
Max Homa might not have enjoyed his season so far, missing six cuts out of eight, but he seems determined to play himself back into form. Hovering on the projected cut line of +1, he decides to play some carpe-diem golf at 15, taking on the water with his second. He finds the heart of the green, and two putts later is celebrating his second birdie in three holes. All good, and he’s clearly not in the mood to die wondering … so having said all that, he’s just played his worst shot of the day, short and right of the par-three 16th. He’s shortsided, with barely any green to play with, and a bunker in the way. And of course the green slopes down to the water, so anything overcooked could be asking for trouble. Not much margin for error there.
Justin Rose plays the 15th carefully as opposed to aggressively. Probably for the best, given what happened to Rory McIlroy yesterday (double bogey) and Laurie Canter earlier on (de-greened putt). A no-drama par, and he moves on, still at -8, one clear of Bryson DeChambeau, who having parred 9, turns in 32. Meanwhile creeping up the leaderboard: Sahith Theegala, who already has one top-ten finish here on his resumé. Birdies at 2, 7 and now 8 and the 27-year-old Californian rises to -3.
… but the folk at -5 don’t fancy hanging around with Corey Conners for long. Matt McCarty whip-cracks his second at 17 from 150 yards to seven feet, and makes his eighth birdie of the day. Im Sung-jae meanwhile lands his tee shot at 12 15 feet to the left of the pin, then walks in the putt.
-8: Rose (14)
-7: DeChambeau (9)
-6: McCarty (17), Im (12)
-5: Conners (2)
-4: R Højgaard (12), Åberg (10), Scheffler
Corey Conners has got a good record at Augusta National. The 33-year-old Canadian posted three consecutive top-ten finishes between 2020 and 2022. He’s coming off the back of a top-six finish at this year’s Players, too. A strong finish yesterday – three birdies in the last four holes – set up a fine opening round of 68, and he’s started well today. Up and down from greenside sand at 2, and he joins the group at -5.
Rory McIlroy tidies up on 10 to move to -2. He’s in the group behind the reigning PGA and Open champion Xander Schauffele, who is looking to make it three major wins in four starts. Well, you gotta dream. Schauffele posted an underwhelming 73 yesterday, but he’s flawless today so far with birdies at 3, 6 and 9. That’s taken him to -2, alongside Rory and … Tommy Fleetwood, who enters the story with birdies at 2, 6 and 8. This is bubbling up nicely.
-8: Rose (14)
-7: DeChambeau (8)
-5: McCarty (16), Im (11)
-4: R Højgaard (11), Åberg (9), Conners (1), Scheffler
-3: Hovland (10), Lowry (8), English (2), Hatton
-2: Schauffele (10), McIlroy (10), Fleetwood (8), Theegala (7), Riley (7), Smith (3), Rai (3), Day
An unforced error by Justin Rose from the centre of the 14th fairway. A short iron in from 154 yards. He leaves it short of the green. Then an underhit chip. He can’t make the 20-foot par saver, and suddenly that lead is down to one. Meanwhile some good news for the Irish bid: birdies for Shane Lowry at 6 and now 8 bring the big man up to -3, while Rory McIlroy screeches his approach into 10 from 177 yards to a couple of feet. He should be rising to -2 soon.
-8: Rose (14)
-7: DeChambeau (8)
-5: McCarty (16), Im (10)
Just the par for Justin Rose on the par-five 13th. Disappointing given he was wedging in three from the centre of the fairway, but failed to get within 30 feet. Doubly disappointing given Bryson DeChambeau makes his fourth birdie of the day at 8, cutting his lead to a couple of strokes. DeChambeau will be a little irritated himself, having set himself up a 20-foot eagle chance only to hit an uncharacteristically weak first putt, but he’s closing in on the leader and right now looks the man to beat this week.
-9: Rose (13)
-7: DeChambeau (8)
-5: McCarty (15), Im (10)
Matt McCarty continues to creep up the leaderboard. His latest birdie comes at 15. It’s his seventh in ten holes! If he pars his way home from here, he’ll be signing for a four-under 68. Some going when you consider he started 6-6, shipping three strokes in the shortest of orders. Meanwhile par for Ludvig Åberg at 9 and he turns in level par. He’s -4 overall. Ditto Rory, the first part anyway: he’s -1 for the Tournament.
Max Homa’s marshal-bothering antics yesterday – as explained here – obscured his opening round of 74. Far from his form of last year, when he finished in a tie for third, but in the context of his record of only making two cuts in eight starts on the PGA Tour this season, something of an improvement. And today he’s looking to build on that slow-but-sure turnaround. Bogey at 1, but birdie at 8 and now another at 13, the latter reward for sending his approach from 167 yards to 13 feet and stroking in the putt. He’s +1 for the Tournament, on the current projected cutline, and on course to be here for the weekend. What a time it would be to make his first cut of the season! The patrons will be behind the likeable Californian.
Another birdie for Rasmus Højgaard! Having hit the turn in 32 blemish-free strokes, he whistles his drive at 10 down the right-hand side of the fairway, then lands his approach on the shoulder of the bunker to the right of the green, the ball breaking left and stopping pin high, ten feet from the flag. In goes the putt, and the 24-year-old Dane – whose twin brother Nicolai led for a while during the third round last year before finishing in a tie for 16th – moves into a share of fourth at -4.
Im Sung-jae got a taste for battered haggis this place in 2020, when he tied for second with Cameron Smith, five strokes behind that year’s champion Dustin Johnson. Looks like he fancies it again. He’s just followed up that aforementioned birdie on 8 with another at 9, wedging ten feet past the flag from the centre of the fairway, screwing his ball back gently to tap-in distance. He turns in 32. Meanwhile just a par for Rory McIlroy at 8, and that loose drive has handed over a few decimal points to the field. He remains at -1. Bounceback birdie for his playing partner Ludvig Åberg, though.
-9: Rose (12)
-6: DeChambeau (7)
-5: Im (9)
-4: McCarty (14), Åberg (8), Conners, Scheffler
-3: R Højgaard (9), Fitzpatrick (9), Hovland (8), Hatton
Justin Rose reaches -9 for the first time with a calm birdie on 12. He gently swishes his tee shot to four feet, and rolls the putt home. So serene, so simple. But there’s elite-level play going on elsewhere, too, as Simon McMahon reports: “Just retained my annual family putting competition title at The Himalayas at St Andrew’s (for the 30th year running) – hard cheese Mrs McMahon, Evie and first time participant Ryan, and am now celebrating with a pint in The Jigger Inn within spitting distance of the road and 17th green. If I can’t be at Augusta National this is surely the next best thing. Should’ve brought my own pimento cheese sandwiches though.” Battered haggis from that fine chippy at the bottom of Market Street could be a pretty good consolation? Mine drenched in salt and vinegar, please.
Rasmus Højgaard continues to romp his way around Augusta National. His fourth birdie of the day comes at 8. He’s also just cracked his tee shot at 9 down the middle. Meanwhile back on 8, Rory McIlroy carves his drive into the bunker down the right, so he won’t be reaching this gettable par-five in two.
It’s back-to-back bogeys for Ludvig Åberg. This one, at 7, comes as a result of flaying his drive into the pine straw down the right, a cone resting near his ball forcing him to chip out sideways. He’s back in the pack at -3. Meanwhile heading the other way: Matt McCarty, who is back on the birdie trail, picking up shots at 12 and 13, and Im Sung-jae with birdie at 8. They’re both -4!
-8: Rose (11)
-6: DeChambeau (6)
-4: McCarty (13), Im (8), Conners, Scheffler