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AUGUSTA, Ga. — A quick look at the second round of The Masters, where Justin Rose holds a one-shot lead over Will Zalatoris and Brian Harman.
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THE LEADER
Justin Rose is alone atop the leaderboard for the second consecutive day after salvaging an even-par 72. He shot 3-over 39 on his first nine Friday but rebounded with a bogey-free 33 on the second nine. “I had a little talk with myself on 8 and said you’re still leading the Masters, and I just changed my mindset a little bit and started to play match play against the golf course,” Rose said. “I scratched a line on my scorecard and told myself I was 3-down and could I go ahead and beat the golf course from that point on? I had a putt on 18 to win my match 1-up, but unfortunately it just slipped by. But an honorable draw.”.
STORYLINES
SEEING RED: A day after only one player shot lower than 69, there were more low scores at Augusta National thanks to softer greens. Bernd Wiesberger and Tony Finau both shot 66 to vault into sixth place, just three back of Rose. There were another three 67s – by Marc Leishman, Justin Thomas and Bryson DeChambeau – and five 68s. Jordan Spieth, Cameron Champ and Will Zalatoris were among the players who shot 4 under Friday. “They threw some water on the golf course today,” Spieth said. “I mean, there was actually some green grass on No. 9 today and there wasn’t yesterday.”
FAST LEARNER: Will Zalatoris didn’t have a PGA TOUR card at the start of the season. Now he’ll be in Saturday’s final group of the Masters. The 24-year-old birdied his last three holes Friday to shoot 68. He’s just one back of Rose. Zalatoris is one of just three professionals making their Masters debut this week. He was playing the Korn Ferry Tour just months ago – and ranked around 500th in the world a year ago — but has found quick success at the majors. He was T6 in the 2020 U.S. Open, as well. “I wanted to be here my entire life,” he said. “Some people shy away from that, but I’m excited to be here. … There’s no reason to feel intimidated now. I made it to here.”
SPIETH STAYS CLOSE: Despite a triple-bogey in his opening round, Jordan Spieth will start the weekend just two back of Rose. Spieth won last week’s Valero Texas Open for his first victory in nearly four years. “I feel pretty good about being at 5 under,” Spieth said. “That’s eight birdies and an eagle on a very difficult golf course, and I think I’d probably sign up for a similar score after the next two days.” Spieth has hit 30 of 36 greens in regulation to lead the field in that statistic..
NOTABLES
DUSTIN JOHNSON (74-75, MC) – The defending champion made eight birdies in two rounds but also had nine bogeys and two doubles.
JUSTIN THOMAS (73-67, T6) – A three-putt on 18 put a bad taste in his mouth but he’s still just three shots back as he tries to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2001 to win THE PLAYERS in March and then the Masters. “I drove the ball a lot better, hit a lot more quality iron shots, had some great up and downs,” Thomas said. “It was easy. For as tough as this place has been playing, I felt like it was as easy as it could have been. … A lot of my birdies have been pretty low stress or pretty easy.
COLLIN MORIKAWA (73-69, T13) – He led the field with seven birdies Friday but also had four bogeys.
BRYSON DeCHAMBEAU (76-67, T17) – DeChambeau matched Morikawa’s seven birdies to move into red figures. “I finally felt like I was seeing lines out there for the first time in the five times I’ve played it in tournament conditions,” DeChambeau said. “That excites me for sure.”
JON RAHM (72-72, T21) – He made three birdies and three bogeys Friday to make the cut in his first start since becoming a father.
BROOKS KOEPKA (74-75, MC) – He missed the cut just weeks after having knee surgery. He struggled to read putts and walk the hilly grounds of Augusta National. It was his first missed cut in a major since the 2013 Open Championship.
RORY McILROY (76-74, MC) – It was just his second missed cut in this event and first since 2010.
WORTH WATCHNG
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Source: PGA tour
