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Key events
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!
Max Homa sends his second into 11 towards Larry Mize’s swale. His chip up isn’t all that, breaking 12 feet to the left of the pin. He can’t make the par saver, and it’s now a four-way tie for the lead, because on 14, Nicolai Hojgaard sends his second from 150 yards to seven feet, and in goes the birdie putt. The debutant co-leads the Masters! The Fuzzy Zoeller de nos jours?
-6: Hojgaard (14), Homa (11), DeChambeau (6), Scheffler
-3: Davis (F), Conners (5), Fox (4)
-2: Young (12), Willett (7), An (3), Niemann (2)
“Goodness me. On 4 and 6, that’s two of the worst putts I’ve seen a professional of that standard hit.” That’s Sky’s Andrew Coltart on Bryson DeChambeau replicating his awful stroke on the previous par three. This hollow clank, on 6, turns a good birdie opportunity into par. DeChambeau remains at -6.
A double for Cameron Young on 11. It’s the painful punishment for pulling his approach into the middle of the pond to the left of the green. He slips to -2, and now there’s a little bit of separation between the top four and the chasing pack.
-7: Homa (10)
-6: DeChambeau (5), Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard (13)
-3: Davis (F), Conners (4), Fox (3)
Birdie for Nicolai Hojgaard at 13. That wipes out a bogey at 11, and the young Dane is holding on during an up-and-down round. He’s -5. Meanwhile par for Bryson DeChambeau at 5, after putting from the fringe over the shoulder of a bunker to three feet and mopping up the rest.
Max Homa sends his second into the heart of 10. He’s left with a treacherous downhill 30-footer for birdie, and while the putt never looks like dropping, it’s almost perfectly weighted, and the leader makes his way through one of the harder holes on the course without taking a hit. He remains at -7.
After his birdie at 15, Cameron Davis pars his way home. A level-par round of 72. He’ll go into Moving Day at -3 overall.
Bryson DeChambeau has already made two big par scrambles. He’s not making a third at 4. He sends his tee shot over the back of the green, and undercooks his subsequent chip. Then he hits a very weird putt, almost a chunk, that stops well short and right of the cup. He tidies up for bogey, but that’s his first step backwards since the 9th yesterday. Max Homa, who has just whistled a glorious 3-wood down the left of 10, is now the sole leader of the Masters!
-7: Homa (9)
-6: DeChambeau (4), Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard (12), Young (10)
Tiger Woods is hanging on in there. From the trees down the left of 9, he fires a wild, low escape into the gallery on the other side of the hole. He may have hit some poor patron upside the head. No further evidence is forthcoming. But he does get up and down from a tight spot. That par follows birdie at 8, and he’s +1 overall as he hits the turn. Much may depend on whether he tires towards the end of his Friday 23-hole marathon.
This is getting attritional. Par for Bryson DeChambeau at 3, who remains at -7. His playing partner Thorbjorn Olesen, having nearly chipped straight through the green from the back, makes a 12-footer from the fringe on the other side to save his par. He’s +1 after a costly double bogey at the opening hole. And it’s a bogey for Nicolai Hojgaard at 11; he slips to -4.
A careless bogey for Cameron Young at 9. A perfect drive reaps no reward as his approach only just makes it onto the green. The ball comes toppling 50 yards back off the false front and down the fairway. He can’t get up and down and in the last four holes he’s gone birdie-bogey-birdie-bogey. He’s -4.
Danny Willett misses the green at 4 to the left. His chip across is a bit of a clunker, and he’s left with a testing 15-footer for par, but he shifts from the ridiculous to the sublime, rolling delicately across the green, using every last drop of energy in the ball to topple it into the cup. He remains at -4. No such luck for Taylor Moore in the group ahead, who bogeyed the same hole to slip back to -3.
Ludvig Aberg has been going the wrong way, after bogeys at 5 and 6. He’s got a great chance to grab one of the shots back at 7, after sending his second from 110 yards to five feet, but he pulls the birdie putt. He remains at +2. The cut is currently projected at +3 but with the conditions as they are, expect it to go out by a further shot at least.
DeChambeau rolls in his gentle right-to-left slider to save par on 2. That’s a fine up and down, his second in two holes. The co-leader remains at -7.
Some bother for Bryson DeChambeau at 2. A drive onto the pine straw forces him to lay up. Shortsided, he tries to get too cute and dumps a chip into the bunker. He only just manages to get his splash out as well, inches away from hitting the face of the trap. But it’s out, and he’ll have an eight-foot look at saving par. Meanwhile Cameron Young bounces back from a bogey at 7 with birdie at 8. He’s -5.
Nicolai Hojgaard is repairing the early damage to his round, and in some style. Having just made birdie at 9, he sends his second at 10 into the heart of the green, then guides a 30-foot left-to-right downhill swinger delicately into the cup. Another birdie, and he’s back where he started the second round at -5. Meanwhile Danny Willett returns to where he began today as well, making a textbook birdie at the par-four 3rd.
-7: Homa (7), DeChambeau (1)
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard (10)
-4: Young (7), Moore (3), Willett (3)
-3: Davis (15), Fox
Max Homa sets himself up with a birdie chance at 7. Pin high to ten feet. But he suffers a rush of the hottest blood to the noggin, racing his putt four feet past. He cools himself down, though, and makes the one coming back to save his par. He remains in a share at -7. Meanwhile bogey for Tiger Woods, who slips to +2.
Not a whole lot of low scoring going on, but the windy conditions are causing real bother. The gusts are expected to rise to 30mph; on Sky Sports, Butch Harmon and Nick Dougherty have been speculating that anything much higher could feasibly cause a suspension of play, as balls would begin to move on the green.
Bryson DeChambeau leaves his approach short of the 1st green, a big mistake from the middle of the fairway. But he gets up and down to save his par. Meanwhile birdie for Nicolai Hojgaard on 9, as eagle-eyed readers will have already worked out from the leader board. And there’s been another bogey for Cameron Davis, this time at 13.
Things have gone south pretty quickly for Matthieu Pavon. Three bogeys on the bounce, at 5, 6 and 7, send the French debutant clattering down the standings to -1. Meanwhile Collin Morikawa hands a shot back at 4; he’s also -1.
How about this start?! Taylor Moore, playing in only his second Masters, and without having made too much of an impression in the majors yet, follows birdie at 1 by holing a putt from the fringe to the side of 2 for eagle! In a blink of an eye, the 30-year-old Texan rises to -4 and a share of fourth.
-7: Homa (6), DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard (9), Young (7), Moore (2)
-3: Willett (1), Fox
-2: Davis (14), Conners, An, Niemann, Zalatoris
Tiger had followed up bogey at 4 with another at 5 … but he’s just repaired half of that damage by chipping in from the fringe at the front of 6. The small margins, because his tee shot only just got over the bunker at the front. Meanwhile Max Homa doesn’t hit his birdie putt, which dies apologetically one turn short of the cup. He remains in a share with Bryson at -7.
The first-round leader Bryson DeChambeau takes to the tee. A confident larrup down the middle of the fairway earns a few whoops and hollers from the gallery. He’s since been joined at the top by Max Homa, of course … though they might not be sharing the lead for too much longer, because Homa has just creamed his tee shot at 6 pin high to 14 feet. He’ll have a very good look at birdie and sole ownership of the lead from there.
Danny Willett takes his medicine out of the trees down the left of 1. He wedges his third to 12 feet, and is somewhat unlucky not to get more backspin, but the ball stubbornly digs its heels in. He tries to salvage par with a tickle down the green, but it’s always missing short and to the left. He taps in for an opening bogey, but flashes a genuine smile as he talks to his caddie nonetheless. Looks like he’s enjoying himself. He’s -3.
Cameron Young continues to make his under-the-radar move. One of the tee shots of the week at the par-three 6th, to eight feet, earns him his third birdie of his second round. Young finished in the top ten here last year, came a close second behind his namesake Cameron Smith at the 2022 Open, and was the runner-up at the world Match Play last year. He’s due a big one. He’s -5 overall.
Another multiple major champion who has been quiet so far … (sucks on cheroot) perhaps too quiet … is Collin Morikawa. Like Brooks before him, he closed out his first round this morning with birdie. Now he’s made another, at the 2nd, and suddenly the erstwhile PGA and Open champion is -2 overall. Just five off the lead, which is still held jointly by Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa. The former is teeing off in a few minutes; the latter has just salvaged par at 5 after taking his medicine, chipping up from the bank to the left of the hole, and getting up and down from 150 yards, a wedge to eight feet and a confident putt.
An absolute shocker for Sahith Theegala on 3. He requires three chips to get up and over the bank at the front of the green, and ends up with a triple-bogey seven. He’s suddenly +5. Meanwhile up on 4, Brooks Koepka drains a 40-footer across the green to make it up to level par. He’s been quiet so far this week, but is hanging on in there after closing his opening round this morning with a birdie to salvage a 73.
Danny Willett is coming off the back of a fantastic 68 yesterday. Not the ideal start today, however, as he sends his tee shot at 1 into the trees down the left. Meanwhile trouble also for Max Homa at 5, who also sends a drive to the left. Down the bottom of a bank, he’s forced to take his medicine and lay up.
Max Homa joins Bryson DeChambeau at the top of the leader board! He takes a fairway wood to find the par-three 4th, firing in under the breeze. He’s left with a 50-footer … and it’s always going in from the moment it leaves the face of his putter! A laser! Tiger can’t get up and down from the left of the green, though, and he returns to +1. Meanwhile bogey for Matthieu Pavon on 5, who three-putts, admittedly from over 100 feet.
-7: Homa (4), DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-4: Young (4), Willett
-3: Davis (12), Hojgaard (6), Pavon (5), Fox
Ludvig Aberg birdies 2 to get himself back to level par for the tournament. His playing partner Jordan Spieth makes a four too, and you can bet your last penny he’s not giving up hope of competing this weekend despite his unpromising position at +7. The course is playing a shot harder today, according to Sky, so while the cut is currently projected to be around the +2 mark, it could easily go out by a further shot or two. A lot of golf yet to be played on a day when it’ll continue to blow a good old puff.
Birdie for Tiger at the short par-four 3rd … but he’s in danger of handing the shot straight back at the par-three 4th. He pulls his tee shot wide left and he’ll be wedging in over the bunker. Plenty of green to work with at least. The wind causing a lot of problems now.
