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Masters 2019 Live Blog: Tiger Woods gets hot late on Day 2 to get within one of crowded, elite leader board
David Cannon
AUGUSTA, Ga. -- We have an incredible leaderboard after Day 1 of the Masters, as the year's first major gave us a little bit of everything on Thursday. Tiger Woods shared the lead for about an hour as he surged on his back nine, only to have a hiccup at the 17th hole to finish his round at 2-under, one back at the time. Scoring was stagnant for much of the day Thursday at the Masters, until Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and others in the afternoon wave opened things up. Sitting one back starting the day? Phil Mickelson, three-time Masters champ, who has the chance to become the oldest major champion in history with a win, which would best Julius Boros (and Jack Nicklaus in 1986, of course). But there's a lot of golf to be played.
The afternoon wave occupies the top five spots on the leaderboard and they'll have a chance to perhaps open things up a bit more, as Friday's forecast for Augusta calls for winds to pick up late, making scoring potentially tougher in the afternoon. We'll see how big a difference the draw ends up being for these players.
Here are the pin positions for Day 2:
7:20 p.m.: Tiger lets one more birdie opportunity slip away—this from 14 feet at the 18th hole. It was a sensational last 10 holes for Tiger—playing bogey-free and carding five birdies over that 10-hole span and shooting a 68. Tiger will head to Day 3 one shot back of a crowded leader board of five players—Francesco Molinari, Jason Day, Brooks Koepka, Adam Scott and Louis Oosthuizen. Those are five major winners at the top—the first time in Masters history we have five players tied for the 36-hole lead, with Tiger, DJ, Xander Schauffele and Justin Harding one back.
This is shaping up to be an unreal weekend at Augusta National.
7:14 p.m.: Tiger sticks his approach at the 18th on to the perfect level about hole-high left. He'll have just inside 15 feet for another birdie ... to tie the lead. That would give us six tied for the lead, the most ever after 36 holes here at the Masters.
7:09 p.m.: Tiger can breathe a sigh of relief, hitting the fairway with his driver at 18. One more birdie would give him a share of the lead. But he'd certainly take a par as well. Per our Mike Johnson, here's how Tiger has fared at the mid-way point of the Masters in three of his four wins:
2001: T-2; 2 back . . . WON 2002: T-4; 4 back . . . WON 2005: 3rd; 6 back . . . WON
We all know what happened in 1997, obviously.
Xander Schauffele, in the group ahead of Tiger, makes another birdie on the 18th hole to card the round of the day. Xander's 7-under round of 65 bests Oosthuizen's round, and puts Schauffele one back of the lead.
7:06 p.m.: From 8 feet and a chance to tie the lead, his putt JUST misses on the high side. Unbelievable. It seems like every birdie he has made has been from long distance.
Still, Tiger heads to the 18th hole one back and four-under on his round, though we're sure he expected to make that putt.
6:59 p.m.: And Tiger will have another chance for birdie on this remarkable back nine! From 163 in the fairway, Tiger takes on the back left hole location and sticks it to 8 feet, giving him a chance for a fourth back-nine birdie, which would tie the lead. Incredible!
Oddsmakers have made Tiger Woods the favorite to win the Masters. He was already the most popular player bet in-round, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Tiger's gonna garner a ton of attention, even if he doesn't make this birdie putt to tie the lead.
6:53 p.m.: Tiger finds another fairway with his driver at the 17th hole. Could he get another birdie on one of the last two holes? Is that too much to ask for Tiger? He would surely take two pars coming in with the wet weather and the tough conditions. But he's in perfect shape in the fairway on 17.
6:49 p.m.: From 39 feet at the par-3 16th, Tiger nearly makes it another improbable birdie, his putt coming just a foot or so shy. He taps in and heads to the 17th tee one shot back. Tiger's 4-under on his round and 3-under on the back specifically.
Oh boy, and a really unfortunate break for Louis Oosthuizen at the 18th hole. His approach just plugged on a downhill lie in the right-side greenside bunker. You always see perfect lies in these Augusta National bunkers with their ultra-white sand. Oosthuizen is going to have his work cut out for him here.
6:43 p.m.: Following the unreal birdie at the 15th by Tiger, he hits his tee shot at the par-3 16th hole onto the green, but it doesn't carry the slope and releases down to the left. He's one back of this pack of five players who shares the lead at 7-under, which would be the most players ever to share the 36-hole lead, according to golf researcher Justin Ray. Crazy if true.
Here's video of that second straight birdie for Tiger to get within one of the lead:
And like we said, Tiger missed the great opportunities at the 12th and 13th holes, making par there, but he's made all the hard birdie putts down the stretch: 11, 14 and 15. He almost made an unlikely birdie at 10, too, and canned a long birdie at 9. He's playing as well anybody over the past two hours here at Augusta.
6:41 p.m.: Like we said below, it was an unlikely spot below the ridge for a birdie at 15. But Tiger's putter has come alive from long range today. That's a birdie to move within one of the lead. WOW!
6:37 p.m.: Adam Scott starts his Masters 69-68 to grab a share of the lead. He nearly holed his birdie putt—and he'll be disappointed with the bogey on 17, a miss from about 3 feet. But he'll absolutely take the share of the lead.
6:32 p.m.: At the par-5 15th, Tiger hit an errant tee shot to the left, forcing him to lay up to this par 5—which makes sense anyway, given the wet weather and colder conditions making this an even tougher hole.
Tiger's third shot, an approach from 118 yards, nearly bounced up to the back portion of the green, but it landed on the upslope and didn't skip forward. Instead, it rolls backward and settles on the front part of the green, 30 feet away.
An unlikely spot for birdie, but Tiger's rolled in a few improbable ones today.
6:27 p.m.: Things are heating up here at the end of Friday at Augusta National. Not only did we have Tiger Woods almost get taken out by a security guard then make an improbable birdie, but now the entire leaderboard is making big moves.
Adam Scott had it to 8-under and had the solo lead at one point before a really bad three-putt at 17. He's in the fairway at 18 and shares the lead with four others, including Louis Oosthuizen, who just hit it a little wild at 17. He's 6-under on his round—the best of the day so far.
But Xander Schauffele is three-under on his last three holes and sneakily 5-under par ... tied with Tiger, Rahm and Poulter and T-8 currently.
6:20 p.m.: What a sequence. Tiger just hit an absolutely insane recovery shot from the left on the 14th fairway, almost got taken out by a security guard who slipped on mud trying to protect Tiger from the patrons, but nearly took out Tiger's Achilles in the process, and Tiger proceeds to can the birdie putt to get him to 5-under.
Tiger missed the great chances for birdie at 12 and 13, but he gets one at 14. That was huge for the late-round momentum heading to the par-5 15th—and moves Tiger two back of the lead.
6:15 p.m.: It's absolute madness at the 14th. Tiger just hit a heroic punch out on to the green, and as all the fans and Tiger scrambled to see where the ball went, a security guard ran to try and block the fans and slipped in the mud and nearly took Woods down with him. Tiger just slightly tripped up, but it could have been much worse. What a scene.
6:09 p.m.: Not sure how to properly describe everything that just happened in the last minute. First, Tiger Woods sniped a tee shot so badly at 14 that it looks like he could be dead. Then, Jon Rahm hit a poor tee shot and dropped a nice hard F-bomb that the ESPN tried to cut out and failed miserably. Then, Adam Scott missed a four-footer for par at 16 to fall back to seven under, bringing all the three overs back into play for the cut.
Back at the 14th, Xander Schauffele nearly holed one from the fairway for eagle and then made his birdie to get to ... four under?! Since when? Schauffele coming out of nowhere. He's five under on his round with six birdies and just one bogey, which came at the first hole.
6:01 p.m.: Tiger's birdie putt was tracking aaannnnnnd ... it comes up short. He's one under on the par 5s this week, which, to be blunt, is dreadful. Woods is still at four under though, four back.
6 p.m.: With a little bit of rain falling, Tiger pulls out the putter from off the green at the 13th and comes up woefully short of the hole, at least considering where he was. He still has a make-able 10-12 footer, but he would have liked to be much closer. What a dagger if he walks off even par on 12 and 13 after the momentum he had after 11.
5:54 p.m.: There it is. Scotty makes his eagle 3 to move to eight under, giving him the solo lead. That also has some major implications on the cut line, as every player within 10 shots of the lead makes the cut, meaning those at three over are now on the outside looking in. Among that group? Martin Kaymer, Alex Noren, U.S. Amateur runner-up Devon Bling, Billy Horschel, Zach Johnson and Sergio Garcia, who is the only one of those names still on the course. Garcia has two holes left to play to try and pick up one shot.
Back at 13, Tiger misses the green with his second but he's in a good spot to potentially get up and down from for birdie.
5:48 p.m.: Looks like we are about to have a new solo leader. Adam Scott, who is at six under after back-to-back birdies at the 12th and 13th holes, just put his second shot to a few feet at the par-5 15th.
5:43 p.m.: After the 30-minute wait, Tiger had to wait a little longer to finally hit his putt, as both Rahm and HaoTong Li still needed to hit their tee shots and then their putts. The delay may have killed the momentum, as Woods' short birdie effort lipped out. What. A. Dagger. Great chance coming up to get another at the par-5 13th, but all that energy has been completely sucked out of the property.
5:34 p.m.: Looks like they are just about ready to get rolling here. Short break, which is huge, as chances are good that they'll be able to get this round in.
5:07 p.m.: Oh. My. Goodness. Tiger sticks one at No. 12 and .... the horn sounds to stop play. What a momentum killer. We'll keep you updated as best we can on when players will get back on the course. For now, here's the leader board:
5:02 p.m.: After striping a drive at No. 11, Tiger Woods hits a sporty approach shot to 13 feet and holes the birdie putt. That's the first of the day at the treacherous par 4, and it puts him at four under for the tournament. Oh BABY!
4:46 p.m.: It's going to be an interesting adventure getting it into the clubhouse for Justin Harding. He just hit his tee shot deep into the trees at the home hole, but it looks like he got a fortuitous bounce out a little bit. Still, this sets up what will be a tough par to finish out his round. He's currently tied for the lead with Francesco Molinari, Jason Day and Brooks Koepka.
4:42 p.m.: WOW! What a great putt for Tiger at 10—it comes up justttt shy of rolling in for an unlikely birdie at the 10th hole. Tiger will take the par as he heads to Amen Corner at 3-under, four back of the leaders.
There's one more name up amongst the leaders: South African Justin Harding, who has been around the lead all week, is on a back-nine tear. He makes it four names at 7-under—joining Francesco Molinari, Jason Day and Brooks Koepka in the lead, as Harding plays the 18th.
4:27 p.m.: That's a longgggg birdie make for Tiger Woods at the ninth hole! Wow—putting up the hill at tough ninth green, Tiger slams it in. And we got a fist pump. Wow ... that's a way to make up for the bogey. Tiger back to 3-under and 4 back after a front-nine 35.
4:22 p.m.: Rory McIlroy does what Tiger couldn't do—taking advantage of the par-5 eighth in a big way: Canning an eight-footer for eagle to get to red numbers. Anddd Rory's threatening to get in the mix. As he does at Augusta.
Meanwhile, here's what the current leader board looks like.
4:15 p.m.: Brutal bogey at the par-5 eighth hole for Tiger Woods. His drive found the fairway bunker and his third from about 157 yards went long. That puts him back at 2-under for the tournament and even for the day heading to the ninth.
This stat puts it into context. Not great, Bob!
4:10 p.m.: Brooks Koepka joins Francesco Molinari and Jason Day atop the leader board with a classy birdie at the 18th hole to finish with a 1-under 71. Koepka might not be thrilled with the way his round started—but from the seventh hole on, Koepka came in at 3-under to get back to under-par for the day.
The double-bogey 7 at the par-5 second hole will be the most disappointing blemish on Koepka's second-round card. And 30 putts is disappointing as well. Still, he has a share of the 36-hole lead (as of now) heading into the weekend at Augusta National. That's a position anybody would sign up to be in.
4:02 p.m.: Justin Thomas wraps up one of the best rounds of the day, though he'll be disappointed with his three-putt finish, to get into the mix with a 4-under round, putting him at 3-under for the tournament. It's the second straight day he's bogeyed 18, so he might be disappointed with that finish. But he's played himself back with a chance to contend.
In his group was Phil Mickelson, who might be a little disappointed with his 1-over 73, but he's at 4-under for the tournament, and absolutely in the mix for the weekend. We'll repeat the history he's going for—having a chance to become the the oldest major champion in history with a victory.
3:53 p.m.: Tiger Woods' tee shot at the par-5 eighth hole finds the right fairway bunker, which takes getting to the green out of the question. Tiger had a good look at the par-4 seventh hole for birdie but just missed the attempt.
Tiger remains one-under on his round, 3-under overall, just four back of J-Day and Molinari.
3:48 p.m.: Jason Day matches the best round of the day (Francesco Molinari and Matt Fitzpatrick) with a 5-under 67, which gets J-Day into the clubhouse in a tie with Molinari at 7-under for the tournament.
To anyone who saw Day's back being worked on at the second hole on Thursday, that might've seemed like an unlikely fact. What do they say: Beware of the injured golfer? It's a cliche but it appears to be true so far for the Aussie, as he's tied for the lead after his second round.
In the same group, Bryson DeChambeau misses a birdie bid to leave him with a par for a second-round 75. Disappointing for the mad scientist, as he goes from a co-leader after 18 holes to trailing by four. Still, in the thick of the mix thus far.
Dustin Johnson putted from off the green to near tap-in range to finish up his 2-under 70—leaving him at 6-under for the tourney, just one back of J-Day and Molinari.
3:43 p.m.: Phil had a bit of an adventure at the 17th hole after a poor drive left him blocked out by the trees. And his approach, as he took a daring line over the trees, clipped a branch and came up way short of the green.
The world-class short game player then chunked his third shot into the bunker, but he got up and down to make a good bogey, if there ever was one. Phil remains three back of Molinari and J-Day as Phil heads to 18.
3:36 p.m.: All-world two-putt from Dustin Johnson at 17, where he just caught the front portion of the green with his second and had nearly 60 feet to the back pin location. The par keeps him at six under, one back of Day and Molinari.
3:34 p.m.: Woods rips a high cut at No. 7 that just rolls into the rough by an inch. Still will have a good look at the green.
3:30 p.m.: BANG!! Tiger rolls in a 20-foot right-to-left swinger for birdie and raises the putter. He's back to three under for the week, four back.
3:27 p.m.: Ouch. Jordan Spieth three-putts the 15th and settles for par. Still at one under for the week, but that certainly hurts. His playing partner, Brooks Koepka, had a nifty up-and-down birdie to get back to six under, putting him in a tie with Dustin Johnson.
3:24 p.m.: Tiger Woods just hit a solid tee shot into the par-3 sixth that caught the slope and fed left toward the pin. He'll have 20-25 feet for what could be a big bounce-back birdie after his bogey at the fifth.
3:22 p.m.: No one has gotten off to a hotter start on Friday than Louis Oosthuizen. The South African is four under through seven holes, which puts him at five under for the tournament. Chances are he'll get another at the eighth too. What a start.
3:18 p.m.: With everybody making a big move today, Bryson DeChambeau has gone in the complete opposite direction. He just three-putted the 16th to fall back to three over on his round and three under for the tournament. He's still very much in it, but he'll need to keep it together these final two holes and make a big move tomorrow.
In the 15th fairway, Jordan Spieth took a rip at the green and immediately yelled "missed it, GO, GO, GO!" The ball listened, landing on the green and setting him up with a decent look at eagle. What a turnaround for the three time major champ. Even if he has to settle for birdie he'll move to two under. Incredible.
3:16 p.m.: Back at 15, Justin Thomas holes a chip for eagle to get to five under on his round and four under for the tournament. THERE IS TOO MUCH HAPPENING !
3:15 p.m.: At the 18th, Francesco Molinari just played one of the classiest putts you'll see all week. After pulling his drive he hit his approach shot all the way to the back of the green with the pin up near the front, and then he aimed well left and let his ball feed all the way down toward the cup. Somehow, it still came up four feet short, but he was still able to make his par and post a five-under 67. He's the leader in the clubhouse at seven under, and he could soon be joined by Jason Day, who just holed another birdie at the 16th to tie Molinari.
3:08 p.m.: Well, well, well ... how the turntables:
3:06 p.m.: Tiger is in trouble at the fifth for the second day in a row, as his drive found the bunker again. He just safely played it back out into the fairway and now will need some wizardry to save par.
3:04 p.m.: Jason Day makes birdie at the 15th and is now at six under, one off of Molinari's lead. Day's playing partners, Dustin Johnson and Bryson DeChambeau, each make birdie as well, and Johnson is also at six under while DeChambeau is at four under.
2:58 p.m.: Tiger's tee shot at the par-3 fourth was a good one, coming to rest seven feet below the hole. He buried the putt for his first birdie of the day to get to three under for the tournament. Huge. He's now four back of Molinari, who had a great look at No. 17 to get to eight under but missed. We'll see if he can finish this one off at the 18th. As of now, the leader in the clubhouse is still Patton Kizzire at four under. Though that obviously won't last much longer. Ian Poulter is about to finish with a par at 18 now to post a 71 and get in the house at five under.
The next best score from a player that's finished belongs to Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who shot an even-par 72 to remain at three under heading to the weekend.
2:49 p.m.: Just as we finished typing that last update, Rahm made birdie again at No. 3 and is now at five under. Tiger Woods did not make birdie, and he remains at two under.
2:47 p.m.: We forgot to mention Jon Rahm, who made his first birdie of the day to reach four under for the week. Don't be surprised if this guy is leading the tournament at the end of the day.
2:40 pm.: After the missed opportunity at No. 2, Woods pipes a 308-yard drive at the third that will leave him with a short, 35-yard wedge shot into the green. We'll see if he can capitalize here with a birdie like he was unable to do on Thursday.
Way up at the 13th, Phil Mickelson two-putts for birdie to get back to five under for the tournament. That's now two back of Molinari, who birdied the 15th hole to get to seven under.
2:30 p.m.: A second shot from 249 yards found the right greenside bunker for Tiger, leaving him a little work at the second hole with the tight right-hand hole location. His third shot, out of the bunker, comes to rest 20 feet from the hole.
Tiger's birdie putt at No. 2 slides 5 feet by. He makes par to remain 2-under.
Dustin Johnson and Jason Day just birdied the par-5 13th hole to get to 5-under—just one back of Francesco Molinari's current lead. The third member of that group, Bryson DeChambeau, fails to take advantage of the par 5 and makes par to stay at 3-under, three over on his day, and three back.
2:16 p.m.: Tiger just smokedddd his tee ball at the par-5 second hole (324 yards), leaving him 249 yards upcoming for his second shot. It's a tricky approach today with the front right pin. But anything left on the front part of the green will allow one to attack and make a birdie.
Here's the video from the Masters app:
2:08 p.m.: Tiger saves his par at the opening hole to remain 2-under, which is still four back of the lead. DeChambeau and Koepka owned that lead while Tiger was still home, but it's now the Champion Golfer of the Year who Tiger trails.
Tiger has to feel encouraged that he's still in the mix, and Koepka and Bryson haven't extended the lead at all.
In fact, Bryson just bogeyed again at the famous par-3 12th. He falls all the back to 3-under, as he's now 3-over on his round and 3 back of Francesco Molinari. That's a lot of threes...
2:01 p.m.: Champion Golfer of the Year Francesco Molinari now sits alone at the top of the leader board with Ian Poulter three-putting for bogey at the 14th hole. It's been a battle all day for the leaders, with Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka over-par on their rounds. Molinari, meanwhile, is 4-under on the day—Matthew Fitzpatrick the only one better on the course.
The Italian, who hasn't finished in the top 15 at Augusta National, is continuing his world-class play by leading by himself at the moment.
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods' second round is officially underway. He has an 8-footer upcoming at the first to save par.
1:49 p.m.: Phil Mickelson drops a shot at the par-4 10th hole, where Bryson double-bogeyed just before him, so Phil falls two back of the lead now held by Ian Poulter and Francesco Molinari.
Jason Day and Brooks Koepka are just behind at 5-under. And Matt Kuchar (who eagled 13), Patton Kizzire (in the clubhouse), Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau and Phil Mickelson are two back at 4-under.
1:43 p.m.: Bryson DeChambeau has held the solo lead for the past two hours with Brooks Koepka struggling on his front nine. He will relinquish that role for the moment, as he just double bogeyed the 10th hole to fall back to 4-under—now leaving a host of five others at 5-under holding the lead.
OK, that lasted for about two minutes. Ian Poulter grabs the solo lead with a birdie at the par-5 13th hole to get to 6-under. And now Francesco Molinari just birdied the par-3 12th hole to tie Poulter at the lead. It's all happening now!
Meanwhile, Tiger Woods tees off in 5 minutes here in his second round. This is going to be an exciting couple of hours here at Augusta National.
1:39 p.m.: It's going to be an electric day at Augusta. ANYTHING could happen this afternoon. And yet nothing that happens might top what Zach Johnson just did at the par-5 13th. While taking a practice swing, Johnson accidentally made contact with his ball and it bounced off the tee marker and rolled about three yards forward, causing ZJ to say "oh sh--!" Per a new rule, because Johnson did not have any intent, he does not incur a penalty. Had he accidentally moved it while it was in play it would be a penalty, but not on the teeing ground. Good break for Johnson, who is at two over for the tournament, which will likely be right around the cut line by day's end.
1:30 p.m.: BANG! Phil Mickelson buries a slick right to left putt at the ninth four a bounce-back birdie. An even par 36 has him within one of the lead heading to the back nine. I think he would have signed for that this morning.
Mickelson's playing partner, Justin Thomas, made a nice little move on the front, firing a three-under 33. That's tied for low round on the course at the moment, and it has him at two under for the tournament, four back. Up ahead at 12, Ian Poulter stops his par streak with a birdie, which gets him to five under. It's ALL happening now:
1:25 p.m.: Brooks Koepka is now back within one after making a birdie at the eighth to reach five under, currently tied with Day and Molinari. LOT of action. Imagine what this afternoon is going to be like?
1:19 p.m.: It's not sexy, but Ian Poulter is grinding his damn face off right now. The Englishman just made his ninth consecutive par at No. 11 after his bogey-birdie start to the round. He's still at four under, which is looking more and more like a great spot to be at day's end, especially considering Bryson just made another bogey at the ninth to fall back to six under. Guess who is only four back at the moment and has yet to hit a shot on Friday .... any guesses? Any at all?
(whispers) It's Tiger.
1:08 p.m.: Patton Kizzire is in the clubhouse with his second straight 70, putting him at four under for the tournament. Solid first two rounds that will have him firmly in contention on the weekend. Impressive stuff from the two-time tour winner.
Back at No. 8, Lefty was unable to save par, dropping him into a tie for fourth at four under with Kizzire, Koepka, and Poulter.
Then there's the group at three under, which includes Kiradech Aphibarnrat thanks to his near-ace just now at the par-3 12th. He cleaned up his birdie to get into a tie for eighth. Thorbjorn Olesen is at three under as well, as he just made his second birdie in his last three holes at the 15th.
1:07 p.m.: If Jason Day's back really is hurting that bad, this is an all-time gritty performance. He just made birdie at No. 8 to get to three under on the round, five under for the tournament.
1:02 p.m.: Bryson takes back his two-shot lead at the par-5 eighth, where he came up just short of the green in two and then pitched one to eight feet and drained the putt. Behind him, Phil Mickelson is having the most Phil Mickelson hole ever, as he drove it left into the pine straw and then hit his second way right into more pine straw. Straw to straw... only Phil. He's still got 180 left to the hole, so par would be ideal at this point.
12:56 p.m.: Here comes Francesco! The reigning Open Champion just made his third birdie of the day at No. 9 to post a front-nine 33, putting him at five under for the week, just one off the lead. He's made just one bogey over his first 27 holes, by the way. Surgical.
12:45 p.m.: At the par-3 sixth, Brooks Koepka has made another bogey after sailing the green with his tee shot. His second caught the slope and rolled some 30 feet past and he took his two-putt from there. He's now at four under with Poulter, who just made the turn in even par 36.
The good news for those guys is that Bryson DeChambeau also just made bogey, his coming at the seventh after he had to lay up with his second shot because his drive found the trees down the right side. He's still the solo leader, but that lead is now just one over Phil Mickelson, who has 17 feet left for birdie at the seventh. The afternoon wave must be enjoying watching these guys not go low right now. Everybody is still in the conversation, including Jason Day and Francesco Molinari, who are tied for the best round on the course at two under. They are also at four under for the tournament along with Poulter and Koepka
12:30 p.m.: Huge missed opportunity at the par-5 eighth for Ian Poulter, who laid up to 82 yards from a fairway bunker and then knocked his third to five feet. He missed the putt for birdie, settling for par to remain at four under.
Up ahead at 15, Patton Kizzire is looking to get to the clubhouse in an excellent spot. He's one under on the round and three under for the tournament, with his only bogey of the day coming at the opening hole. Real steady playing from him so far this week. Barring a catastrophe, he'll make the weekend with ease after missing the cut a year ago in his Masters debut. Kizzire has shown plenty of game on the PGA Tour, but he's yet to make a splash at the majors. This would be a nice start.
12:17 p.m.: Mickelson actually hit a great wedge shot at No. 5, which is never surprising. But he still had about seven or eight feet left for par and missed, dropping him into a tie for second at five under with Koepka. Just like that, Bryson DeChambeau has a two-shot lead at the Masters. SCIENCE.
12:06 p.m.: Don't look now, but Jason Day is quietly creeping up the leader board. He just birdied the brute of a hole that is the par-4 fifth to get to two under on his round, and four under for the tournament. Phil Mickelson won't be birdieing that hole in the group behind, as he badly missed left off the tee, then pulled his approach and now has an incredibly difficult up-and-down coming up to save par.
Meanwhile, back at No. 4, Brooks Koepka's wild day continues. He just bogeyed to fall back to five under. Check out this card:
Yesterday? Six birdies and no bogeys. Today? Little bit of everything, except a par. Golf.
11:53 a.m.: Anddd just like that, Brooks Koepka gets one back at the par-4 third hole. He stuck his approach to six feet at this tricky hole location and rolls in the birdie—his eighth of the week already, to make up for that double bogey at the second.
Koepka's now one back of Bryson's lead for the moment. Bryson just parred the par-3 fourth hole to remain at 7-under.
11:47 a.m.: Matt Kuchar struggled a bit on Thursday, but still managed to card a 1-under round. And he's making his move into contention already on Day 2. The Sea Island native has 3 birdies through 6 holes (to go with one bogey) and has it to 3-under on the tournament, which is T-5 and just four back of Bryson DeChambeau. Francesco Molinari and Jason Day have it at the same number. There's some serious FIREPOWER on this leader board, and we're just getting started.
11:40 a.m.: So here's the damage at No. 2 for Brooks Koepka: A double-bogey 7 at the par 5 means he'll move back to 5-under, one-over the day, back to third place behind Bryson DeChambeau (-7) and Phil Mickelson (-6).
Coming off the birdie at No. 1, you'd think Koepka would've extended his lead even further at the par 5. But his drive found the trees to the left, and his second shot appeared to hit the trees on his way out, forcing him to take an unplayable.
His second shot:
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And then after taking the unplayable, still forcing him to punch out:
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11:32 a.m.: Phil Mickelson birdies the par-5 second hole to keep pace with Bryson DeChambeau and Brooks Koepka, staying one back now of their lead. Phil's 6-under for the tournament.
Meanwhile, here's where Brooks Koepka's tee shot at the second hole ended up. It appears he tried to punch out with his second, but his ball found the creek that runs down left. He's left with a punch out from the trees still, and will be hitting his fifth shot from 167 yards out.
11:17 a.m.: Brooks Koepka picks up where he left off yesterday, birdieing the first hole with a holed 10-footer. The three-time major champion makes it look easy when he reaches that other gear. And it looks like it's activated early here on Friday.
And his co-leader Bryson DeChambeau also adds an early birdie at the par-5 second hole. That's a two-shot lead now for those two over Phil Mickelson, as Phil attempts to add a birdie of his own at No. 2.
11:13 a.m.: After the missed birdie chance at the fourth, Ian Poulter now slices his ball way right at the long par-4 fifth hole. That sailed over the patrons right of the fairway. We'll see if he gets lucky with a bounce over near the trees and pine straw.
Francesco Molinari birdied the third hole to move to 3-under for the tournament. Very quietly, the Champion Golfer of the Year is just 3 back of the lead. He would be a man to be reckoned with if he can get a couple more birdies on Day 2.
Jason Day also just got to 3-under with a birdie at the par-5 second hole. Playing with Dustin Johnson, DJ missed a 10-footer for a missed chance to negate the opening bogey. DJ stays at 4-under.
11:08 a.m.: Ian Poulter squanders a great chance to move within one of the lead, as he misses an 8-footer for birdie at the par-3 fourth. He'll stay two back of the lead.
Matt Kuchar rolled in a birdie at the fourth from 27 feet below the hole. That moves Kuch to 2-under and four back of Bryson and Koepka, who are both on the course now.
Phil Mickelson parred the first to remain one back of the lead. He's playing with Justin Rose, who struggled yesterday, but starts his round with a nice birdie at No. 1 to move to 2-over. Don't count him out—this guy has never missed the cut at the Masters, though he appeared like he was in danger to do so yesterday.
10:58 a.m.: In the group ahead of Phil, Justin Rose and Justin Thomas, we have co-leader Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson (one back) and Jason Day (four back).
DJ will give up a shot at the opening hole, with his second shot sailing the green. The bogey brings him back to 3-under for the tournament. Bryson DeChambeau makes par to stay tied for the lead, and Jason Day made par to stay at 2-under.
10:53 a.m.: Phil Mickelson finds the fairway on his first tee shot to get his opening round underway. Lefty is playing his 100th round at Augusta National today, and he does it teeing off just one shot shy of the lead.
At 49 years old, it's amazing—but not surprising—to see him high on the leader board. Look at the others around him on the leaderboard: Brooks Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau and Dustin Johnson. Three of the game's young guns. But Phil is 23rd on tour in driving distance this year—a big reason why he can hang with the big boys still.
We'll see if he keeps up his stellar play in his 100th round. We'd expect him to: He looked great on Day 1.
10:42 a.m.: Ian Poulter nearly jarred the eagle putt, settling for a tap-in birdie to move back to even-par on the day, and 4-under for the event—just two back of the lead.
Matt Kuchar and Zach Johnson each hit good third shots to give themselves a look at birdie. ZJ, in particular, hit a sporty pitch from 85 yards. And ZJ converts on the opportunity, canning the 12-footer to get to 1-over. Matt Kuchar makes it three birdies for the featured group, making his putt to get back to 1-under.
10:36 a.m.: The umbrellas are gone and the sun is poking back out at Augusta. Kevin Kisner and Kiradech Aphibarnrat each make pars at the par-5 second hole to remain at 3-under.
In a group behind, on CBS' streaming coverage, Zach Johnson nearly took out some patrons to the left. As Billy Kratzert just described, he "heel-toe hooked it", and he'll be in a not often-traveled-to spot for players over there left of 2. Ian Poulter, in the same group, hit a terrific shot to the front of the green—he'll have a look at eagle at this front right hole location.
10:23 a.m.: It's now a birdie-birdie start for Billy Horschel, who birdied the par-5 second to go along with his birdie at No. 1. Horschel is now 2-under for the tournament, just four back of the lead.
10:18 a.m.: Ian Poulter didn't start his round the way he would've hoped. It's an opening bogey for the Englishman after his approach came up short and left of the green, in a precarious spot behind the greenside bunker.
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The bogey brings Poulter to 3-under, now three back of the leaders.
His playing partner, Matt Kuchar, also bogeys the first to drop to even-par for the tournament. His tee shot went way right at No. 1, and his second shot went in a similar spot to Poulter. Kuch missed the 22-footer for par, leading to the dropped shot.
10:10 a.m: Some other early birdies have players moving up the leaderboard: Thorbjorn Olesen made a 13-footer for birdie at the third hole and its hard front right pin position today. Thunderbear is now 2-under for the tournament and T-11.
And Billy Horschel birdied the first hole, sticking his approach to 3 feet, right where Bernhard Langer was this morning, to get to red numbers for the tournament.
9:55 a.m.: Kevin Kisner and Kiradech Aphibarnrat are off on their first round with pars. They start the day 3-under, just three back of the lead. Though Aphibarnrat has yet to contend in a major, Kisner certainly has—holding the 54-hole lead at Quail Hollow at the 2017 PGA, and contending last year at Carnoustie. It wouldn't be a surprise to continue to see Kisner near the lead at Augusta, and we'll see if Aphibarnrat is ready for this big stage. The Thai player does have two 15th-place finishes in majors—here in 2016 and the 2018 U.S. Open.
We're close to some of the biggest players from yesterday's afternoon wave teeing off this morning, like Phil Mickelson, who goes off at 10:53 a.m. with Justin Rose, Justin Thomas:
9:28 a.m.: Just like death and taxes, you can always figure on Bernhard Langer holding his own at the Masters. Of course, he's done more than hold his own in recent years, threatening the lead a few years ago on the weekend. The two-time Masters champ vaulted up the leaderboard early on Day 2 with an 18-footer for birdie on the first hole to get to 2-under, which is just four back of the leaders. He birdied the par-5 second yesterday, too, so we'll see if he can get even closer.
9:10 a.m.: A somewhat light rain begins to fall here at Augusta National, nothing to stop play, but perhaps make the greens even more receptive to this morning group. There's no wind to speak of yet—so the advantage in the draw continues to appear like it's in the afternoon/morning wave.
Patton Kizzire negates his opening bogey with an easy birdie at the par-5 second. The big-hitter from Birmingham had a 24-footer for eagle that just missed, leading to a tap-in birdie. He gets back to 2-under for the tournament, four back of Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau.
Martin Kaymer picked up an early shot at the first hole, as he stuck his approach to 3 feet. That might end up being the closest anyone gets all day—the two-time major champion is now 6 back of the lead.
8:45 a.m.: The first group on the course this morning is Patton Kizzire, who held a share of the lead toward the end of the morning wave, Michael Kim and Sandy Lyle.
There was a little carnage early at the first hole. Kizzire chipped his ball over the green from the right side into a greenside bunker left. He would get up and down to save the bogey, but that brings him back to 1-under on the tournament. Kim and Lyle made pars.