The Masters
Masters 2024: 'I'm not getting involved in that' - The one question the clubhouse leader refused to answer about Augusta National
Jamie Squire
AUGUSTA, Ga. — With the way the wind is gusting on Friday afternoon at Augusta National, you'd have trouble finding a happier man in the Masters field than Cameron Davis. The 29-year-old Australian was able to finish off an opening-round 69 before play was halted due to darkness late on Thursday night, allowing him to tee off in his regular Round 2 timeslot at 8:12 a.m. ET Friday morning alongside Denny McCarthy and Camilo Villegas.
In chilly conditions, Davis was able to grind out an even-par 72, which for now has given him the clubhouse lead and, more importantly, the reward of sitting on the couch and rooting for chaos. Davis' three-under 141 total is looking better and better by the minute, as the wind gusts continue to get heavier for the Friday afternoon wave.
Hard to draw up a first 36 holes in your second Masters appearance any better than that, eh Cam?
"I feel like I put in my hard work," Davis said afterward. "I'm happy to put my feet up this afternoon."
Make no mistake, Davis faced plenty of tricky shots himself, too. He did make a double bogey at the par-4 seventh as well as bogeys at the ninth and 13th holes. But he was able to offset the blemishes with four birdies to go with 11 pars for a tidy 72.
"It's a good test out there right now," he said. "I feel like pars are good scores. There are a few opportunities, if you do hit some good tee shots and good approaches into some of the slopes, that can help you out. I had a couple of stumbles, but I felt like I battled well and made some nice putts to keep the momentum."
Any time a major championship course is being played in conditions like Augusta is on Friday, the inevitable debate always pops up - What would [insert handicap] shoot today? With Davis being one of the first to finish and speak with the media, he was hit with that question and he wanted no part of it.
"I'm not getting involved in that," Davis said, laughing. "It's hard out there. We're finding it very difficult to shoot even-par.
"The thing about this place is there is a lot of room," he said. "The greens, they're big, and they're slopey. It's all a matter of being in position. If you have a way of getting in the right distances off the tees, into the greens, you can still shoot good scores out here. But the way it is right now, probably be a tough ask."
Davis was smart not to put any number on it, though he did leave us with this...
"On a good day, the difference between shooting 90 and 110 is very small out here."
And, like he said, that's on a good day. On Friday, when players like Dustin Johnson, Stewart Hagestad, Justin Rose and Tom Kim are all five over or worse? The range is probably more in the 120-to-150 area.
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