Americans Scottie Scheffler, Bryson DeChambeau and Max Homa together lead with 138 strokes (6 under par) at the halfway point of the 88th Masters. Tiger Woods made the cut that Stephan Jäger, the only German in the field, missed. On Friday in Augusta (Georgia) the wind was so strong again during the second round that gusts of up to fifty kilometers per hour kept blowing sand out of the bunkers, the players constantly looked for cover and the round took 5:45 hours .
While DeChambeau (65 strokes) and Scheffler (66 strokes) were able to successfully defy the strong breezes the day before, on Friday such low results were not even remotely achievable for any of the 89 participants. Swedish Masters debutant Ludvig Åberg achieved the best round of the day with 69 strokes, which moved him up to seventh place. Of the three leaders, only the Californian Homa, eleventh in the world rankings, managed a round below the course standard (par) of 72 with 71 strokes – even though he, like his teammate Woods, had to complete 23 holes on Friday because their first round was on The previous day had to be interrupted after sunset due to the late start.
Scheffler is satisfied
“The weather forced you to be patient,” said Homa, who after returning to the clubhouse could not hide the fact that he was happy not to have to struggle further out. Scheffler was more than satisfied with a result of 72 strokes: “It was an extremely good round for me,” said the world number one. DeChambeau, the 2020 US Open champion, raved about how the wind stopped him from playing aggressively like he always does. The 30-year-old professional played at this Masters with irons that were 3D printed according to his ideas, the slightly rounded face of which was only approved by one of the USGA as compliant with the rules at the beginning of the week. The 23-year-old Dane Nicolai Højgaard follows in fourth place after a round of 73 and a total of 140 strokes.
“It was a day where you couldn’t hide any weakness in your game,” Woods said after his round of 72 shots. The 48-year-old crowd favorite is in 24th place with 145 strokes. The five-time Masters champion made the cut for the 24th time in a row and now holds this record of consistency alone, ahead of the American Fred Couples and the South African Gary Player, who both made it 23 times. “It’s unbelievable how much control Tiger has over the ball,” said his teammate Homa. Woods particularly excelled at the “short game”. He only hit 8 of the 18 greens “in regulation”, i.e. within the stroke rate specified by the course standard – and that was only in his second tournament this year. With just seven shots behind, Woods still sees a chance of another triumph in Augusta.
Jäger complains about difficult conditions
On Saturday the wind is expected to ease a little with temperatures of up to 25 degrees. “It had nothing to do with golf,” said Jäger, describing the extremely difficult conditions on the second day. After starting the first major of the year on Thursday with 74 strokes (2 over par), he missed the cut (150 strokes, 6 over par) after a round of 80 strokes and a total of 154 strokes. Nevertheless, the American from Chattanooga (Tennessee) was satisfied with his Masters debut: “I only made three bad shots today,” said Jäger. The fact that his great idol Woods played such a clear round did not surprise the Munich native: “He is perhaps the best golfer of all time.”
Wolfgang Scheffler, Augusta Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1 Wolfgang Scheffler, Augusta Published/Updated: Wolfgang Scheffler, Augusta Published/Updated: Recommendations: 1
But there is still one consolation for Jäger: he is in good company. The Norwegian world number six Viktor Hovland even said goodbye with a round of 81 strokes. The American major winners Jordan Spieth, Wyndham Clark and Dustin Johnson also missed the weekend.
