In 87 previous Masters tournaments, the United States have supplied 63 of the winners. At the halfway stage, this edition is heading the same way.
World number one Scheffler looked marginally more ruffled in the weather conditions than he had when shooting 66 in the first round but again showed impeccable course management to join the leaders.
He briefly dropped two shots back when bogeying the seventh but immediately rebounded with a birdie and held the outright lead midway through his round.
An uncharacteristic mistake at the par-five 13th, when he hit his second shot into the stream protecting the green, cost him a shot but he played conservative golf for the rest of his round to ensure he stayed at the top.
After an impressive opening round of 65, DeChambeau battled tentative putting and swirling winds to try and maintain his lead.
His highlight came at 13 when he found the trees off the tee so opted to play his second down the 14th fairway and then hit his third to 14 feet and holed the birdie putt.
However, he came unstuck at the last when he misjudged the wind when hitting his second shot and ended up 65 feet from the pin. A three-putt bogey followed.
“That was one of the toughest tests of golf I have had in my life,” said DeChambeau. “The conditions were so difficult.
“Shooting one over par was not bad. I have a chance and all I can ask for is to play my way into an opportunity come Sunday.”
Meanwhile, Homa, who was playing with Woods, enjoyed a sparkling start, birdieing the second and the fourth to join DeChambeau at the top of the leaderboard on seven under.
He briefly led the tournament after DeChambeau bogeyed the fourth and, after dropping a shot on the 11th, he parred his way home.
2024-04-13 00:10:44
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