Four Atop the Day 2 Masters Leaderboard, Tiger Still in the Hunt

Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, GA — November 13, 2020

Still reeling from the three-hour weather delay at the 2020 Masters Tournament on opening day, more than half of the field was still on the course when darkness fell on Day 2. Including 1st round leader Paul Casey and fan-favorite Tiger Woods.

Friday usually is cut-day at PGA Tour events, this year we will have to wait for Saturday morning to see who is going home as well as who plays Saturday afternoon and Sunday.

Expected Cut Line

In the anticipation of the expiration of Daylight Savings Time reducing playing hours, Augusta National Golf Club had changed the cut line to the Top 50 players and ties. Normally anyone within 10 strokes of the lead would have the opportunity to advance to play on Saturday and Sunday.

The anticipated cut line is even par or a two-day total of 144. We know for sure a number of players are already packing their clubs and heading home. Matthew Wolff, Fred Couples, Francesco Molinari, and José Maria Olazabal are some of the big names eliminated.

Who else might get caught with a 36 hole total over par? Matt Kuchar is 1 under with five holes to play, he started on the back nine, bogeyed 10, and triple-bogeyed 11. Tony Finau made bogeys on 4,5, and 7 before a birdie on the Par 5-8th hole stopped the slide. He is 1 under with seven holes remaining in Round 2.

The Pre-Tournament Favorite is in Trouble

Bryson DeChambeau, the overwhelming favorite on Thursday morning before the tournament started, may exit early. His “attack the course” strategy has been interesting to follow. After finishing Day 1 at 2 under par, DeChambeau’s Friday scorecard read like a roller coaster. He needs to find a stroke over the next six holes and hold it to finish even.

Jordan Spieth sits at even par with eight holes to play. Henrik Stenson 1 over after 12, Charl Schwartzel 1 over after 10, Mike Weir 1 over after 9, Gary Woodland 3 over after 10, all have some work to do to continue playing past Round 2.

Who Leads as of Now

Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Cameron Smith, and Abraham Ancer all sit atop the leaderboard at -9 after finishing the 2nd Round. Hideki Matsuyama is -8 with three holes to play.

Keep an eye on Jon Rahm at 8 under and Louis Oosthuizen at 7 under, both have six holes to play. Yesterday’s co-leader, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed, and Xander Schauffele are all at 6 under. Casey and Reed are through 11, Schauffele has five holes to play.

Phil Mickelson and Brooks Koepka are in the clubhouse at 5 under for the tournament.

What About Tiger

After equaling his best-ever opening round score of 68, Tiger teed off late on Friday. Starting Round 2 on the front side where he finished with 8 straight pars yesterday. Birdies on the par 5 holes #2 and #8 mixed with bogeys on #3 and #7 left Tiger where he began at 4 under.

If Woods can match his opening round 33 on the back nine he will be right in the middle of the mix for the weekend.

It will be an early Saturday morning as 2nd round play resumes at 7:30 am. After tomorrow the anticipated drama for Sunday should be well defined. That’s why they call Saturday “moving day” at The Masters.

The 84th Masters Championship from Augusta National Golf Club

Round 2 cumulative scores and holes completed.