Scheffler five clear as wind shakes up the pack on day 2 – The Masters

Round 2

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler continued his remarkable run of form to open up a five-stroke halfway lead at The Masters, as Tiger Woods battled back from a nightmare start to ease into the weekend.

Scheffler, chasing a fourth win in six starts, made four birdies in a five-hole stretch on his way to a five-under 67 at a breezy Augusta National, seeing the American equal the largest 36-hole lead in Masters history.

The 25-year-old mixed seven birdies with two bogeys to build a commanding advantage over a four-way tie for second, with defending champion Hideki Matsuyama joined on three under by overnight leader Sungjae Im, Ireland’s Shane Lowry and 2011 winner Charl Schwartzel.

Lowry started the week with a one-over 73 and slipped further behind after missing a five-footer to save par at the first, only to follow birdies at the second and seventh with a superb chip-in from over a bunker at the par-four tenth.

Charl Schwartzel took advantage of the calmer morning conditions to go low.

The Irishman then took advantage of the par-five 13th and birdied the 15th to move to four under his round, before holing a 10-footer to save par at the par-three 16th and closing out a blemish-free back nine to stay in touch with the lead.

“It was one of my better rounds of my career,” Lowry said. “It was quite tricky out there, quite difficult, and I managed to play some good golf and hole some nice putts at the right times.”

Schwartzel rolled back the years to card a three-under 69, a score matched by Matsuyama, with Im also on three under after a final-hole bogey saw him sign for a two-over 74.

Cameron Smith – one of six players who can end the week as world No 1 – birdied two of his last four holes to salvage a two-over 74 and stay within six of the lead, while Justin Thomas raced up the leaderboard and inside the top-10 with a second-round 67.

Lowry produced some magic approach shots to race into contention.

15-time major champion Tiger Woods was left in a twoball alongside Joaquin Niemann, following Louis Oosthuizen’s withdrawal through injury, with Woods recovering from bogeying four of his opening five holes to salvage a two-over 74 and make it through to the weekend.

Woods, making his first start in a competitive event since November 2020, made a tap-in birdie at the par-five eighth and produced a brilliant approach into the par-four tenth to pick up another shot.

The 46-year-old bounced back from successive bogeys from the 11th to pick up back-to-back birdies over his next two holes, with Woods close to making further inroads over the closing stretch.

Rory McIlroy recovered from dropping three shots in the space of two holes at the start of his back nine to post a second successive 73, leaving him on two over with the likes of world No 2 Jon Rahm and England’s Tyrrell Hatton.

Scheffler lines up a birdie putt on 13.

2015 champion Jordan Spieth double-bogeyed his final hole to miss the cut on six over alongside four-time major champion Brooks Koepka, while former Open champion Stewart Cink also suffered an early exit despite firing a hole-in-one at the par-three 16th.

Olympic gold medallist Xander Schauffele was among the other notable names to fail to make it through to the weekend, with Bryson DeChambeau looking in physical discomfort as he struggled to an eight-over 80 that contained only one birdie.

Waterford native Seamus Power had to battle to make it through to the weekend on his maiden Masters appearance, but made two birdies inside the final six holes to get in on the cut mark.

Padraig Harrington, however, missed out on a place in the third round, missing a birdie putt on the 18th that would have seen him join Power on four over. The three-time major winner posted 75 to end up on five over par.

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