Back-to-back bogeys for Nicolai Hojgaard. He follows his egregious mistake at 5 by leaving himself short at the par-three 6th. His chip isn’t all that, and two putts later he’s back to -3. Things can quickly go south down south. The wind is whipping around, to be fair.
Cameron Young plays the 3rd to perfection. A booming drive down the middle, a chip up from the bottom of the steep front to three feet, a putt tidied up. Meanwhile Matthieu Pavon takes on the bunker guarding the front of the par-three 4th, arrowing straight for the flag, and he makes a birdie as well. That’s given the top of the leader board a wee shoogle.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Homa (2), Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard (5), Pavon (4), Young (3), Willett
-3: Davis (10), Fox
You’ll have noticed Nicolai Hojgaard dropping to -4. That’s the result of a really careless bogey at 5. He’d driven into a fairway bunker, and was forced to lay up, but then from 100 yards screwed a wedge to 18 inches. Par saved, surely … but he absent mindedly rushed and yipped the putt. A rookie mistake to assume anything is ever a shoo-in at Augusta. Meanwhile Jordan Spieth didn’t go out of bounds with his opening tee shot, but he was forced to chop out, and after an uncharacteristically heavy-handed chip, walks off with a bogey he couldn’t really afford. He’s +8.
Tiger sends his second at 2 over the back. He chips up to 12 feet, and looks to have made the right-to-left birdie curler, but the ball stops a dimple short. His shoulders slump. The fast start he was after isn’t materialising. He remains at +1. It’s a par-par start also for Jason Day, minus both baggy trews and strident sweater. But still, the important work is already done. Brain-searing complete. BUY MALBON. A two-putt birdie for the third member of the group, Max Homa.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Homa (2), Scheffler
-4: Hojgaard (5), Willett
-3: Davis (10), Pavon (3), Young (2)
The early scoring is not exactly spectacular. No great surprise. The wind’s still up, albeit not raging like it did yesterday, and with the sun now out, the greens are hardening, the soft, receptive surfaces of yesterday a thing of the past. A few of the early starters are under par for their second round, but nobody by more than a single shot. It’s unlikely to get any easier.
The certainties of youth versus accumulation of scar tissue. Ludvig Aberg (+1) and Sahith Theegala (+2) pelt their drives at 1 down the middle; Jordan Spieth (+7), who has a green jacket on his CV but also a meltdown for the ages plus he’s just become the first player in 20 years to have made nine at the 15th on more than one occasion, flays an abysmal slice into the trees down the right. There’s out of bounds over there.
Tiger’s first second-round hole, or his sixth of today’s 23-hole personal marathon, is a steady par at Tea Olive. Meanwhile bogey at 9 for Cameron Davis, punishment for sending his tee shot into the pines down the right of the hole. He’s not had a par in four holes now, and drops back to -3 again.
Matthieu Pavon won his ticket to Augusta by winning the Farmers Insurance Open back in January. In doing so, he became the first French player to win on the PGA Tour since 1907 (although that’s something of a technicality, given Arnaud Massy’s victory at the 1907 Open was only retrospectively recognised as a PGA Tour victory). Anyway, the 31-year-old from Toulouse, son of Bordeaux Ligue 1 champion footballer Michel, is taking his opportunity with both hands. A round of 70 completed earlier, and now birdie at 2 to move to -3.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard (3), Homa (1)
-4: Davis (8), Willett
-3: Pavon (2), Fox
Cameron Davis continues to ride the rollercoaster. He’s bounced back from his double at 7 with birdie at the par-five 8th. He returns to -4, just three shots off Bryson DeChambeau. Meanwhile another bogey for the amateur Neal Shipley, the result of flubbing a wedge into a greenside bunker at 7. The 2023 US Amateur runner-up does extremely well to get up and down from the trap to limit the damage to a single shot. He’s -1.
A word on the Open champion Brian Harman. He was looking in fine fettle yesterday, playing the front nine in 34 strokes. But he’s suffered a root-and-branch collapse this morning. Out in 34, he’s come back in 47 strokes! Bogey at 11 and 12. Double bogey at 13. Triple bogey at 16. Two more double bogeys to close at 17 and 18. A misbehaving wedge the chief culprit, as he spins into Rae’s Creek at 13, and blades out of a bunker at the last. He ends up signing for a worst-of-round 81. He’s +9. A reminder that this is a man who won the Open by six strokes and finished runner-up at the unofficial fifth major, the Players, last month. Golf is hard.
… and here’s how it looks now in real time. A par-par start to Nicolai Hojgaard’s second round. The amateur Neal Shipley dropped a stroke at 4. And Cameron Davis made it up to -5 after birdie at 6, but has slipped back after making a pig’s ear of 7, driving into the trees, then dumping a weak chip into the bunkers guarding the front of the green. A double.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard (2), Homa
-4: Willett
-3: Davis (7), Fox
-2: Shipley -a- (6), Pavon (1), Young, Conners, An, Niemann, Zalatoris
-1: Kitayama (1), Morikawa, Van Rooyen, Moore, Olesen, Glover, Finau, Cantlay, Fitzpatrick, McIlroy, Hovland, Smith
(A reminder that all the second-round tee times can be found here.)
The final group of the first round is back in the clubhouse. Collin Morikawa rakes in a long birdie putt to post a figure in red: a one-under 71. The 2020 champion Dustin Johnson bogeys and ends up with a miserable 78. And finally Tommy Fleetwood, coming off the back of bogey at 17, jabs gingerly at a four-footer and bogeys again. A level-par 72. At least he won’t have too long to sulk over it. Here’s how the top of the leader board looked after the first-round scores were posted …
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard, Homa
-4: Willett
As the first round comes to an end, and the bulk of the Friday groupings prepare for their day’s work, it’s time for this hole-by-hole blog to take a quick break. Back in the time it takes to polish off a pimento cheese.
Tiger can’t get up and down from the bunker at 18. Bogey. He signs for a 73. Max Homa races a hysterical six-foot par effort three feet past but knocks in the one coming back. A bogey blemish at the end of an impressive personal-best 67. And bogey also for the third member of the group, Jason Day. A 75 and at +3 he’s got a job on his hands when this group get back out in 47 minutes time.
-7: DeChambeau
-6: Scheffler
-5: Hojgaard, Homa
-4: Davis (4), Willett
-3: Shipley -a- (3), Fox
Neal Shipley was the only amateur to beat par yesterday. And after posting a highly impressive 71, the 23-year-old from Pittsburgh is setting about Augusta with equal vigour today. Birdie at 2, and now he wedges his second at 3 to three feet. He tidies up to move to -3, just four off Bryson DeChambeau’s lead!
Par for Cameron Young at the last, and he’s signing for a two-under 70. Coming up behind, Max Homa, who shoves his approach into the bunker to the right of the green. Tiger joins him in there.
Spieth is grouped with the Masters (and indeed major-championship) debutant Ludvig Aberg. The young Swede was going around nicely yesterday, finishing his day’s work at -1, but since restarting his round, it’s all gone wrong. Bogey at 14, and now double at 15 after spinning his approach back into the water. He’s +1.
Bogey for Tyrrell Hatton on 18, and he’s not in the best of moods as he signs for his level-par 72. Back in 39 strokes. Ooyah. Meanwhile the 2015 champion Jordan Spieth is busy making a royal balls of the 15th. He sends his third over the back of the green, then hits a bold chip coming back that trundles through the green, down the slope, threatens to somehow stop on the bank, but finally disappears into the drink. He drops the other side of the lake, but overhits the chip. Behind the green again! He decides to putt back on this time, and underhits it. Two more putts and that’s a quadruple-bogey nine. He’s done this before, in 2017. He’s +6 and having mounted something of a comeback, is more likely than not to miss the weekend now.
Bogey for Jordan Spieth, who lobs up from the bank on 14 to three feet, only to push the par putt. He’s back to +2. Birdie for Cameron Young at 17; the 26-year-old from New York four top-ten finishes in his last seven majors, and could be due a breakthrough here. He’s -2. And his namesake Cameron Davis birdies the 2nd hole of his second round to move to -4 overall. But the big move at the top is made by Max Homa, who follows up a tickled-in birdie at 16 with a sensational wedge from 156 yards at 17. His ball lands by the flag, takes one hop, and lands on the lip of the cup. He tidies up and moves into a share of second. Friday’s already frying! And the first round hasn’t even finished yet!
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: Scheffler (F), Homa (17)
-5: Hojgaard (F)
-4: Davis (1), Willett (F)
Gotta say, Jason Day’s clothing contractor is getting good bang for their buck this week. His strides having yesterday inspired more social-media activity than Atalanta, Fallout and Angela Rayner combined, he’s wandering around today in an extremely bold tank top. BUY MALBON. Whether he’ll be around for further marketing hi-jinks at the weekend is a moot point, because he’s just run up a double at 16, putting his first ball in the water, then leaving himself one of those huge semi-circular breakers you tap and set off like a rocket. He does extremely well to roll in the 10-footer he leaves for the double, but he’s back to +2. BUY MALBON.
“I don’t have the slightest clue where that ball went.” That’s never the greatest sign, is it? Yes, it’s the ever-entertaining, ever-commentating Jordan Spieth, coming off the back of birdie at 13 as he sets about repairing a round that started dismally with double bogey at Tea Olive. He’s +1 at the moment, but he’s just sent his second down the bank at the back of 14. Fortunately his caddie was keeping an eye on the ball, and Spieth has a Seve-esque ability to wriggle out of the tightest spots, but that’s going to be a testing up and down. Meanwhile Nicolai Hojgaard pars the last and signs for a 67.
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: Scheffler (F)
-5: Hojgaard (F)
-4: Willett (F), Homa (15)
The second-round pairings have started out. Nobody in the early matches bothering the upper echelons of the leader board … other than Cameron Davis, who very nearly drains a 30-footer across 1 for his birdie. Just a par and the 28-year-old Aussie remains at -3. As for the first-round pairings … “Bit disappointed in the groupings,” sighs Adam Hirst. “It was so close. Scheffler and Schauffele had Shipley (A) as a better option. Could have had Fleetwood, Woods and Woodland as well. Chances missed.”
Tyrrell Hatton sends another ball into the water. Thankfully this one is just flung into the pond at 16 in a fit of pique, after he misses a six-foot bounceback birdie attempt then taps home. But he remains at -1 and is running a little hot. He’s Tyrrell Hatton, of course he’s running a little hot, it’s why we love watching him so much.
Only three players have won the Masters on debut. Horton Smith in the very first tournament in 1934; well, someone had to. Gene Sarazen in the second Masters the following year, when there was a pretty good chance something like that would happen. And then Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979, when it was much less of a statistical shoo-in. So unlike the great trouser debate, we’ve got plenty of data to work with here: it doesn’t happen too often. But could it happen this year? Nicolai Hojgaard spent yesterday afternoon firing darts at the par fives, and he’s sent another laser iron into 17. He doesn’t quite make the 15-footer for birdie he leaves himself, but if he keeps playing like this, he’ll have plenty more chances coming his way. He remains at -5, and while there’s an awfully long way to go, looks to have the game to prosper around this place.
TROUSER NEWS: After breaking the internet yesterday with his 1990s baggy breeks, Jason Day sports a straighter leg today. The 2011 runner-up is level par through 14. Kurt Kitayama favours a more tapered fit, and he’s just birdied 16 to move to -2. What does this mean? Not sure. Tiger won the 1997 Masters by a record-breaking 12 strokes in what was effectively a chino. When someone couples their Green Jacket with jeggings or a tennis skirt, then we’ll have more data to work with.
Early-morning misery for Tyrrell Hatton as well. He dumps his approach at 15 into the briny, and runs up a double-bogey seven as a result. He tumbles down the leader board to -1.
A cold start for Tiger Woods. He batters a fine drive down the middle of 14, only to duff a miserable chip 20 yards short of the green. His chip up isn’t all that, either, and two putts later he’s walking off with a bogey, slipping back to level par.
There are 27 players finishing up their opening rounds this morning. Nicolai Hojgaard is the highest up the leader board, and he’s opened with par at the par-three 16th to remain at -5. He had to work for it, though, after sending a distinctly average tee shot in to 40 feet. (Plenty of players went super-close yesterday.) He left his first putt seven feet short, but made up for it with a steely save.
The weather did a number on Augusta National yesterday morning, which is why we’re playing catch-up now. But patrons need not worry! The forecast today is for sunny and dry conditions, and we’ll be back on schedule by the end of the day. The weekend is expected to deliver perfect Masters weather: plenty of sun, with temperatures reaching as high as 27°C on Sunday. The most beautiful game’s most beautiful tournament with weather to match. Sweet iced tea all round!
… and we’re back. Twelve hours and six minutes ago, the hooter went for close of play at the end of a rain-delayed first day at Augusta National. Now all of the lads who weren’t able to finish their opening round are out again early doors; meanwhile back on the 1st tee, we’ll have the start of the second round. Friday promises to be another Homeric odyssey, but if Tiger can make it around 23 holes in 24 hours so can we, therefore we’ll be blogging ♫♪ all day looooooonng♫♪. Today’s second-round tee times can be found by perusing the far right-hand column of this, while here’s how the leader board looks going into the day …
-7: DeChambeau (F)
-6: Scheffler (F)
-5: Hojgaard (15)
-4: Willett (F), Homa (13)
-3: Fox (F), Davis (F), Hatton (14)
-2: Conners (F), An (F), Niemann (F), Zalatoris (F), Reed (14), Pavon (14), Aberg (11), Fleetwood (10)
It’s on!