Brian Mull| Special to The Greenville News
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Augusta National offered opportunity rather than anguish in the second round of the Masters Tournament.
After an opening day of survival and occasional horror, there was less teeth gnashing Friday and more flag hunting – using the slopes to feed the ball close, of course. Receptive greens permitted the best players to play boldly with discretion. Aggressive, not reckless, in one competitor’s words.
“Soft golf course for sure,” Ryan Palmer said after he shot 68. “ You could attack a lot more pins than you did yesterday. It definitely played a good foot and a half slower for sure on a lot of the putts, and the ball is stopping too. It was there for the taking, and I took advantage of that.”
The wind blew but not with the same force as in Thursday’s opening round. The sun remained behind heavy cloud cover allowing moisture to remain in the greens, which were still firm, but less ferocious. The field hit more fairways and greens than in the opening round and shaved more than two strokes off the scoring average (72.190). There was still strength in strategy, just not as much disaster – only three scores worse than double bogey were recorded, 10 fewer than the opening round.
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Justin Thomas, who shot 67 to move into the top-10, knew early on more birdies might be available.
“Watching a little bit of coverage this morning, balls were – it just didn't have that run-out, you know,” he said. “Putts that were yesterday going three, four feet past were kind of staying in that one, one and a half foot range, and that's a huge, huge difference.”
“They threw some water on the golf course today,” Jordan Spieth said. “I mean, there was actually some green grass on No. 9 today and there wasn't yesterday.”
The calmer conditions created a crowded leaderboard, as 17 of the top 20 players after 36 holes shot in the 60s in the second round. Nearly half the field broke par.
“The fire in the greens is just down a hair,” Mackenzie Hughes said after his second consecutive 72. “The greens are holding fairly nicely. Even though they have really firm spots in them still, good shots are still being rewarded. I think it's playing perfectly right now.”
The beginning of the round remains brutal. Five of the first seven holes ranked in the top 6 in difficulty in the second round. Yet, with the wind helping and an accessible hole location, the field feasted on the 350-yard third hole, launching tee shots to the upslope and pitching close as 38 of the 88 players walked away with a birdie. The par-4 was actually easier than one of Augusta National’s four par-5s (No. 15), which is a rare occurrence indeed. The 510-yard, par-5 13th, playing downwind, was a pushover, giving up 48 birdies and four eagles.
Tommy Fleetwood turned his tournament around Thursday with an ace at the 16th hole. He put the conditions in perspective after a 2-under 70 returned him to even par for the tournament in his quest for a first major title.
"Yesterday there were some – especially in the afternoon there were some really, like, harsh putts if you like out there,” he said. “Today they just don't have that quite as much, but it's still an amazing test of golf and things can still go wrong at any time.”
Just ask Si Woo Kim. Even on a benign day Augusta National can still test a man’s patience. After a series of misses, he snapped his putter on the 15th green although he managed to make it home without further damage, using a 3-wood to two-putt the final three greens.
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The only contender who didn’t break par Friday was 36-hole leader Justin Rose, riding the cushion he built with a sensational opening 65. After 60 career rounds in the Masters, he understands the nuance of the course as well as anyone in the hunt.
“I think it was just a classic day at Augusta National when you're just slightly off,” he said. “You can be a foot or two out on certain occasions and you end up struggling.”
With strong winds in the forecast for Saturday and a mixture of favorites and surprises in contention, the Masters is positioned for an excellent, dramatic final two rounds. After the pleasant surprise of a more docile test in the second round, the weather and the setup will dictate the difficulty over the final two days.
Regardless, the players understand what lies ahead. In any conditions, there are unique challenges here. The game plan must be a sound one. Tony Finau, a long hitter with a high ball flight and ample spin, said there are plenty of holes where he’s simply chasing par.
“I mean, you just very rarely have a flat, level, even lie without a crosswind out here,” Thomas said. “So you're always needing to work it somewhat to keep the ball straight or hopefully try to get it close to the hole.”
