“I feel like I tactically play this golf course very well”.
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Woods was among the late starters and had moved three shots closer to the lead without hitting a shot, but followed a flawless drive on the first by missing the green and making bogey to drop back to two over.
The pair emerged from the pack on an eventful second day, with 2016 British Open victor Henrik Stenson (70) third at five under.
Reed finally got his first top-10 in a major at the 2017 PGA Championship, and now the five-time PGA Tour victor is looking to win his first major championship on the biggest stage in golf.
“You play it every year, you can prepare for it easier, once you play the greens you should know them”, Nicklaus told the Golf Channel. It’s the only thing missing from his already powerful resume, and it could finally cement Reed’s place among the top players in the game today. “I missed it, and now I’m glad to be a part of it”.
Among those who made the cut on the number (149) were three-time Masters champion Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter, who earned his trip to Augusta by winning the Houston Open last week.
“I hit my irons terrible today”, Woods said. “Last year I shot 72 in that really windy first day and Charley Hoffman had shot 65”. And there are only 87 players rather than the usual 156 and you can eliminate half the field before the start.
Rory McIlroy dug deep to stay firmly in contention for his first Masters title as he fired a one-under 71 on a second day of tough scoring at Augusta.
“It’s so tricky”, McIlroy said. If you get in trouble, make sure you get out and take advantage of the opportunities that you have.
Woods is amongst a stellar line up of favourites which include world number one Dustin Johnson who missed last year’s tournament due to a freak accident falling down the stairs at his accommodation on the eve of the championship. Hit a pretty good one on the 18th, gets a bad bounce, goes in the bunker, you get a awful lie.
More winds and cooler conditions are expected Saturday along with rain. Even as well as Spieth looked, it might be hard for anyone to pull away.
We’ve got a breakdown of the top of the leaderboard below, followed by highlights from throughout the day in our live coverage of Round 2 at Augusta National. Just under a year ago, he was going through a fourth back surgery. “I got a standing ovation on the range”. Woods was more concerned with sticking around for the weekend than chasing a green jacket.
Spieth rolled in a 14-foot eagle at the eighth, and two-putted from 40-feet for a birdie at 13.
“We’re not here to lay up”, Leishman said. For six months, I’ve just been a little bit off. “I gave it a go and it came off”. But he didn’t help himself early in his round when he blocked his tee shot on the first hole into the trees right of the fairway and took double bogey.
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A dip in Rae’s Creek at 12 cost him a shot, although he limited the damage with an impressive 18-foot bogey putt. Spieth settled for a quadruple-bogey 7 and lost his lead to Danny Willett. That included the par-5 15th, and no one suffered quite like defending champion Sergio Garcia.
