Sun, Nov 15, 2020 page11

• Johnson, Thomas share lead with two others

  • AFP, AUGUSTA, Georgia
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  World No. 1 Dustin Johnson and third-ranked Justin Thomas on Friday shared the second-round clubhouse lead at the Masters with two unexpected contenders, Australian Cameron Smith and Mexico’s Abraham Ancer.

  Thomas closed with back-to-back birdies to shoot a three-under 69 and US compatriot Johnson birdied his final hole to shoot 70 and join the lead pack on nine-under-par 135.

  “I like my position going into the weekend,” Johnson said. “Conditions are going to stay relatively the same. You are going to have to stay aggressive. You have to keep shooting well.”

  

  Taiwan’s C.T. Pan, left, walks alongside his caddy on a fairway at the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on Friday.

  Photo: Reuters

  Smith closed with an eagle and three birdies to shoot 68, while Ancer, trying to become the first debut Masters winner in 41 years, birdied two of his last four holes to fire 67.

  “It was a very up and down round, a little bit scrappy, but hung in there and at the end, it was brilliant,” Smith said.

  Im Sung-jae, a 22-year-old South Korean also making his Masters debut, fired a 70 to share fifth with American Patrick Cantlay on 136.

  

  C.T. Pan of Taiwan plays his shot from the third tee during the second round of the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on Friday.

  Photo: AFP

  Three Englishmen were another stroke adrift — reigning Olympic champion Justin Rose, 16th-ranked Tommy Fleetwood and 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett.

  World No. 2 Jon Rahm of Spain and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama were both on eight-under, Rahm five-under on the round with six holes to play and Matsuyama four-under on the round with three holes remaining at sunset.

  Taiwan’s C.T. Pan had two holes left to complete his second round and was in a share for ninth, but moved into sixth yesterday.

  

  Rory McIlroy hits a tee shot at the Masters in Augusta, Georgia, on Friday.

  Photo: Reuters

  After his first-round 70 on Thursday, he was five-under on Friday, sinking an eagle on the 15th hole along with three birdies after starting on the back nine. His full-round 66 left him one shot off the leaders.

  In all, 48 golfers were to finish their second round yesterday.

  Bernhard Langer, a two-time Masters champion and ageless wonder, gets to play two more rounds, finishing his opening round on Friday morning with a 68 and holding his own in the afternoon with a 73.

  

  Dustin Johnson lines up a putt on the ninth hole during the second round of the Masters at the Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia on Friday.

  Photo: EPA-EFE

  While the cut was not to be official until the second round was completed yesterday, this was one for the record books.

  At 63, he became the oldest player to make the 36-hole cut at the Masters, topping the record by Tommy Aaron in 2000 by 33 days.

  “How about that?” Langer said. “I’ll drink to that.”

  He could certainly carve out time for that.

  “My wife just said: ‘You’re not going to hit balls, are you?’ I said: ‘No. No chance. I’m done.’ This is one of the hilliest courses we play, and when it’s wet, it’s even a harder walk,” Langer said.

  Langer was on three-under in a share for 27th alongside Rory McIlroy, who recovered from a Friday the 13th nightmare start to his day and revived hopes of a Masters victory to complete a career Grand Slam.

  McIlroy began with three bogeys in his first five holes in a restart of his darkness-halted opening round, but rebounded from a three-over-par 75 with a sizzling second-round 66 at a rain-softened Augusta National.

  The 31-year-old from Northern Ireland, who needs only a green jacket to complete a career Grand Slam, stood on three-under-par 141 after 36 holes thanks to a bogey-free afternoon fightback.

  “That wasn’t ideal and obviously wasn’t what I was thinking of,” McIlroy said. “I turned it around nicely and shot a good one, at least gave myself a chance going into the weekend.”

  While six adrift of the clubhouse leaders, fifth-ranked McIlroy was in danger of missing the cut after finishing round one on 75 after a miserable morning.

  “I’ve been playing so good coming in here, and then I go into the first round and I shoot 75,” McIlroy said. “I’m like: ‘Where the hell did that come from?’”

  The four-time major champion has had to adjust to a course bearing little resemblance to the Augusta National he has become familiar with, partly due to the move from April due to the COVID-19 pandemic and partly due to the rain that has softened the layout to allow for record numbers of sub-par scorers.

  “You sort of have to throw all that out the window this week because the course is playing completely different,” McIlroy said. “The greens are so much slower, so much softer, and because of that they can use some different pins we’ve never seen before, either. It’s certainly a little different.”

  Additional reporting by staff writer and AP
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