Scottie Scheffler shot a low-round 67 and will move into the weekend at The Masters with a commanding five-shot lead.
Scheffler got off to a shaky start with bogeys on two of the first three holes, but after that the newly-minted world No.1 was lights-out specatacular, reeling off three sets of back-to-back birdies to reach 8-under par 136.
“I feel like my game is in a good spot,” said Scheffler, who will be seeking to match Jason Day’s record run of winning back in 2015 by winning four titles in six starts.
“I’ve done a good job managing my way around the golf course the last two days, and I’ve made some really nice up and downs and key putts that have kept my rounds going.
“I’ve kept my cards pretty clean for the most part, which is nice.”
In Saturday’s final grouping, the 25-year-old Texan will be paired with Charl Schwartzel (69), who was among a group of four players tied on 3-under par.
The South African, and 2011 Masters’ winner, posted an early score of 69 and was later joined in the second-place spot by overnight leader Sung-Jae Im (74) and Hideki Matsuyama, the defending champion.
Also in the second spot was Irishman Shane Lowry, who bogeyed the No. 1 hole, then reeled off 17 holes of bogey-free golf to sign for the day’s second best score – a 4-under 68.
“I didn’t enjoy it really much at all. It was so hard out there,” said Lowry, 35, who won the 2019 British Open.
“Look, it was one of my better rounds of my career, I think. 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.
“I’m, obviously, very happy with my score. There was a lot more disappointed standing here yesterday, and, yeah, I’m in a great position going into the weekend.”
One further back was group of four more players tied for sixth on 2 under, including Cameron Smith (74), Harold Varner III (71), Kevin Na (71), and Dustin Johnson (73).
Justin Thomas bounced back from a horrific opening round to post 67, and move into contention at T10 on 1-under par.
“It was really good. I played beautifully,” said Thomas, who was the day’s biggest mover, rocketing 60 spots up the leaderboard. “I felt like I mentally applauded my way around the course very well. Cleaned up nicely. Whenever I got out of position, I felt like I kind of got it to where I could get up and down or two-putt, and made one mental mistake there on 10, which led to my only bogey.
“I hit a lot of good iron shots in there that I could have made a couple of more birdies, but I’m very, very pleased with the day.”
Others in the T10 group included Collin Morikawa (70), Will Zalatoris (72), Corey Conners (73), Danny Willett (74) and Joaquin Niemann (74).
Tiger Woods made four bogeys on his first five holes but settled down and finished 2 under the rest of the way to post a gritty round of 74.
The five-time Masters winner sits tied for 19th on 1-over par 145. He will be paired with Kevin Kisner (70) on Saturday.
“Well, it was windy. It was swirling. Balls were oscillating on the greens,” said Woods when asked about his rough start.
“We got a couple of bad gusts. I hit a couple of bad shots. I hit a decent shot at 4 that ended up and down in a divot, and it was just like — there were so many things that were not going my way. It was partly the conditions and partly me.
“I told Joey that, hey, we got a lot of holes to play. It’s going to be tough all day, so let’s get it back to even-par for the day somehow. If I can just stay at even-par for the day, I thought that would have been a pretty good comeback.
“I didn’t quite get there. I missed an easy up and down — well, wasn’t quite easy up and down, but it was one I should have got up and down at 15. And should have made that putt on 16.
“Other than that it was a good fight. I got back in the ball game. I’m four shots back at second. That’s the thing. But Scottie is running away with it right now.
“Tomorrow is going to be tough. It’s going to be windy. It’s going to be cool. It’s going to be the Masters that I think the Masters Committee has been looking forward to for a number of years. We haven’t had it like this.
“It’s going to be exciting, and it’s going to be fun for all of us.”
2022 Masters Tournament Leaderboard
Masters Top 10: Round 2
Pos-Player-To Par (Score)
1. Scottie Scheffler -8 (-5)
2. Charl Schwartzel -3 (-3)
2. Hideki Matsuyama -3 (-3)
2. Shane Lowry -3 (-4)
2. Sung-Jae Im -3 (+2)
6. Cameron Smith -2 (+2)
6. Kevin Na -2 (-1)
6. Dustin Johnson -2 (+1)
6. Harold Varner III -2 (-1)
10. Justin Thomas -1 (-5)
10. Danny Willett -1 (+2)
10. Joaquin Neimann -1 (+2)
10. Collin Morikawa -1 (-2)
10. Will Zalatoris -1 (E)
10. Corey Conners -1 (+1)
Masters Notables: Round 2
Pos-Player-To Par (Score)
16. Matt Fitzpatrick E (+1)
19. Tiger Woods +1 (+2)
19. Kevin Kisner +1 (-2)
19. Webb Simpson +1 (+2)
19. Patrick Cantlay +1 (+3)
23. Tony Finau +2 (+3)
23. Daniel Berger +2 (+3)
23. Rory McIlroy +2 (+1)
23. Tyrrell Hatton +2 (+2)
23. Jon Rahm +2 (E)
23. Bubba Watson +2 (+1)
23. Sergio Garcia +2 (+2)
23. Lee Westwood +2 (+2)
38. Tommy Fleetwood +3 (+3)
38. Billy Horschel +3 (+1)
38. Patrick Reed +3 (+1)
45. Adam Scott +4 (+2)
45. Viktor Hovland +4 (+4)
Masters Notables: Missing Cut
Pos-Player-To Par (Rd 2)
53. Sam Burns +5 (+2)
53. Zach Johnson +5 (+3)
59. Jordan Spieth +6 (+4)
59. Brooks Koepka +6 (+3)
64. Xander Schauffele +7 (+5)
69. Bernhard Langer +8 (+4)
69. Justin Rose +8 (+4)
69. Gary Woodland +8 (+5)
69. Francesco Molinari +8 (+2)
76. Fred Couples +10 (+7)
78. Larry Mize +11 (+6)
82. Bryson DeChambeau +12 (+8)
83. Sandy Lyle +14 (+4)
83. Vijay Singh +14 (+8)
85. Thomas Pieters +15 (+8)
85. Matthew Wolff +15 (+6)
87. Jose Maria Olazabal +17 (+12)
Scottie Scheffler’s Stats
Thru 36 Holes
Topline Numbers:
Driving: 297.5 yards (13th)
Fairways: 82.1%, 23/28 (8th)
Greens: 72.2%, 26/36 (3rd)
Putts Per GIR: 2.116 (3rd)
Scores: 11 Birdies, 22 Pars, 3 Bogeys
Scoring:
Par-5s (-5) 5 Birdies, 3 Pars
Par-4s (E) 3 Birdies, 14 Pars, 3 Bogeys
Par-3s (-3) 3 Birdies, 5 Pars
Amen Corner: (-3) 3 Birdies, 3 Pars
2022 Masters Full Leaderboard
Credit: Masters.com
