Justin Rose did just enough to keep the lead Friday at the Masters, but he suddenly has a lot of company going into the weekend at Augusta National.
Bryson DeChambeau became the only player with consecutive sub-70 rounds and got within one shot, putting him in the final group. Right behind was Rory McIlroy, who tried to erase from his memory that sloppy finish in the first round and roared into contention to put the career Grand Slam back into view.
Scottie Scheffler started his title defense with 24 straight holes without a bogey. He then made five bogeys over the last 12 holes to slow his progress. He still was only three shots behind.
Sixteen players were separated by five shots at the halfway point, nine of them major champions and three of them with experience winning at Augusta National.
“The leaderboard is stacking up very favorably for what looks like world-class players right up there,” Rose said after his 1-under 71, which featured birdies on the par-5s on the front nine and on the par-3s on the back nine.
“So you’re going to have to play great golf, and you’re going to have to go out there and want it and go for it and get after it,” he added. “It’s as simple as that, really.”
Rose took a three-shot lead into the second round and had the advantage of playing early, before the wind became strong enough to make flags snap and create just enough indecision.
He hit a 9-iron over Rae’s Creek to 4 feet for birdie on the par-3 12th and stuffed his tee shot on the par-3 16th for another birdie. That allowed him to atone for a few mistakes.
Rose was at 8-under 136, the third time he has had the 36-hole lead at the Masters.
The buzz came from behind him.
DeChambeau picked up an unlikely birdie by holing a bunker shot on the par-3 fourth hole on his way to a 32 on the front nine that kept him on Rose’s heels the rest of the way. He wound up with a 68 for his best start ever in the Masters.
“This is what golf is about,” DeChambeau said. “Got a lot of great names up there, and looking forward to an unbelievable test of golf.”
And then there was McIlroy, who had two double bogeys over the last four holes Thursday, the latest frustrating chapter for him at the Masters. This time, he managed to forget about it and move on. He went birdie-birdie-par-eagle to start the back nine and was on his way to a bogey-free 66.
“I had to remind myself I was playing well,” McIlroy said. “I couldn’t let two bad holes dictate the narrative of the 16 good ones. I also had to remind myself this morning not to push too hard too early.”
And Scheffler?
The defending Masters champion did his best to survive the worst of the conditions, mainly wind that caused a little discomfort and a lot of uncertainty. He made five bogeys over his final 12 holes, the last of which had him sitting in the pine straw under a magnolia tree left of the 18th fairway, waiting for a rules official but looking very much like someone who simply needed to catch his breath. He eventually made his bogey on 18 by going from under the magnolia back to the fairway and over the green and then hit a superb chip to limit the damage.
All that and he was only three behind after a 71.
“We’ve got a great golf course, conditions should be really good, challenging, and we’ve got some great guys on top of the leaderboard,” Scheffler said. “So it should be a fun weekend.”
Corey Conners of Canada quietly put together a 70 and joined McIlroy at 6-under 138.
The group three shots back included Scheffler (71), former Open champion Shane Lowry (68) and Tyrrell Hatton, who got within one shot of Rose until a pair of three-putts. One of them did a U-turn down the hill at the 16th. The other was a sleepy tap-in that lipped out.
It shapes up for a wide-open weekend, led by a 44-year-old from England who has gone a dozen years since winning his only major at the 2013 U.S. Open. Rose spoke last year about finding another stretch of magic in his career, and opportunity awaits.
That’s also the case for DeChambeau, the U.S. Open champion; for McIlroy, the sentimental favorite of so many at Augusta National as he tries to get the last leg of the career Grand Slam; and for Scheffler, who coped with plenty of stress the course gave him Friday.
“That’s the company that I expect to keep, and that’s where I have tried to be my whole career,” Rose said. “I’ve been a top-10 player in the world for a decade or more. So yeah, this is nice to be back in that mix.”
The cut was at 2-over 146, marking the end of 67-year-old Bernhard Langer‘s Masters career. He needed to make a 10-foot par putt on the last hole, only for it to tickle the right side of the cup.
Five-time major champion Brooks Koepka might have had the most shocking departure. He was in good shape, needing a bogey on the 18th. He made a quadruple bogey, starting with a tee shot into the trees and ending with a three-putt from 10 feet.
Now the attention shifts back to the top, where 16 players were separated by five shots going into the final two days.
Rose is atop the leaderboard after a round for the 10th time at Augusta, without a green jacket to show for it. At 44, he will try to become the second-oldest player to win the green jacket behind Jack Nicklaus (46) in that mystical 1986 Masters.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
