Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau surge; Justin Rose holds slim Masters lead at midway point

 

We are in for one of the all-time greatest finishes at Augusta.

The leaderboard is stacked with golfers who have a combined 10 major championships all within three shots of each other at the top, and the players at even par (eight shots back) or better have a combined 24 major wins.

Fifty-four players made the cut Friday, and the playing has been superb. The cut line was a mere 10 strokes back of the lead. It’s a long shot for those guys, but they’re not out of it.

Here’s what happened at Augusta National at the midway point of the 89th Masters.

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After double-bogeying two of his final four holes Thursday, McIlroy came out ready to pounce. He mastered Amen Corner and the entire course, for that matter. He shot a 6-under 66 and opened up his back nine with four consecutive threes, including an eagle on 13, and went bogey-free in the round. He now sits at 6-under for the tournament.

DeChambeau came out firing early, birdying three of his first five holes and four of his first eight to get to second at one point. He cooled off on the back nine, however, shooting even par to finish 4-under on the day and sit at 7-under through two rounds.

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Justin Rose twice reached 9-under for the tournament after birdies on the par-3 12th and 16th. But he bogeyed 17 and gained just a stroke in his second round. He has a one-shot lead.

By the time those three golfers were finished, though, reigning champion Scottie Scheffler was through just seven holes, and no one is ever safe when he’s on the course. But he had an inconsistent day, putting up six birdies and five bogeys. Overall, it added up to 1-under on the day, and he’s three behind Rose.

DeChambeau wasn’t the only LIV star to have shot a low number, though. Tyrrell Hatton found himself right in the thick of it. Hatton birdied 7, 8, and 9 to get in the mix, and, at one point, he was tied for second. But he had back-to-back bogeys on 16 and 17, and instead was tied with Scheffler, Shane Lowry and Matt McCarty in fifth place at three back.

Corey Conners held his own on day two, shooting 2-under on the day. He is tied with McIlroy in third, two strokes behind the leader.

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Other big names within striking distance include Viktor Hovland and Jason Day at 4-under; Ludvig Aberg, Hideki Matsuyama, Patrick Reed and Collin Morikawa at 3-under; and Xander Schauffele, Tommy Fleetwood and Brian Harman six back at 2-under.

Major champions at 1-under or even include Bubba Watson, Justin Thomas, Matt Fitzpatrick and Wyndham Clark.

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