Sergio Garcia has played in 73 majors and never won.
Rickie Fowler has never led in a major championship.
They are two of the biggest names in the world of golf and they are two of the four 36-hole leaders at the 2017 Masters.
First round leader Charley Hoffman opened the door for everyone with a run of five bogeys over six crucial holes of his second round. Hoffman, who dazzled and befuddled everyone on Thursday with his incredible nine-birdie performance that led to an eye-rubbing 65, was 10 shots worse on Friday and now it’s game-on after two exciting days.
Here’s how the top contenders have lined up:
FOUR-UNDER PAR 140:
Charley Hoffman: The Hoff simply didn’t make the putts he holed on Thursday when he staged a perfect performance in 35 miles per hour winds and shot 65. Bogeys at the sixth, seventh, eighth, 10th and 11th holes sent him on his way to 75. “I started off well. I wasn’t getting the ball underneath the hole. To shoot three-over par is not that bad. I kept myself in it going into the weekend. I’m happy with where I’m at.”
Rickie Fowler: Fowler had a good chance to grab the lead by himself. He had a seven-foot downhill birdie putt at the 18th hole that slid just off the right lip. His 67 was the day’s low round and gave him a ton of momentum going into the weekend. “I just kept things moving forward,” Fowler said. “The wind stayed up pretty good until midway through the back nine. It’s gonna be a fun weekend.”
Sergio Garcia: Garcia got off to a great start with three straight birdies and would finish with 69. “The first two rounds are the best I’ve played at Augusta,” Garcia said. “It was tough. It’s the kind of golf course you have to make peace with a little bit. I played great, I made a lot of great putts. I don’t want to get ahead of myself.”
Thomas Pieters: Pieters was the best man on the course through 10 holes on Thursday. He was five-under par but ran into a bunch of back nine trouble and finished with a 72. On Friday, he eagled the 13th then birdied 14 to shoot three-under coming home and his 68 got him a piece of the lead. He made a splendid up-and-down at the 18th for par after hitting a wayward drive underneath the big magnolia tree that guards the right side of the hole. The young star of the European Ryder Cup team has the game to be a factor over the final 36 holes.
TWO-UNDER PAR 142:
Will McGirt: The leaderboard’s resident blue-collar hero sits alone at two-under par. After his opening 69, he played well enough to keep it together and put up a 73. “The good thing for me is I have no negative experiences to look back on,” said McGirt, who is playing in his first Masters. “I think today may have been tougher. It’s hard out there but it’s really fun. You can’t fall asleep on any shot, even a single chip.”
ONE-UNDER PAR 141:
Jon Rahm: The 22-year-old Masters rookie has been very impressive over the first 36 holes. He overcame a double-bogey at the 10th hole Friday with birdies at the difficult 11th and par five 13th to shoot 70 and get himself into red numbers.
Fred Couples: It’s no surprise to see Couples in contention. “I putt well on this course,” he pointed out. He made enough putts on Friday to shoot 70.
Justin Rose: Rose looked like he could have joined the leaders at four-under but three back nine bogeys including one at the 18th to finish his day dropped him back to even-par 72 and left him in the one-under group.
Ryan Moore: Moore played a perfect round with no bogeys and his three birdies made him one of only seven players to break 70 on Friday and helped him recover from the 74 he shot on Thursday.
EVEN PAR 144:
Jordan Spieth: Spieth started the day 10 shots behind overnight leader Hoffman after stumbling his way to a 75 on Thursday. He rallied on Friday and closed with birdies at 16 and 18 for a 69 that got him back to even par and in perfect position to contend over the weekend. “We hung in there,” Spieth said and he was all smiles after his finish. “Sixteen and 18 were clutch. I needed them to have a chance this weekend.”
Phil Mickelson: Mickelson had a great chance to grab a share of the lead or finish three-under but he got sloppy down the stretch starting with a bogey at the 14th when he had just 125 yards for his approach. He then missed short par putts at the 16th and 17th holes to shoot 73. He kept himself in it but will have to putt better over the weekend if he wants to become the oldest winner of this championship.
Adam Scott: Scott makes it three Masters champions at even par. After a great front nine, he shot 32 there, he struggled over the final nine, including a double-bogey at the difficult 11th. He birdied the 18th to shoot 69 and join the gang at even par.
With near-perfect weather and warmer temperatures on tap for the final two days, any player at three-over or better is in the hunt. The winds will go away and open the course up for more birdie opportunities.
Rory McIlroy is lurking at one-over. Hideki Matsuyama is two-over.
A total of 52 players made the 36-hole cut that came at six-over par, 150. Defending champion Danny Willett (73-78) missed the cut thanks to an opening quadruple bogey he took at the first hole Friday.
