ROSE STILL IN BLOOM
RALLY FROM UGLY START KEEPS HIM ATOP LEADERBOARD, BUT MARGIN DOWN TO ONE SHOT
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Justin Rose apparently didn’t get the memo that Augusta National was a little more forgiving Friday in the Masters. The consolation was still having the lead, but only barely.
Rose didn’t hit one putt hard enough to get through the fringe behind the fourth green. Another putt on the sixth hole didn’t have enough pace and returned back to him some 60 feet away.
All around him, major champions and a Masters rookie scored well enough to close the gap. The contenders even included Si Woo Kim, who broke his putter in anger and used a fairway metal to putt the final four holes.
Rose was among 12 players who broke par Thursday. He wasn’t among the 40 who broke par Friday.
‘‘I didn’t quite appreciate the scoring was going to be quite so good today,’’ he said.
Even so, his even-par 72 was good enough for a one-shot lead going into a weekend filled with a little mystery about how Augusta National will play and plenty of possibilities for who will win the green jacket.
One certainty: It won’t be defending champion Dustin Johnson, who took 64 putts in 36 holes and missed the cut by two shots.
Rose was at 7-under 137, one shot ahead of Brian Harman (3-under 69) and Will Zalatoris (4-under 68), who still doesn’t have a full PGA Tour card.
‘‘I wanted to be here my entire life,’’ Zalatoris said after birdies on his last three holes got him in the final group. ‘‘Some people shy away from that, but I’m excited to be here.
There’s no reason to feel intimidated now. I made it to here. And, obviously, the job is not done by any means.’’
Jordan Spieth (68) and Marc Leishman (5-under 67) were two shots behind. Spieth stands out for his wizardry around Augusta National — one green jacket, two runner-up finishes and a third-place finish in his seven appearances — and because he is coming off a victory in the Texas Open that ended a drought of nearly four years.
‘‘Having made a triple [bogey] and five over-par holes through two rounds, I feel pretty good about being at 5 under,’’ he said.
The group three shots behind included Kim, who shot a 2-under 69 without having much of a chance to make birdies with a fairway metal on the greens. After a threeputt bogey on the 14th and a chip that nearly ran off the green on the 15th, he jammed the head of the club into the turf and damaged it.
Asked whether he had a backup putter, Kim replied: ‘‘No. I don’t want to answer anymore. Sorry.’’
Rose had a four-shot lead at the start of a warm, overcast day, but it was gone after his fourth bogey in seven holes. He didn’t drop a shot the rest of the way, picked up three birdies on the back nine and salvaged the day.
‘‘Just a classic day at Augusta National when you’re slightly off,’’ Rose said. ‘‘I kind of told myself going up the eighth hole: ‘You’re leading the Masters. Your frame of reference is a little bit different to yesterday. Four ahead is something, but you’re still leading. So just enjoy it and keep it going.’ ’’
The course played to an average score of 72.2, compared with 74.5 for the opening round.
Bernd Wiesberger and Tony Finau each shot 6-under 66 to get within three shots. Also in that group was Justin Thomas, who can return to No. 1 in the world with a victory. He missed a short par putt on the final hole and shot a 67.
‘‘For as tough as this place has been playing, I felt like it was as easy as it could have been,’’ Thomas said.
The wild card in all this is Zalatoris, who already is renowned for his ball-striking. His closing run began with a 9-iron to 10 feet on the 16th and ended with a wedge to five feet on the 18th.
‘‘Being here is a childhood dream,’’ he said. ‘‘Final group on Saturday is pretty cool.’’