Halfway home, Fowler joins 4-way tie at top
AT A GLANCE
AUGUSTA, GA. >> Rickie Fowler finally got to the top of the leaderboard in a major and didn’t have much of a view.
Right next to him was Charley Hoffman, playing in the final group going into the weekend at the Masters for the second time in three years. Sergio Garcia knew the score when no one else did and had his first share of the lead in his 19th time playing Augusta National. Not to be overlooked was Thomas Pieters of Belgium, a real threat to become the first Masters rookie since 1979 to leave with a green jacket.
And those were just the co-leaders in the largest 36-hole logjam at the Masters in 44 years. Even more daunting were the players lined up behind them — Jordan Spieth and Phil Mickelson among four Masters champions, Olympic gold medalist Justin Rose, Spanish rookie sensation Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy, missing only this major for the career Grand Slam.
“It’s going to be a fun weekend,” Fowler said after a 5-under 67, the best score of an- other wind-swept day. “We’re going to see a lot of good golf and battle it out.”
Two days of survival gives way to a shootout among some of golf’s biggest stars.
In conditions just as demanding as the opening round, Fowler holed out a bunker
LEADING:
Four players were tied at 4-under 140 — first-round leader Charley Hoffman, Sergio Garcia, Thomas Pieters and Rickie Fowler, none of whom has won a major.
William McGirt has fifth himself, two shots back.
Only nine players are below par pared-down 53-man field.
Garcia, one of the best players never to win a major, is looking to break the string at 70.
Two-time champion Bubba Watson, who missed the cut by a shot, was the biggest surprise. Defending champion Danny Willett might be the most disappointed, since he has to hang around until Sunday to put the green jacket on the winner.
The quartet atop the leaderboard is the biggest 36-hole logjam at the tournament in 44 years.
CHASING: RED ZONE: STREAKING: DEPARTING: KEY STAT: NOTEWORTHY:
With U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson withdrawing because of a back injury, and Willett and British Open champion Henrik Stenson missing the cut, PGA champion Jimmy Walker is the only major winner from last year still in the field.
“We’ve had two fabulous years and when you have a bit of a downturn, it feels like the world is coming to end.” — Willett.
QUOTEWORTHY:
place all to in the
shot for eagle on his second hole, quickly moved into the lead pack and secured his spot in a share of the lead with a tricky birdie putt from the collar of the 16th green.
Garcia, playing his 70th consecutive major and still looking for that first victory to define an otherwise strong career, wasn’t the least bit bothered by seeing the wrong score for him on a leaderboard behind the 13th green when a penalty for a lost ball was mistakenly attributed to him. He bounced back from a bogey behind the 13th green by firing a 3-iron across the water and into the wind to the 15th green for a two-putt birdie. He shot a 69.
Pieters moved to the top by hitting off the pine straw and over a tributary of Rae’s Creek to 12 feet for eagle on No. 13, and he followed with a wedge to 4 feet for birdie on the 14th to shoot 68. Hoffman lost his four-shot lead in 11 holes before he steadied himself the rest of the way and limited the damage to a 75. The leaders were at 4-under 140. Hoffman will be in the final group going into the weekend at the Masters for the second time in three years, with one big difference. Two years ago, Hoffman was five shots behind Spieth in what turned out to be a runaway for the young Texan.
This time, the Masters appears to be up for grabs. The wind began to subside as the pines cast long shadows across the course late in the afternoon, and the forecast is close to perfection for the rest of the weekend, with mild temperatures and hardly any wind.