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Keen on adding to his tally of Majors which stands at one currently, Dustin Johnson threatened to break away on his own early in the second round, as he reached double digits below par after a mere four holes on Friday at the Masters. But then Johnson ran into back-to-back bogeys followed by a string of pars before closing with a birdie on the ninth, as the greens gathered more speed and the wind picked up a bit in Augusta, Georgia.
Even then it sufficed to give him a share of the lead as darkness halted play on Friday. Johnson was among the four players at 9-under, though a good number of players are yet to finish their second rounds as the three-hour backlog from the delay in the first day’s start, continued to dog the tournament.
Mexican Abraham Ancer, one of 26 debutants at the Masters, had six birdies in his round of 5-under 67, which saw him join Johnson (70) and Justin Thomas (69). The fourth player at 9-under was Cameron Smith of Australia, who played his last four holes with an eagle and three straight birdies for a 68.
Of those still on the course, Hideki Matsuyama was at 8-under with three holes to play, while Jon Rahm birdied the par-3 12th hole to reach 8 under, when play was suspended.
Tiger Woods was among those still on the course, having played only 10 holes, for which he was even par. Woods is still at 4-under, but has eight holes left, including two par-5s.
Woods, tied after the first round, had played 10 holes in the second round. He was now tied for the 22nd place with two birdies on the par 5s and bogeys on the third and seventh.
A shot behind the leading quartet were Masters rookies, Sungjae Im (70), and Patrick Cantlay (66).
On a roll
Johnson, who was among three players to finish one shot behind Woods at the last Masters, has been in the top-10 in his last four Masters appearances. He missed the 2017 edition due to a freak injury a couple of days before the tournament. Johnson finished the last nine holes of his first round for a 65, at the end of which he shared the first round lead with Dylan Fritelli and Paul Casey.
Starting his second round on the 10th, Johnson became the first player this week to reach 10-under, with three birdies around Amen Corner. But some mud on his ball, which has been a common occurrence this week, saw him make a three-putt bogey on the 14th. On the very next hole, his 3-iron got caught in the wind and hit the front of the green and rolled back into the water, leading to a bogey. He followed with 11 straight pars till he got a birdie on the ninth, his final hole.
Bernhard Langer, 63, a two-time Masters champion, shot 68 in the morning on a soft but long course and then added 73 in the second to become the oldest player to make the cut at the Augusta National.
Bryson DeChambeau, a heavy favourite before the event, shot 70 in his first round, but was 3-over for 12 holes in the second. At 1-under, he was T-61st, and will need to get a couple of birdies to make the weekend. His round so far includes a triple on Par-4 seventh. He had four other birdies and bogeys each.
Rory McIlroy, still looking for the Green Jacket to complete his career Grand Slam, opened with 75 and added 66 to have a chance over the weekend.
The cut is top 50 and ties.
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