Oh the relief – McIlroy realises a dream – image courtesy of the Masters Tournament
In one of the greatest days of Masters history and arguably one of the greatest in the history of golf, Rory McIlroy put to bed any of the demons and intense scrutiny and pressure that has plagued him over the last 11 years since his last major title with a playoff victory over Justin Rose.
McIlroy becomes the 6th male player in the history of the game to win the career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as golfers to have won all four of the game’s major titles.
McIlroy took a two-shot lead over De Chambeau into day four, but by the second hole the lead had gone with a double bogey at the first and a par at the second, allowing De Chambeau to take the lead.
McIlroy’s round was littered with brilliance and mistakes, his costly start overcome almost immediately by birdies at the 3rd and 4th holes to regain the lead by three after bogeys by De Chambeau at those same holes.
Birdies at the 9th and 10th had him ahead by four but while DeChambeau would begin to drop away challenges came from Justin Rose and Ludvig Alberg. After a messy run through holes 13 and 14, where he dropped 3 shots to briefly lose the outright lead, it would be two outstanding iron shots to the 15th and 17th that kept the dream alive for McIlroy.
After his drive at the 15th finished a little further left than ideal, his curving 7iron to 5 feet set up an eagle chance. Although unable to convert, he would par the 16th before a superb 9 iron at the 17th set up a birdie and appeared to open the door to victory.
Then came a final bogey at the last after missing the green from the middle of the fairway with a gap wedge but he would then hit his approach at the first extra hole against Rose to just over 2 feet and he would make after Rose missed his 12 footer from behind the hole.
“It feels incredible,” said McIlory in the presentation ceremony. “This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, yeah, I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.
“But I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.
“I was really nervous going out. It was almost as if the double bogey at the 1st calmed my nerves a little bit and sort of got me into it in a funny way.
“I just think all week how I responded to setbacks, I think that’s what I’ll take from this week. Couldn’t be more proud I myself for that and being able to back bounce when I needed to.”
McIlroy’s reaction after the winning putt dropped told the story of the immense pressure and at times unnecessary criticism he has worn since his last major victory at the PGA Championship in 2014.
There are a lot of Monday morning quarterbacks singing his praises today, many of those prepared to knock him for his inability to get across the line but they have conveniently forgotten the many great titles aside from majors in the meantime that McIlory has won and his amazing success on the PGA Tour where he is second only to Tiger Woods in career money.
This victory could well open the floodgates for McIlroy, who has clearly felt the pressure of winning the Masters and completing the Grand Slam. With that burden relieved, it could well make his free-wheeling game even more so, and surely, another major title in 2025 is well within his reach. Imagine the reception if one of those was to come at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in his homeland of Northern Ireland in July.
Justin Rose was also chasing a first Green Jacket and was outstanding in his comeback from a seven-shot opening deficit. Rose’s ten birdie round of 66 included a 30 footer across the green at the last to get within one, and when McIlroy then bogeyed the last, it was off to the playoff.
“Today was an unbelievable round of golf, said Rose. “This weekend, in fact, if I look back at yesterday, played unbelievable golf yesterday and just putter went stone cold on me, and then today just really began to feel that confidence come back with the putter, which is unbelievable.
“10 birdies on a golf course I thought was playing quite tricky, greens were firm and crusty, but with that came a few mistakes here and there.
“But listen, to make the putt on 18, the one you dream about as a kid, to obviously give myself an opportunity and a chance was an unbelievable feeling. Obviously I’ve been in this position before, 2017. It’s definitely tough, but I bounced back pretty well from that, too. Went on to be World No. 1 after that so I used it to my advantage.
“Last two majors I’ve played I’ve come up in second place, but it’s exactly what I’m trying to do with my career at this stage, and it’s more evidence that I’m doing some really good work.”
Jason Day threatened to get in the mix on occasions during the final day reaching 2 under for the day and 7 under for the tournament through nine holes. Bogeys at his final two holes however, would cost him a place in the top ten, eventually finishing tied for 8th.
It was however, Day’s best finish in a major since finishing runner-up at the 20023 Open Championship and there were plenty of signs that his game is very close to where it needs to be.
“I’m pretty gutted right now,” said Day. “It’s annoying to give myself the opportunities out there and not be able to take them. I mean, it’s a step in the right direction. That’s all I can say. It’s hard to walk off the golf course and go straight into an interview even though — I’m pretty headless right now.
“I understand. It is what it is. We should be able to be professional enough to hold our — at least keep our cool. It’s just really hard when you’ve just walked off the golf course, and you’re pretty furious with how you played, especially at the end.
“Like I said before, it’s like when I sit down and digest it all, I think it’s a good positive step in the right direction. Just a few minor tweaks here and there and a few more putts go in, it might be a different story this week.
“I’ve got to just take the positives when I sit down and think about how the week went.”
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Jason Day in action today – image the Masters Tournament.
Lucas Herbert adds 6th professional win in Japan
Lucas Herbert – image Asian Tour
Lucas Herbert has today won his 6th event as a professional, securing previous titles on the DP World Tour, PGA, Australasian, and now Asian Tours with his five-shot win at the Asian/Japan Tour’s International Series Japan event in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.
Herbert recorded a total of 23 birdies and four eagles throughout the 72 holes, an eagle at the 72nd hole today from 25 feet, putting the seal on an emphatic victory in which he had led or co-led at the end of each day beginning with his amazing start on day one where he reeled off five birdies and an eagle in his opening seven holes.
Herbert has been in fine form in 2025 despite not winning until today but he has accumulated significant earnings, his win today and the resultant US$360,000 taking his earnings in the first 4.5 months of the year beyond US$5 million.
Herbert was overlooked by the PGA of America for an invitation to next week’s PGA Championship, an event in which his current form and standing in the game perhaps justifies a place in the field for the second major of the year but he continues to build on his standing as one of Australia’s best and his time will come.
Herbert began the final day tied with Korea’s Younghan Song and Yuta Sugiura but a final round of 64 saw him win by five with American Cameron Tringale a shot surther back in 4th place.
“I was thinking about it down on the 18th green, that finish yesterday really set it up,” said Herbert referring to his strong finish on Saturday which included two eagles in his last three holes. “It would have been much tougher, I think, to play the group in front, or maybe two groups in front, had I parred in and to try and come back from behind today,” said Herbert.
“Being able to tie the lead last night, and sleep thinking that I didn’t have to chase anything down today, was a big factor. And then, very happy with the way I played today, I think it was the low round of the day, so that’s always going to make it hard to beat when you start the day tied for the lead.”
“I’ve played really well this year, and I think the driver was a big part of this success. So, I’ve got to thank Tom Davies, who works on my clubs. He was the one who put it in my hands. I had other thoughts of what I might be using this year and he encouraged me to give it a go. It seemed to have worked out pretty well,” said Herbert.
“The way I’ve been playing this year, it’s been building to get a win at some point. So, it’s nice to get it done here, especially in Japan, which is one of my favourite places. It’s nice to feel like some of the hard work that I put in has paid off. Holding that trophy is a pretty good feeling.”
Herbert takes the lead in the International Series standings after two events and is now in second place on the Asian Tour Order of Merit.
New Zealand’s Nick Voke in 12th place and Queenslander Jed Morgan in 14th place were the next best of the Australasians in the US$2 million event.
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Australasians well placed in LPGA Tour event in New Jersey
Stephanie Kyriacou – just one from the lead – file photo LPGA/Getty Images
Australians Stephanie Kyriacou, Hira Naveed and Minjee Lee and New Zealand’s Lydia Ko are very much in contention as the LPGA’s Mizuho Americas Open at the Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey reaches its halfway stage.
Kyriacou is just one off the pace set by Korea’s Somi Lee, and Americans Nelly Korda and Andrea Lee, while Minjee Lee and Ko are at 5 under and just three off the lead as the event enters the weekend in the shadows of the Statue of Liberty.
Kyriacou is in her 4th season on the LPGA Tour and with two top 6 finishes already this season, she is well placed to contend for her first LPGA Tour title.
Like all players, the 24-year-old battled cool and damp conditions but felt she might have gotten the better side of the draw.
“It was a little bit easier than I thought but not easy. So that’s just — I thought we were going to have rain all day. I mean, I only had it for probably half the round in total, so wasn’t as bad, but, yeah, it’s not ideal.
“I think I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing. I started doing a couple new things, like playing different games within my round, so I’m going to kind of stick to that and whatever happens, happens.”
Perth’s Naveed has missed her last two cuts but, after consecutive rounds of 69 is well placed to improve on her previous best finish this season of 28th. The 27-year-old is in her second LPGA Tour season but, until this week, has struggled to produce the sort of form that saw her finish runner-up early in her first season.
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Lucas Herbert continues strong 2025 in Japan
Lucas Herbert in action during round two – image courtesy of Asian Tour
Despite his significant success in LIV Golf and other events over the past few months, Lucas Herbert was perhaps unfairly overlooked by the PGA of America when it came to inclusion in the field for next week’s PGA Championship. Still, he has put that behind him with an outstanding start to the Asian Tour’s International Series Japan event in Chiba Prefecture.
At the halfway stage, Herbert has a one shot lead over Korea’s Younghan Song and Japan’s Shunya Takehasu in the US2 million event being played at the Caledonian Golf Club outside of Tokyo but it is not the margin of lead but the manner in which Herbert has played the opening 36 holes that has been so impressive.
Through seven holes of his opening round on Thursday, Herbert was 7 under par with five birdies and an eagle and although the momentum slowed a little, his round of 62 that day had him in the lead by two and when he added three early birdies on day two, it appeared as if he might well spreadeagle the field.
The balance of round two however, would be a mixture of five birdies, four bogeys, and a double bogey to finish with a 2 under 69 and the lead when he finished his morning round.
No-one was able to catch the 29 year old as the day wore on and so he will take the lead into the weekend as he looks to add to his already significant earnings in 2025 having finished once runner-up and 4th on two occasions in seven starts in LIV Golf events and has earnings close to US$5 million.
Amongst Herbert’s five wins internationally is a previous win in Japan at the ISPS Handa Championship in 2023 while still playing the DP World Tour so success in Japan is not new to him, and given the brilliance of his play to date this week another is a strong possibility.
NSW’s Travis Smyth and New Zealand’s Nick Voke are the next best of the Australasian brigade in a share of 7th place and four shots from Herbert’s lead.
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Vilips and Smylie PGA Championship debutantes
Elvis Smylie – plays first US Major – image Australian Golf Media
The field for the 2025 PGA Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina, has been finalised with two Australians getting the chance to play the event for the first occasion when it gets underway on Thursday 15th May.
Elvis Smylie and Karl Vilips have played their way into the field courtesy of Smylie’s special invitation category due to his success on the PGA Tour of Australasia’s Order of Merit allowing him play his second major championship following a start at last year’s Open Championship while Vilips’ recent breakthrough PGA Tour win in Puerto Rico sees him play his second major following a start at the 2023 US Open.
Smylie has put together a couple of solid finishes in events on the DP World Tour in recent weeks while Vilips has struggled since his win in Puerto Rico in March, missing three of four cuts in that time.
For both players, however, the start gives them the opportunity to showcase their considerable talents against one of the strongest fields in the game, and, for Smylie, a chance to play a PGA Tour event in the US for the first time.
Smylie and Vilips will join fellow Australians (in world ranking order) Min Woo Lee, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Cam Davis and Cam Smith, Day having won this event in 2015, not long before attaining the world number one position.
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Scottie Scheffler back where he belongs
Scottie Scheffler – image PGA of America
At this point last year, Scottie Scheffler had won four PGA Tour events and been runner-up on one other occasion. To date in 2025 there have been no wins but in his last three events there has been plenty of evidence to suggest a first win is at hand.
A runner-up finish in Houston, a 4th place finish at the Masters and an 8th place finish at the RBC Heritage in his last three starts have all pointed to a return to the sort of form which has seen him dominate world golf over the past three years and in Dallas this week he appears on track for that first win of the year.
Through 36 holes of the CJ Cup Byron Nelson at the TPC Craig Ranch in the northern suburbs of Dallas, Scheffler has established a six shot lead. Although many in the field have yet to complete or, in a few cases, even start their second round, the lead he enjoys is likely to stand up when the balance of the field complete their second rounds on Saturday morning (Dallas time).
Play was delayed for over six hours in the afternoon due to inclement weather and then darkness, leaving many players still pursuing a place in the weekend field. The cut appeared likely to be 5 or 6 under.
Scheffler added a second round of 63 to his opening 61 to be six ahead of American Sam Stevens who has yet to win on the PGA Tour and eight ahead of Jhonattan Vegas and Ricky Castillo.
“I feel like my game has been trending in the right direction,” said Scheffler. “I had some good starts recently. I had a good start at the Masters, solid start, and then I had a chance here in Houston.
“Overall, I had a decent week in Hilton Head. I didn’t have a great Sunday, but overall I played some pretty solid golf. So I definitely feel like my game is trending in the right direction.
“This tournament definitely means a lot to me. I haven’t won Colonial yet, so I’m not even close to the DFW (Dallas Fort Worth) double — is that what we’re calling it?
“Going into the weekend, I’m just going to do my best to stay focused, execute. It’s going to be a lot of fun to play here and have a chance to win. I put myself in good position the last two days, and I’m looking forward to getting out there and competing again tomorrow.”
Ryan Fox is at 6 under but has played only six holes of his second round as he chases weekend play for the 6th time in nine PGA Tour starts in 2025, Fox currently in 130th place in the 2025 FedEx Cup standings, while recent winner Karl Vilips, the Australian PGA Tour rookie, is at 5 under for the tournament through just three holes of round two so has some work to do if he is to be around for the final 36 holes.
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Lucas Herbert stars in LIV Golf Mexico event
Lucas Hebert in action this week – image LIVGOLF
An outstanding final round of 10 under par 61, has given Australian Lucas Herbert a share of second place at the LIV Golf event at the Club de Golf Chapultepec in Mexico.
Herbert, whose final round brilliance was four shots better than any other player recorded on Sunday, finished three shots behind Chile’s Joaquin Niemann and in a share of second with Bryson DeChambeau.
Herbert started the final round ten shots behind the leader DeChambeau but unleashed a powerful finish which included three birdies and a hole out from the fairway eagle in his final four holes to not only aid his cause but assist his ‘Ripper’ teammates to a share of second place in the team’s event.
“Just one of those rounds where everything comes together,” said Herbert. “I thought I played pretty decent the last two days, I just didn’t get many breaks, and I just felt like today every time there was a line ball sort of thing I got the right kick and I’d make a putt where I needed to or just anything — just that sort of stuff.
“It just kept the momentum going through the round. Look, I played great, really enjoyed feeling everything I felt the last few holes, but it’s just one of those rounds where it all just clicks for you, and it was a pretty cool feeling to do it at an event like this.
“The last five or six holes, literally everything went through my mind. I could shoot 59, I could win the tournament, Ripper could win from a team perspective, I could make a bunch of money, I could win and get into the spots for the U.S. Open and British Open. There was a stack of different things that I was like, all these are possibilities. I’m like, yeah, on top of a 59, as well.”
Herbert earns a cheque for US$1,875,000 in addition to the US$375,000 he receives for his share of the second place the Rippers Team finished in the team event.
Cameron Smith, who began the final day just one behind DeChambeau’s lead, struggled to a final round 71 to share 5th place with Tyrell Hatton.
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Hillier and Smylie close to lead in China
Daniel Hillier – file image courtesy of Photosport / NZ Open
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier and Australian Elvis Smylie have both staked claims for a second DP World Tour title near the halfway mark of the Hainan Classic on the resort island of Hainan off the southern coast of China.
Hillier completed a second round of 70 to be in a share of second place and just two off the lead in the weather, then darkness affected event, while Smylie, who will finish his second round on Saturday morning, is tied with Hillier although he has four holes remaining to potentially challenge for the halfway lead.
Hillier won his first DP World Tour event when he was successful at the British Masters in 2023, while Smylie, who topped the recently completed PGA Tour of Australasia Order of Merit, won the Australian PGA Championship late last year.
Hillier has continued to play consistently, making his last 16 cuts in DP World Tour events and in the New Zealand Open those performances including a runner-up finish at the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this year.
After winning the Australian PGA Championship, Smylie finished 5th at the Australian Open and played well enough for the remainder of the Australasian Tour to consolidate his position at the top of the Order of Merit. He finished 15th in last week’s China Open.
This week’s event carries a total purse of US$2.25 million.
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Rory McIlroy joins the greats in stunning final day at Augusta National
Oh the relief – McIlroy realises a dream – image courtesy of the Masters Tournament
In one of the greatest days of Masters history and arguably one of the greatest in the history of golf, Rory McIlroy put to bed any of the demons and intense scrutiny and pressure that has plagued him over the last 11 years since his last major title with a playoff victory over Justin Rose.
McIlroy becomes the 6th male player in the history of the game to win the career Grand Slam, joining Gene Sarazen, Ben Hogan, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods as golfers to have won all four of the game’s major titles.
McIlroy took a two-shot lead over De Chambeau into day four, but by the second hole the lead had gone with a double bogey at the first and a par at the second, allowing De Chambeau to take the lead.
McIlroy’s round was littered with brilliance and mistakes, his costly start overcome almost immediately by birdies at the 3rd and 4th holes to regain the lead by three after bogeys by De Chambeau at those same holes.
Birdies at the 9th and 10th had him ahead by four but while DeChambeau would begin to drop away challenges came from Justin Rose and Ludvig Alberg. After a messy run through holes 13 and 14, where he dropped 3 shots to briefly lose the outright lead, it would be two outstanding iron shots to the 15th and 17th that kept the dream alive for McIlroy.
After his drive at the 15th finished a little further left than ideal, his curving 7iron to 5 feet set up an eagle chance. Although unable to convert, he would par the 16th before a superb 9 iron at the 17th set up a birdie and appeared to open the door to victory.
Then came a final bogey at the last after missing the green from the middle of the fairway with a gap wedge but he would then hit his approach at the first extra hole against Rose to just over 2 feet and he would make after Rose missed his 12 footer from behind the hole.
“It feels incredible,” said McIlory in the presentation ceremony. “This is my 17th time here, and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time. I think the last 10 years coming here with the burden of the Grand Slam on my shoulders and trying to achieve that, yeah, I’m sort of wondering what we’re all going to talk about going into next year’s Masters.
“But I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.
“I was really nervous going out. It was almost as if the double bogey at the 1st calmed my nerves a little bit and sort of got me into it in a funny way.
“I just think all week how I responded to setbacks, I think that’s what I’ll take from this week. Couldn’t be more proud I myself for that and being able to back bounce when I needed to.”
McIlroy’s reaction after the winning putt dropped told the story of the immense pressure and at times unnecessary criticism he has worn since his last major victory at the PGA Championship in 2014.
There are a lot of Monday morning quarterbacks singing his praises today, many of those prepared to knock him for his inability to get across the line but they have conveniently forgotten the many great titles aside from majors in the meantime that McIlory has won and his amazing success on the PGA Tour where he is second only to Tiger Woods in career money.
This victory could well open the floodgates for McIlroy, who has clearly felt the pressure of winning the Masters and completing the Grand Slam. With that burden relieved, it could well make his free-wheeling game even more so, and surely, another major title in 2025 is well within his reach. Imagine the reception if one of those was to come at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in his homeland of Northern Ireland in July.
Justin Rose was also chasing a first Green Jacket and was outstanding in his comeback from a seven-shot opening deficit. Rose’s ten birdie round of 66 included a 30 footer across the green at the last to get within one, and when McIlroy then bogeyed the last, it was off to the playoff.
“Today was an unbelievable round of golf, said Rose. “This weekend, in fact, if I look back at yesterday, played unbelievable golf yesterday and just putter went stone cold on me, and then today just really began to feel that confidence come back with the putter, which is unbelievable.
“10 birdies on a golf course I thought was playing quite tricky, greens were firm and crusty, but with that came a few mistakes here and there.
“But listen, to make the putt on 18, the one you dream about as a kid, to obviously give myself an opportunity and a chance was an unbelievable feeling. Obviously I’ve been in this position before, 2017. It’s definitely tough, but I bounced back pretty well from that, too. Went on to be World No. 1 after that so I used it to my advantage.
“Last two majors I’ve played I’ve come up in second place, but it’s exactly what I’m trying to do with my career at this stage, and it’s more evidence that I’m doing some really good work.”
Jason Day threatened to get in the mix on occasions during the final day reaching 2 under for the day and 7 under for the tournament through nine holes. Bogeys at his final two holes however, would cost him a place in the top ten, eventually finishing tied for 8th.
It was however, Day’s best finish in a major since finishing runner-up at the 20023 Open Championship and there were plenty of signs that his game is very close to where it needs to be.
“I’m pretty gutted right now,” said Day. “It’s annoying to give myself the opportunities out there and not be able to take them. I mean, it’s a step in the right direction. That’s all I can say. It’s hard to walk off the golf course and go straight into an interview even though — I’m pretty headless right now.
“I understand. It is what it is. We should be able to be professional enough to hold our — at least keep our cool. It’s just really hard when you’ve just walked off the golf course, and you’re pretty furious with how you played, especially at the end.
“Like I said before, it’s like when I sit down and digest it all, I think it’s a good positive step in the right direction. Just a few minor tweaks here and there and a few more putts go in, it might be a different story this week.
“I’ve got to just take the positives when I sit down and think about how the week went.”
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Jason Day in action today – image the Masters Tournament.
Juicy Final day showdown in prospect at Augusta National
McIlroy in action on day three – image courtesy of the Masters Tournament
Tomorrow’s final round of the 2025 Masters Tournament promises to be one of the more fascinating in recent times.
Rory McIlroy and Bryson De Chambeau will face off in what promises to be a juicy battle, especially given McIlroy’s gut-wrenching loss at last year’s US Open where he fell victim to a late demise of his own and a brilliant finish by DeChambeau.
McIlroy leads DeChambeau by two after their respective rounds of 66 and 69 on day three, DeChambeau’s 40-foot cross-green putt at the last reducing what had been a four-shot McIlroy lead he enjoyed through 15 holes to a much more manageable two.
Admittedly, they are not the only figures in an intriguing final day as a total of seven other players are within seven shots of the lead and within 5 of the second placed DeChambeau and with the leading pair playing together they need to ensure they do not get too wrapped up in a one on one battle.
McIlory suggested as much when asked the question of a supposed rematch from Pinehurst last June, indicating his focus tomorrow will be on staying in his own little bubble and not allowing extraneous hype to impact him.
Today, McIlroy opened with six straight 3’s to move two ahead after beginning his round two behind the 54 hole leader Justin Rose. A messy bogey at the reachable par 5 8th was followed by a perhaps wrong club at the 10th leading to a 3 putt bogey and the lead was just one over De Chambeau.
The key moment of the round, however, would come at the par 5 15th when McIlroy’s 6 iron second shot finished 7 feet from the hole and when that was converted for eagle the margin was four before DeChambeau’s strong finish.
“It was such a great way to start,” said McIlory referring to his hot start to the round. “You know, just to come out of the blocks like that, I think, as well, from finishing yesterday afternoon to teeing off today, it’s quite a long time. You know, there’s a lot of anticipation and sort of anxious energy that builds up. You just want to get out there and play.
“So you know, with all of that, to go out and start the way I did, was amazing.
“And then I had that a little bit of a wobble around the turn there with the bogey on 8, the missed chance on 9 and then the three-putt on 10. I thought that the par putt on 11 was huge, just to sort of get some momentum back.
“To get through 11 and 12 at even par was great. And then, you know, all I was trying to do then was take advantage of the par 5s coming in, and thankfully I was able to do that.”
McIlroy is very much aware that the job is not done.
“I think I still have to remind myself that there’s a long way to go, just like I said yesterday, 18 holes. I, just as much as anyone else, know what can happen on the final day here.
“You know, I’ve got a lot of experience. I came in here talking about being the most complete version of myself as a golfer, and you know, I just have to keep reminding myself of that and remind myself that no matter what situation or scenario I find myself in tomorrow, I’ll be able to handle it.”
Jason Day moved himself into contention when he got within three shots of McIlroy at one stage but he was unable to finish as strongly as he needed to in order to be a serious consideration tomorrow. A very low round might put him in the mix but he would need help from McIlroy, DeChambeau and others.
Day is at 5 under and in a share of 6th place with Scottie Scheffler, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry and is well placed to record his best finish at Augusta National since his 5th place in 2019.
Min Woo Lee struggled to a round of 77, his plight made worse by a penalty shot for a ball moving on the 13th fairway, deemed to have been caused by him.
Lee is now in a share of 48th place.
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Jason Day hits his approach at the 11th hole today – image courtesy of the Masters Tournament
Jason Day on edge of Masters contention
Jason Day – during day two – image courtesy of Augusta National
Jason Day’s second consecutive round of 70 has him in a share of 9th place and four off the lead held by Justin Rose at the completion of 36 holes at the Masters Tournament.
Day progressed nicely through the opening nine holes to be 3 under for the day and 5 under for the tournament and although he continued to make pars through the back nine he was unable to convert several opportunities before a pulled drive at the last led to a bogey.
Day was frustrated at the number of opportunities he missed and suggested he would work on that after his round today.
“I feel like I’ve been very patient with myself out there,” said Day. “Yeah, I just need some putts to go in.
“I think overall I’m hitting really good putts. I’m just going to kind of work on that this afternoon.
“This golf course, it can frustrate you. It’s a funny golf course because where they put the pin locations, if you’re leaving yourself 30 to 35 feet, very rarely do you hit it very close. You’re always leaving yourself two, three, four-footers, and that can be very frustrating because you’re going to go through your process again and try and hole the putt, and that’s why you feel mentally fatigued getting off the golf course at the end of the day, just where they place the pin locations.
“But when you’re missing putts and giving yourself opportunities, it is what it is. I feel like the stats will soon kind of turn for me, and hopefully it’s this weekend.
“I feel like I’m playing very nicely. I just don’t get — we’ve got 36 holes left, so there’s a lot of golf to be played. If I can get myself rolling the way that I feel like I can, then I feel like I can get myself into contention.”
Min Woo Lee bounced back from a horror double bogey at the first to be 1 under through 15 holes and although a bogey at the last hurt, his round of 72 has him in a share of 22nd and seven shots from the lead.
Cameron Smith and Adam Scott both missed the cut, Smith’s perhaps more of a surprise, given his recent record at Augusta National. A round of 78 left him three shots from the cut line.
Scott improved significantly on his opening round 77 for an even par 72 but will miss the cut for the first time since 2009.
Cam Davis stumbled to a second round of 79 to miss the weekend by seven shots and for the first time in three appearances in the event.
The leader Rose was out early and added a round of 71 to move to 8 under and now sits atop the leaderboard and one ahead of Bryson De Chambeau with Rory McIlroy and Corey Conners another shot back.
McIlroy bounced back from the disappointment of two late double bogeys on Thursday and finds himself very much in contention for what would be the completion of his own career Grand Slam.
Leaderboard