AUGUSTA, Ga. — The buzz was once again Friday at Augusta National, loud as ever.
It wasn’t from any of the shoppers as a result of they’re now not allowed on this maximum same old Masters in November. It got here from the consistent buzzing of motors of the sub-air gadget underneath the cushy turf in an try to make the direction a bit less attackable, much more like a standard Masters in April.
“You have to really throw all the past knowledge out the window this week, as weird as it is,” mentioned Justin Thomas, who hit a couple of short-game pictures that required accept as true with and creativeness for rounds of 66-69.
That gave Thomas a proportion of the lead with Dustin Johnson (65-70), Cameron Smith (67-68) and Abraham Ancer (68-67), a Masters rookie who doesn’t know this direction some other means.
“A lot of the history and things that you know about the golf course, it can sometimes hurt you this week because of what you’re used to,” Thomas mentioned. “But at the end of the day, it is a lot softer and a lot more scorable.”
Progress might be measured in vegetables that started to pick out up some tempo and scoring that didn’t get out of keep an eye on.
Johnson, having a look each and every bit just like the No. 1 participant on the planet, had 4 birdies at the again 9 within the morning for a 65, breaking via two pictures his easiest spherical at Augusta. He birdied his means via Amen Corner at first of his 2nd spherical and temporarily reached 10 beneath.
Johnson was once slowed via a three-putt bogey at the 14th and a 3-iron that stuck sufficient of a gust to come back up quick at the par-5 15th and roll again into the water, resulting in every other bogey.
He completed with a birdie for a 70 and was once atop the leaderboard with the others at 9-under 135 when the second one spherical was once halted via darkness, a made from a climate lengthen at first of the match that has put the Masters at the back of time table.
The forecast for the weekend is favorable, heat and most commonly sunny.
“I think it can firm up a little bit, but it’s going to be tough for it to get firm,” Johnson mentioned. “I think it’s going to be soft enough to where you’re going to have to attack the golf course and play aggressive and keep swinging like I am. I like where I’m at. I like my position.”
Still to be made up our minds is what that place shall be. Hideki Matsuyama was once at eight with 3 holes final, whilst Jon Rahm was once at eight beneath and had six holes left, together with each par 5s at the again 9.
Another Masters rookie, Sungjae Im (70), was once within the workforce every other shot at the back of that incorporated Patrick Cantlay (66), who contended for the golf green jacket final 12 months. Cantlay was once amongst 4 gamers who had 66, the bottom ranking when play was once stopped for the evening.
Among the ones nonetheless at the direction was once Tiger Woods, caught in impartial on an afternoon when the vegetables picked up a bit extra velocity and the fall leaves shook fairly with some wind. Bryson DeChambeau was once suffering to make the minimize after a misplaced ball that ended in a triple bogey.
What two days have proven is that Masters enjoy handiest is going thus far on a cushy direction with rye grass that isn’t grown in rather how it in most cases is in April.
Thomas served up one instance from Friday morning. He was once smartly left of the 15th inexperienced in two with the pin to the fitting, leaving a pitch that usually is just about unimaginable to hit shut. He went with a difficult, low pitch that hit the brakes on the hollow and spun gently to tap-in vary for birdie.
“I had to trust that I just had to gas it and hit it pretty hard and it was going to spin,” Thomas mentioned. “Balls are making pitch marks with chip shots and pitch shots.”
Woods left the direction Thursday with handiest 3 gamers forward of him. He was once tied for 10th when the primary spherical ended, and he was once tied for 22nd when he left Friday evening with two birdies at the par 5s and bogeys at the 3rd and 7th, the latter from a tee shot shut sufficient to the Georgia pines that his handiest shot was once to hit a runner into the entrance bunker.
DeChambeau, the making a bet favourite entering the week as a result of his huge bulk and…