Justin Rose (-8) remains at the top of the Masters leaderboard after completing his second round. The Englishman wasn’t as tidy today as he was on Thursday; in fact, he started the round more erratically than anything else, but no one remembers the last tantrum seen from this man on a golf course, if there ever was one. So he gritted his teeth, relied on a fine, very fine short game, interspersed with some great shots, like those on holes 12 and 17, and ended up securing a round under par to almost certainly place himself in the leading group on Saturday, where the final winner’s lottery tickets really start to be handed out.
The problem Rose has is the wonderful commotion happening behind him. Bryson DeChambeau (-7) hasn’t let up in his push, following Thursday’s 69 with a 68 on Friday. If he’s not a textbook contender for victory right now, then no one is. The Californian from LIV fears nothing. He’s been trying for years to make amends with Augusta National, a titan he gravely offended in the days leading up to that strange November 2020 edition when he said the par for this course, for him, was actually 67 strokes… He apologised last year for those arrogant and stupid statements after signing a 65 in the first round (he would finish sixth) and, above all, after missing the cut in 2022 and 2023. This guy, sooner or later, is going to don the green jacket; it’s just a matter of finding out if, for example, he’ll achieve it this year.
Among other things, because Rose won’t be the only major rival to beat. Several illustrious players are coming in droves, led by Rory McIlroy (-6), trumpet in hand. Lowry (-5) is coming, and Hovland (-4) is coming, despite the Norwegian finishing with bogeys on holes 17 and 18; Matsuyama (-3) and Fleetwood (-2) are coming… Even Schauffele (-2) is coming, having earned his share of possibilities with a round of 69. And Aberg (-3), although after playing today over par (73), living off Thursday’s gains. Not to mention the Scheffler or Hatton, who at the time of editing this report were fighting at the top. Many are coming, and they are very good, but now there’s no choice but to focus on one, a native of Holywood.
What an exhibition by McIlroy in this second round after the crushing fiasco of the first round. All of a sudden, he has regained all the chances of completing the Grand Slam with a round of 66 strokes and, more specifically, a back nine he closed in 31 strokes, starting with four consecutive ‘threes’ on holes 10, 11, 12, and 13, birdie-birdie-par-eagle, to be clear.
And the fact is, coincidence or not, voluntarily or involuntarily, the best version of Rory has been seen when he played in the style and manner of… Rory. Namely: a great shot aiming for the flag on 10; another great shot to that short flag on the left of 11, which does nothing all day but admire its own reflection in the water, so coquettish; and a new killer shot on 13, from the pine straw, probably aiming for a less dangerous line, more to the left of the flag, but, you see, ended up taking the ball down the right flank, just clearing the creek and providing him with a magnificent eagle opportunity, which he converted.
These are the ways and manners we all have assimilated as typical of this formidable player: Roryland, in fact, is one of the most fascinating places in world sport. On the other hand, we will also have to get used to living with that other version, somewhat more restrained and calculating, which he has been forging and defending tooth and nail and which, let’s not kid ourselves, will undoubtedly yield more dividends. More Majors. But Rory will always be Rory, and between calculations, he will never stop finding the moment to swing his hips and dance a rock and roll.
