Second-round action at Augusta National brought another lively stretch at The Masters, with several players making early moves on a challenging Friday. Rory McIlroy was among those under way as the leaderboard continued to shift, while Justin Rose and Tyrrell Hatton climbed into more prominent positions.
Wyndham Clark kept drawing attention after a fast start to his round. He had been moving confidently through the early holes and nearly added another birdie at the sixth, where his putt looked promising all the way to the cup before drifting just enough to the right to stay out. Even so, Clark remained at three under for the tournament and three under for the round.
Clark was no longer the only player finding red figures for the day. Im Sungjae, who finished second on debut in the November Masters of 2020, birdied the seventh and eighth holes to move into positive territory for the round. He stood at three over overall. Freddie Couples also picked up a birdie at the second to return to five over, a small but welcome recovery after a difficult finish to his first round.
Couples’ opening day had gone badly at the end, with a quadruple bogey, followed by back-to-back double bogeys at holes 15, 16 and 17. At 66 years old, the veteran was given some sympathy for fading in the late-afternoon heat, but his early second-round birdie offered at least a brief lift.
A steady opening for Aaron Rai
The Par 3 Contest winner Aaron Rai began his second round in calm fashion. He found the green on the opening hole in regulation and then rolled a lengthy birdie attempt that shaved the edge of the hole. Rai stayed at one under after his opening-round 71, a score that had hinted at even more after he made the turn in 33.
Rai’s early play reflected the measured style that has helped him stay in contention. Augusta National was demanding patience, and a composed start was valuable on a day when small mistakes could quickly alter a player’s position.
Clark keeps pressing forward
Clark’s stretch of consecutive birdies eventually came to an end at five, but his momentum was still clear. After the par at six, he found the heart of the green with his tee shot and used the slope to bring the ball toward a front-left pin position. That left him with a makeable birdie look from about 18 feet.
The putt was not completely straight or flat, as Augusta’s contours made sure of that, but it was as manageable as anything players could expect on this course. Clark’s ability to keep himself in position showed why he had become one of the early names to watch during the second round.
As the day continued, the field remained tightly bunched and the leaderboard continued to evolve. With Augusta’s scoring changes coming quickly and often, the second round promised more movement before the day was out.
Further updates were set to follow as McIlroy and the rest of the field pushed through the afternoon at Augusta National.
