The second round of the Masters continued at Augusta National with several players finding momentum early on day two, even as the famous course kept offering little margin for error.
Wyndham Clark was among those making a move. His birdie putt at the sixth looked destined to drop, rolling straight before drifting just enough to the right near the cup to stay out. It was a near miss that left him at three under par for both the round and the tournament overall. Clark was not alone in making gains on the course.
Im Sungjae also added birdies at the seventh and eighth holes to move into red figures for the day. The 2020 Masters runner-up, who finished second on debut in the November edition of that tournament, stood at three over for the championship overall after that early burst.
Freddie Couples, meanwhile, showed some of the resilience that has long defined his Masters appearances. The veteran birdied the second hole to move back to five over, a welcome response after a difficult stretch on Thursday. He had stumbled with a quadruple bogey, followed by consecutive double bogeys at the 15th, 16th and 17th holes in the previous round. Even so, at 66 years old, he remained in the field and continuing to compete through the heat and pressure of Augusta.
A solid start for Aaron Rai
The Par 3 Contest winner Aaron Rai began his second round in steady fashion. He found Tea Olive off the tee and then rolled a long birdie effort that just missed. Rai remained at one under after an opening 71 on Thursday, a round that had promised even more after he turned in 33.
His start reflected the broader challenge of Augusta National, where a good drive and approach can still leave players with demanding putts and little room for error. Rai’s opening holes suggested calm and confidence as he tried to build on his first-round position.
Clark keeps the pressure on
Clark’s birdie run eventually came to an end at five consecutive birdies, but he stayed in strong position. A par at the sixth hole did little to halt his momentum, and he again found the centre of the green with his tee shot. Using the slope, he worked the ball towards the flag tucked near the front left and left himself a promising look from around 18 feet.
The putt was not entirely straight, but on a course where even short birdie chances can be tricky, it still represented a meaningful opportunity to keep pushing up the leaderboard.
Elsewhere, the tone of the morning remained cautious but competitive, with players looking to make early gains before Augusta’s more demanding stretches began to bite. As always at the Masters, every birdie mattered, every missed chance carried weight, and the leaderboard had the potential to shift quickly.
This live second-round coverage continued with updates from Augusta National as the field worked through a day likely to shape the tournament picture heading into the weekend.
