The Masters updates: Tiger Woods set out to make more history

AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Max Homa performed probably the most fantastically boring spherical of golf amid raging wind and infinite calamity Friday within the Masters, giving him a share of the lead with Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau going right into a weekend for the survivors.

Homa made 15 pars — all of them felt so significantly better than that — for a 1-under 71.

Scheffler lastly made his first bogey of the Masters after which a couple of extra, however he was rock stable down the stretch for a 72, his highest rating of the 12 months. DeChambeau performed the thirteenth gap from the 14th fairway — at one level hoisting a wooden directional sign over his shoulder as he plotted his transfer — and completed with a 73.

For some 12 hours, the wind roared by way of the pines, scattered magnolia leaves throughout pristine Augusta Nationwide, and blew sand out of the white bunkers and into the faces of the gamers as they tried to deal with a beast of a course.

“Principally what I used to be making an attempt to do on the market was make a bunch of pars and keep within the golf event,” Scheffler mentioned, a testomony to simply how tough it was.

The 60 gamers who made the reduce at 6-over 150 are anticipated to get a slight reprieve, although nonetheless loads of wind. And that weekend will embody Tiger Woods.

Woods set a Masters file by making the reduce for the twenty fourth consecutive time. He needed to play 23 holes — 5 within the morning to complete the weather-delayed first spherical, after which a second spherical by which he stored the ball in play and posted an even-par 72.

He was solely seven photographs behind and nonetheless very a lot within the event.

“I’m right here. I’ve an opportunity to win the golf event,” Woods mentioned. “I bought my two rounds in.”

That’s actually what it was all about — ending, surviving.

“That was about as joyful as you could possibly be to be off of a golf course,” Homa mentioned. “That was so exhausting. We bought the sand bathe to finish our day. So it was sort of the golf course saying, ‘Get the hell out of right here.’”

The typical rating was 75.09. Solely eight gamers broke par, the identical variety of gamers who shot 80 or increased. Ludvig Aberg had the low spherical at 69.

“I’ve by no means skilled something like this earlier than,” DeChambeau mentioned. “However what an important take a look at.”

Homa heard among the loudest cheers, even when they weren’t for him. He spent two days with Woods, and caught the complete expertise of largest galleries, all of them rising to their toes when Woods approached tee containers, or the fifteenth inexperienced that he managed to achieve in two.

“The reminiscences will simply be a whole lot of the Tiger stuff,” Homa mentioned. “I hope to construct my very own come this weekend, however I happily assume I’ve executed a ok job of taking part in it one shot at a time that I can’t actually keep in mind a ton of the spherical in the meanwhile. I performed rather well, and I attempted to play as boring as doable.

“I feel simply the view of this stunning golf course with the ocean of followers, will probably be seared in my mind for some time.”

The leaders had been at 6-under 138, two photographs away from Masters newcomer Nicolai Hojgaard of Denmark, who shot a 73. Two-time main champion Collin Morikawa, one in every of solely two lucky souls to interrupt par every of the primary two rounds, had a 70 and was three behind.

Justin Thomas can have far worse reminiscences. He was even par for the event on the par-5 fifteenth gap, very a lot within the event. He hit iron to put up and it raced alongside the turf and into the pond. That was the beginning of a double bogey-double bogey-bogey-double bogey end. He shot 79 and missed the reduce by one shot.

Defending champion Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy seemed as if they could be a part of him, however that was earlier than the reduce line started to maneuver.

Rahm made a late cost for a 76, leaving him 11 photographs out of the lead. McIlroy, lacking solely the Masters for the profession Grand Slam, didn’t make a birdie for less than the third time in his 56 journeys round Augusta Nationwide. He shot 77 and was 10 photographs again.

Homa has some expertise of the grandest of phases, taking part in with Woods throughout his last British Open at St. Andrews. He was much more snug with Woods at Augusta Nationwide, and his recreation was an enormous a part of it. Homa picked up two early birdies, one in every of them on the par-3 fourth when he needed to hit 7-wood.

His lone bogey was on the eleventh, the toughest gap at Augusta Nationwide, and he buckled down towards probably the most excessive situations.

DeChambeau was the one participant to achieve 8 beneath at any level together with his birdie on the thirteenth gap that was fairly the expedition. He drove proper into the pines and didn’t see a transparent route again to the golf green — not the thirteenth fairway, anyway.

So he seemed to the correct towards the 14th gap, even eradicating the signal put up that he briefly carried over his shoulder — “It was most likely 30 kilos, not too unhealthy,” he mentioned — and left himself 145 yards over the tributary to Rae’s Creek to a again proper pin.

“The patrons had been good sufficient to maneuver over to the aspect to ensure it was huge sufficient so if I hit an errant one, no person would get hit by the ball,” he mentioned. “I hit an important nice shot across the nook and was in a position to benefit from a fairly open entrance to the inexperienced.”

He hit it to about 15 toes for birdie and dropped two photographs coming in. In these situations, that was acceptable.

The wind was so fierce that gamers thought it could be referred to as, with balls oscillating and gusts arriving with out discover. Because it was, the rounds took practically six hours to play.

Scheffler hit driver and 3-iron onto the fifteenth inexperienced on Thursday, and driver and 3-iron simply to put up on the fifteenth on Friday.

“It may be three golf equipment completely different, relying on what time you hit it,” Harris English mentioned. “Ten to twenty seconds later or earlier, it may be a very completely different shot.”

Amongst these making the reduce had been three Masters champions — 58-year-old Jose Maria Olazabal, 61-year-old Vijay Singh and 53-year-old Phil Mickelson — who’ve mixed to play the Masters 97 occasions.

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