After each round of action at the Masters, contributing writer Taylor McCutheon will recap with his three most standout highlights from the day’s action.
Bryson DeChambeau’s Second Round Steadiness
Bryson DeChambeau infamously put his foot in his mouth during the 2020 Masters when he said the course plays as a par 67.
Belief in his tremendous distance advantage led the Texan to utter those absurd words. Since sharing this remark, Bryson’s experienced underwhelming results at Augusta, finishing 34th in 2020 and 46th in 2021. This year, a different Bryson drove down Magnolia Lane.
After Bryson finished his first round on Thursday, he explained to the media how he’s changed his perspective.
These days, he’s focused on patience and being the best golfer he can be. This new outlook on life seems to be making a difference because he arrived in Augusta with more self-awareness than we are used to seeing.
In his first round, DeChambeau shoots seven under par, 65, taking an early lead at the 2024 Masters. Statistically, Bryson birdied the first three holes, hit 15 of 18 fairways, and only made one bogey on nine. DeChambeau collected five birdies on the second nine and set an impressive first-day pace.
Before I break down his second round, I want to mention his equipment. He’s playing a set of 3D-printed irons from the clubmaker, Avoda. Avoda is a Hebrew word that means “precision.”
As an impassioned scientist himself, this equipment decision makes sense for DeChambeau. In the second round, he began steadily until a bogey on the fourth moved him one behind leader Max Homa.
Humming along until he reached Amen Corner, DeChambeau birdied 12 and 13 to extend his lead. His tee shot on Golden Bell, No. 12, landed six feet past the cup. Coming home, his tee shot off No. 17 was described as “punished,” and punished it was, as it traveled 372 yards. His ball bounced down the fairway as if it had landed on pavement.
Unfortunately, he wrapped up his day with a bogey on the last. He stands at six under par, one stroke behind the current leader Scottie Scheffler.
DeChambeau continues to speak about patience and strategy so far this week. He’ll need to stick to those plans given the tricky weather forecast on the horizon. For the 36 holes though, there is no denying that DeChambeau has executed phenomenally.
Time will tell if the U.S. Open champion can sustain this play as the pressure builds.
Tiger Woods Marathon Friday Leads To Historic Record
We have not seen Tiger Woods since he was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational in February due to illness. But, when Augusta rolls around, everyone zeroes in on the five-time Masters champion.
With his gritty performance in the first two days of this year’s tournament, Woods now owns the record with 24 consecutive cuts made at Augusta.
Because of the early morning rainstorm on Thursday morning, Tiger was not able to start his Masters Tournament until late in the afternoon. We won’t know for sure until the weekend, but this might have had long-term, negative effects on the body of the 48-year-old because he was forced to play 23 holes on Friday.
Disclaimer — we have only seen Woods play 24 holes all season.
Playing alongside Max Homa and Jason Day, they were able to complete 13 holes on Thursday. Tiger strung together clutch ups and downs on 10, 11 and 12 to sustain position. He sat at a respectable one under par. To begin Friday, Woods bogeyed the 14th with a wedge in his hand.
His 81-yard approach into 15 also went wayward, flying long off the green. To finish, Tiger bogeyed the 18th and ended one over par. He hit 29 putts in the first round, and needed the putter to heat up in the second loop. With 48 minutes to spare, Tiger quickly prepped for the second round.
Woods’ second round oscillated up and down like an elevator. There were various highlights such as his approach into the third and his chip-in birdie on six.
On the sixth, Tiger reminded all of us of the magic within his hands. His tee shot barely covered the front bunker, and from a delicate uphill lie, he hit a low skipping chip shot into the hole for birdie. Two holes later, on eight, his exceptional pitch delivered another birdie.
Unfortunately, his peak-and-valley play left much to be desired. From the third through the ninth, his sequence of scores moved birdie-bogey-bogey-birdie-bogey-birdie-par. Tiger tacked in the other direction on the second nine, making one bogey and one birdie en route to shooting even par on the day.
Tiger’s terrific play off the tee propelled him into the weekend. Regardless of the blustery winds, Woods hit 25 of 28 fairways and complemented that accuracy with deft short-game shots.
He’ll head into Saturday standing at one over par. As I mentioned earlier, with this made cut, Tiger now holds the record for 24 consecutive cuts made at the Masters. Come Sunday, Tiger will compete in his 100th round at the Masters.
Cut Watch (Disappointments and Pleasant Surprises)
After the completion of the second round, the top 50 players and ties booked spots into the weekend. The firm and windy conditions (20 to 30 mph gusts!) at Augusta National sent notable names home packing, and I am pleasantly surprised by several other competitors who are playing well.
Let’s get into the disappointments of the first two rounds, and let’s look forward to hopeful weekend contenders.
Sadly, the 2015 Masters Champion, Jordan Spieth, trunk slammed at this year’s tournament. Jordan never looked settled on Thursday and Friday. The lowlight of round one took place on 15 when he ping-ponged back and forth across the green. He scored a nine on the hole.
Nine!
Ultimately, Spieth finished the first round at seven over par in 80th place and essentially guaranteed the missed cut. Spieth quietly went along in the second round, but his efforts fell well short with a total score of nine over par. After finishing T-4 in 2023, we are all disappointed about Jordan Spieth’s performance this year.
Neal Shipley, the 2023 U.S. Amateur runner-up, put together a tidy one-under-par score in his first round at the Masters. He made three birdies on the third, seventh and 13th.
On the 13th, Shipley threw his approach well past the hole but spun it back to a pin-high putt for birdie four. His second round did not go as smoothly. On the first tee, he stood at one under par. On the 18th green, he finished at three over par, squeaking inside the cut line by one stroke.
Nevertheless, the young man from Pittsburgh will make the cut, play the weekend and earn the Low Amateur honors after the other four amateurs missed the cut.
Coming into the 2024 Masters, Max Homa only had one top-10 in major championships, which took place last summer at the Open. This underwhelming record does not do Homa justice, and it’s time to change the conversation.
For the first time in his Masters career, Max Homa put together a round in the 60s. His approach into 17 finished inches from the hole highlighted his five-under-par performance.
On Friday, Max’s steady second-round score of one under par reflected the difficult windy conditions. Safe to say, he’s positioned himself well with 36 holes left.
