AUGUSTA, Ga. – At one point Saturday morning amongst the wind and the rain at Augusta National, one of those only-at-the-Masters roars still managed to float through the back nine.
“That’s Tiger,” a patron said.
Indeed, it was. Woods had rolled in a birdie on the par-5 15th after his wedge-shot approach hit the flag from the fairway en route to making the cut at the Masters – even with back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18.
If Woods didn’t already have enough success at the Masters, he added his name to the record book. Again. He made the cut for the 23rd time in a row, tying Fred Couples (1983-2007) and Gary Player (1959-82) for the all-time record.
Now, Woods will have to see if his body will hold up for what is set to be a total slog Saturday afternoon.
“I've always loved this golf course, and I love playing this event. Obviously, I've missed a couple with some injuries, but I've always wanted to play here. I've loved it,” Woods said afterward.
The continuation of the second round of this year’s Masters continued at 8 a.m. ET / 5 a.m. PT, with Woods having to hit the nervy tee ball on the par-3 12th. He hit it to about 10 feet but pulled the birdie attempt and settled for par. Woods missed another birdie attempt on No. 13 and scrambled for par on the par-4 14 before adding that circle to his scorecard on No. 15.
Woods had a lengthy birdie try on No. 16 that he left a few feet short. He hit his tee ball right of the fairway on No. 17 and had to punch out, leaving him with a long par-saver that he couldn’t convert.
On No. 18, Woods hit another errant tee ball – “I was just trying to hit some kind of low cut out there, and I hit it right off the neck” – and was forced to punch out, leaving him with almost 40 feet to save par. He tapped in the bogey and his fate was in the hands of either Justin Thomas or Sungjae Im. If either got to 3-over, that meant Woods would play all 72 holes.
Thomas ended up shooting a back-nine 42, including bogeys on Nos. 17 and 18, and finished at 4-over. With the conditions aggressively deteriorating through the balance of the morning, Woods comfortably made the cut at 3-over par.
Brooks Koepka, who finished Friday afternoon, will have the 36-hole lead at 12-under. Jon Rahm battled the elements Saturday morning – including rolling in a lengthy birdie off the green on No. 17 – and shot a 3-under 69. He’ll be two shots back of the lead, at 10-under.
For the first time in Masters history, two golfers are in double digits under-par after 36 holes.
Amateur Sam Bennett will be in the final group with Koepka and Rahm. Golfers will go off both No. 1 and No. 10 tee and in threesomes in order to try to get the whole of the third round completed Saturday.
Mackenzie Hughes was the lone Canadian to make the cut.
Hughes was in the fairway on No. 14 when the second round started up again Saturday but made bogey. He bounced back immediately with a birdie on No. 15 before pars on No. 16 and 17. Hughes underestimated the wind with his approach on the par-4 18th and ended up in a greenside bunker. His shot from the sand landed about a yard short and he left himself a long par attempt that he missed by just a foot.
Still, Hughes’ 3-under 69 is his lowest career Masters round. He just wished it could have all happened in one day.
“I would have loved to have finished off playing the way I was and obviously playing in a T-shirt, playing with a dry golf ball. All those things would have been great. But … it is what it is,” Hughes told Sportsnet. “We play a sport outdoors, and that's the way it happens sometimes.”
Hughes, who was 4-under through 10 holes on Friday, said the conditions “dramatically changed” overnight.
“It felt like a different sport today,” said Hughes.
The Canadian navigated a tricky Augusta National Saturday morning and said getting into red figures for the second round buoyed his confidence, despite the fact he is well back of the lead.
“I've always known I could play this place well,” said Hughes. “Obviously, it will be much more difficult today than it was (on Friday), but we'll see what we can do. We'll try and move up.
“Obviously, I'm way back of the lead, but I guess you just never know. This could play really difficult today, and a round of 3- or 4-under could move you way up.”
As for the other Canadians in the field, Adam Svensson, in his major championship debut, finished his second round Saturday morning, shooting an 8-over 80. He was 11-over for the week. Mike Weir finished at 4-over and Corey Conners finished at 8-over.
NOTES: The stumps of the three trees that fell Friday night near the 17th tee box – causing no injuries – were removed overnight. Each of the three stump areas were covered with crushed green gravel and about 10 x 10 roped-off areas. ... Fred Couples, 63, became the oldest golfer in Masters history to make the cut. ... Most golf courses would have needed to stop play in the Saturday-morning conditions but Augusta National has a sub-air system under most of its layout that was humming on Saturday morning, trying to dry out the course as sheets of rain fell. ... In all, 12 golfers who play on the LIV Tour made the cut, led by Koepka.
