LEADING THE WAY: Jason Day of Australia hits from a bunker on the 15th hole during the second round of the Masters, at the National Golf Club in Augusta on Friday. (EPA)
DPA/Augusta
The leader after round two at the Masters on Friday is still Australian, but not Marc Leishman. Country mate Jason Day used six birdies and the last tee time to finish 6-under.
Playing in group 31 of 31, Day sank key birdies on Nos. 13 and 15, right after world No. 1 Tiger Woods bogeyed on 15 and 18 to drop down the leaderboard. Woods at one time co-led at 5-under after 14 holes, but finished at 3-under.
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who was pushed out of world No. 1 when Woods roared back earlier this year, finished at 2-under.
The 1992 Augusta champion Fred Couples, 53, used a birdie on the 18th hole to finish 5-under, tied for second on the leaderboard in his 29th trip to Augusta.
“It’s obviously great to have the lead,” Day said. “I’m very excited for the challenge over the next two days. You know, it’s exciting, it really is exciting to have the opportunity to win the Masters.”
He’ll tee up with Fred Couples, who’s sitting in a two-way tie for second place with round one leader Marc Leishman at 5-under. Couples moved up with five birdies, including on the 18th hole, but didn’t quite expect to see his name at top of the leaderboard.
“I did tee off on Thursday with the idea of playing well,” Couples said. “Now it’s Friday afternoon late, I mean, I’m surprised, but I’m not like, you know, going to freak out over it.”
But the story of the day remained focused on 14-year-old Guan Tianlang of China, who finished the course at 3-over but was charged a pace of play penalty on the 17th hole. After multiple reminders and warnings about timeliness throughout the course, he was officially charged one-stroke after his second shot to finish at 4-over.
At the time of the penalty, his 76 was on the bubble of the projected cut, but after all 31 groups were off the course, he became the youngest player in tournament history to make the cut.
Woods started the day off with three birdies in the first nine. The second nine were a different story as he bogeyed twice in the last four holes to move from co-leading at 5-under to a seven-way tie for seventh at 3-under.
On the par 5 No. 15 hole, Woods hit his third shot over the water only to have the ball hit the flag post, drop and roll back into the hazard. He took a drop and landed his fifth shot just short of the cup for an easy putt for bogey.
“Wind was, at the time, coming off the right. And I just tried to hold it in there. And I did,” Woods said. Woods will play round three with Fernadez-Castano.
At 4-over, defending champion Bubba Watson made the cut via the virtue of ties. He’ll play the third round solo.
Spaniard Sergio Garcia was the other overnight co-leader at 6-under heading into Friday’s play, but slipped to 2-under at round’s end after playing through the morning rainstorm and battling the wind.
Other notable finishes included that by Argentine Angel Cabrera who snuck up the leaderboard with birding holes 13, 14, 15, 16 and 18 to finish at 4-under, with Jim Furyk and Brandt Snedeker.
Two-time Masters winner German Bernhard Langer closed 36 holes at 2-under, tied for 14th, making the cut and extending his stay at his 30th Masters. He’ll tee up with Garcia.
Langer, age 55, and Couples, 53, made a profile as the wise tournament elders in Augusta as the leaderboard rose in age.