Masters Analysis: Mid-Second Round, Holes 8-10

(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Chad Campbell continues to lead at the Masters, but he is now joined by Kenny Perry atop the leader board. Both competitors sit at -9.

Campbell started hot again today, recording birdies on two of the first four holes. He was as much as five shots in front at one point, when his scored reached -11, but fell back to the pack a bit as he recorded a one-over 37 on the back nine.

Both leaders are taking advantage of the easy scoring through the first two rounds and enjoy a three-stroke lead over Todd Hamilton and Angel Cabrera, who are in a tie for second at -6.

Hamilton managed to record a birdie on holes eight, nine, and 10 to catapult himself up the leader board; he finished the day at -6 for the tournament, which puts him in fourth place as of now.

The weather conditions on the first day in Augusta were beautiful: A warm, sunny day with little wind allowed for a record 19 players to shoot in the 60’s, and 19 others broke par.  

But the skies toughened up on Friday, and quite considerably at that, and good scoring has been harder to come by.

Swirling winds and puffy clouds have firmed up the greens and are hinting at storms in the late afternoon.

The lowest score turned in thus far today has been Kenny Perry’s 67, and four rounds in the 80's have been recorded so far. To this point, only two Friday scores have been in the 60’s (Steve Stricker shot a 69 to go with Perry’s 67).

If the weather continues to worsen, expect the scores to tighten up. Shooting par could become what it takes to win this tournament, and the leaders at -9 might start to fall back to the pack.

Hole eight continues to yield birdies for the field and remains one of the easier holes on course. Hole nine has also been particularly favorable for the field, but the 10th has continued to live up to its hype as one of the toughest on the course.

Hole 8 – Yellow Jasmine – Par 5 – 570 yards

The long par five continues to be one of the easiest holes of the tournament.

Currently playing as the third easiest hole of the day, Yellow Jasmine has yielded 28 birdies, the most of any hole so far. It has also surrendered two eagles, and only 11 scores above par have been recorded here (10 bogeys, 1 double).

The pin placement is in the front part of the green, and with a green sloping from back to front, a lot of long shots funnel forward.

Expect the field to continue to attack the eighth hole. It should continue to yield scores, and players will most certainly try to take advantage of this.

Not many holes are favoring the players today, but the eighth hole is one that competitors can capitalize on. The par five is average a 4.7 score today.

You're currently logged into Facebook

Do you want to share your Bleacher Report activity on Facebook?