Masters 2021: Justin Rose Shoots 72, Jordan Spieth Trails by 2 Shots After 2nd Round

Justin Rose finished his second round at The Masters exactly where he began it on Friday: seven-under par and all alone in atop the leaderboard. 

His outing just wasn't anything close to as simple as that. 

The 40-year-old who entered the tournament with 100-to-1 odds to win the green jacket embarked on rollercoaster of an afternoon, finishing the front nine three-over par on Friday before restoring his lead on the back half of the course. 

Rose discussed the ups and downs of his round:

“I was joking that the finger was heading towards the panic button a little bit. I had a little talk with myself on 8 and said, ‘You're still leading the Masters,’ and I just changed my mindset a little bit and started to play match play against the golf course. I scratched a line on my scorecard and told myself I was three down and could I go ahead and beat the golf course from that point? I had a putt on 18 to win my match, 1-up, but unfortunately it just slipped by. But an honorable draw.”

Unfortunately, the time Rose spent restoring his seven-under score gave the field an opportunity to close the four-stroke lead he'd built on Friday.

Here's a look at the top contenders at Augusta after 36 holes. 

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2021 Masters Friday Leaderboard

1. Justin Rose (-7)

T2. Will Zalatoris (-6)

T2. Brian Harman (-6)

T4. Marc Leishman (-5)

T4. Jordan Spieth (-5)

T6. Bernd Wiesberger (-4)

T6. Tony Finau (-4)

T6. Si Woo Kim (-4)

T6. Cameron Champ (-4)

T6. Hideki Matsuyama (-4)

12. Xander Schauffele (-3)

Notables: T13. Collin Morikawa (-2), T17. Bryson DeChambeau (-1), T17. Viktor Hovland (-1), T21. Bubba Watson (E), T21. Jon Rahm (E), T32. Gary Woodland (+1), T32. Patrick Reed (+1), T48.  Phil Mickelson (+3).

Full leaderboard available via PGA Tour

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Recap

Rose was far from the only player who found noteworthy success with his putter on the back nine Friday. Will Zalatoris was able to cut into Rose's lead with five birdies over his last eight holes. 

It was exactly what the 24-year-old from California needed after a disappointing bogey on No. 9. Zalatoris had played a mistake-free round before his second shot on No. 8 landed off the back of the green and behind the spectator ropes.

That he was able to recover with a two-putt seemed to aid his confidence before heading to the back nine. 

However, no one had a more fascinating day on the greens than Si Woo Kim. After a rough three-putt at the Par 4 No. 14, Kim broke his putter in anger, forcing him to use a three wood to putt the rest of the way. 

Yet at the time of his outburst, Kim was very much in contention for the lead on Friday.

Kim was tied for fifth at four-under par before his disastrous attempt at No. 14. He wound up playing bogey-free golf the rest of the way to finish three-under par for the day and tied for sixth overall. Kim used two putts on each of the last four holes to end his round. Having to use his wood didn't impact him negatively, but there were a few birdie attempts that would've had a much better chance of falling in the cup with an actual putter. 

Elsewhere on the course, Bernd Wiesberger and Tony Finau each shot a round of 66 to tie for the lowest score of the day. The two are now tied for sixth on the leaderboard heading into Saturday with Justin Thomas right there with them at four-under par. 

Thomas cut six strokes off his game after an opening round 73 on Thursday and is in prime shape to attack the course on moving day. 

That won't be the case for a number of big names as the three-over cut line claimed a host of notable victims beginning with the defending Masters champion, Dustin Johnson. 

Johnson shot a 74 on Thursday and couldn't recover Friday, finishing with a 75. Matt Kuchar, Max Homa, Sergio Garcia, Danny Willett, Brooks Koepka, Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Matthew Wolff are all heading home early with Johnson. 

Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, Ian Poulter and Francesco Molinari each narrowly avoided the cut with Mickelson picking up two birdies on the back nine to keep himself in the field. 

He'll be among those chasing Rose on Saturday as the Englishman attempts to win his first green jacket after finishing second in 2015 and 2017.