Masters TV Coverage 2012: ESPN Times for Second-Round Action

The action kicked off in a fast and furious manner on Thursday in Augusta, as Lee Westwood paced the field at five-under par. While most of the players up there with him are lesser known in nature, there are plenty of top golfers lurking a few shots back who are very much in the hunt at the Masters.

Tiger Woods got off to a solid start, but bogeys on the last two holes dropped him to even. However, with how volatile the scores have been, he is in a decent spot right now. The other player who everyone is watching, 22-year-old Rory McIlroy, is one stroke ahead of Woods and is looking to atone for his collapse at the Masters last season.

There is plenty of coverage to look forward to on Friday and while the first several hours can only be seen on Masters.com, ESPN will pick up the coverage at 3 p.m. ET. As important as Saturday and Sunday are to the tournament, the second round can often be where the contenders separate from the pretenders, so it will be important to watch Friday's action very closely.

Here is everything you need to know about when and where you can catch Friday's Masters action.

TV Schedule

3 p.m. ET - 7:30 p.m. ET (Live coverage on ESPN)

8 p.m. ET - 11 p.m. ET (Replay of ESPN telecast)

Contender Who Will Fall: Paul Lawrie

There are several middling names currently near the top of the leaderboard just under Westwood, but the most surprising may be Paul Lawrie.

The Scotsman has certainly had some thrills in the past as he won the 1999 British Open, but since that huge victory, he has mostly been an anonymous player on tour who rarely makes much of an impact.

He had an impressive first round and at three-under par, he is just two shots behind Westwood at the moment. Lawrie had a lot going for him yesterday as he made a spectacular chip in late in the round, but it's doubtful that he will be able to hold up.  

Lawrie hasn't been a real contender in a major in over a decade and I fully expect things to be much tougher for him in the second round.

Big Run To Watch: Tiger Woods

Everyone is expecting Tiger Woods to make his move on Friday and I'm willing to bet that he won't disappoint.

Woods was nowhere near top form on Thursday, but despite that he played two-under par for much of the round and didn't relinquish that score until the final two holes. Two bogeys left him at even par, but when you consider how many opportunities he missed, that isn't too bad.

Leading up to the Masters Woods had been playing his best golf in a few years, so it would be surprising if he didn't make some sort of run. Woods admitted that some bad habits began to sneak back into his swing and while that may be disconcerting, the fact that Woods realizes it will cause him to turn things around.