Masters 2013 Leaderboard: How Day 2 Results and Scores Set Up Epic Weekend

Golfers are just 36 holes deep into the 2013 Masters, and the tournament is already shaping up to be one of the best in history.

Friday's second round was perfect evidence of the upcoming whirling dervish of fun and excitement about to take place this weekend at Augusta National. 

As the field navigated its way through untenable conditions (especially in the early hours), the gap between the leaders and everyone else shrunk. Six under was the score of leaders Marc Leishman and Sergio Garcia after Round 1's festivities, and that's exactly the score current leader Jason Day will take into the weekend.

Day, who finished tied for second at Augusta in 2011, has his first 36-hole lead in a major championship after carding a four-under score of 68 on Friday. The 25-year-old Australian one-putted on 10 holes in his brilliant second round, birdieing six holes against just two bogeys as his score topped the day.

He'll lead a field of huge names, including Saturday playing partner Fred Couples. The 53-year-old Couples is looking to become the oldest major champion in history and is just one stroke behind Day coming at five under. 

Also in contention, though lurking multiple strokes behind, are Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy. Both top golfers had interesting Friday rounds, and they should have plenty of eyeballs on them coming into the weekend as well.

With that in mind, here let's take a look around the leaderboard and check out the best storylines of what should be a fantastic weekend of golf.

Tiger Lurks, but Will He Be Able to Recover from Late Slide?

For much of Friday's second round, Woods was seemingly en route to putting a stranglehold on the rest of the field. Three birdies in four holes starting with No. 5 put Woods at five under for the tournament, a spot he held firmly for the next six holes.

Heading into the par-five 15th hole, Woods was tied for the lead and looked laser-focused on being the man leading the field into the weekend. He hit a beautiful drive and set himself up for an aggressive approach that almost surely would have set up an easy birdie. 

Then this happened.

As the ball clanged off the stick and went darting into the water, Woods' day was ruined. He carded a bogey on a hole where a red number seemed guaranteed and then finished his day with another at No. 18 to whimper to the finish.

Though Woods still stands at three-under and just three shots behind Day heading into the weekend, he has to be despondent about what could have been. Tiger will have 36 more holes to atone for the bad luck and mistakes down the stretch; it just won't be as easy as one would expect. 

History tells us Woods may have missed his chance on Friday. In his four previous Masters championships, Tiger shot in the 60s in each second round, including three scores of 66. It's admittedly a fool's errand to make year-to-year assumptions based on those results. The sample size is too small, and it's been eight years since Woods has even won at Augusta.

Nevertheless, it's also fair to assume that Woods is playing more toward his recent stylings at Augusta—in contention, but not a winner—than his previous domination at the world's most famous course. 

Being three behind Day isn't a death sentence, but we know Woods is not a player who loves to come from behind in the final round. He's the greatest front-runner in the sport's history—not the Cardiac Kid.

So look out for how Tiger does on Saturday. If moving day doesn't come with an ascent atop the Augusta leaderboard, fans may as well chalk any hopes of him coming away with a fifth green jacket. 

Tianlang Guan: Setting the Bar for 14-Year-Olds Everywhere

For what may be the first time in tournament history, the morning will matter nearly as much as the leaderboard on Saturday and Sunday at Augusta. Usually the time where out-of-contention also-rans trudge their way through Masters morning as the gallery looks on half asleep, this year's ascent of Tianlang Guan has made history.

The 14-year-old phenom finished his second round with a three-over score of 75, putting him right on the cut line at four over par for the tournament. He is the youngest player to ever make it through the cut at Augusta, just one day after becoming the youngest to ever tee off at the historic tournament. It's one of the better human interest stories of the year, only made more intriguing by the fact a curious decision nearly cost Guan his spot in the tournament. 

Perhaps the only person happier to see Guan to see the youngster make the weekend cut is John Paramor. The Masters official came under a bevy of scorn on Friday after penalizing Guan a stroke on No. 17 due to slow play. By losing a stroke, Guan's score went from three-over overall to four over, putting him directly on the cut line—a mark that vacillated down to the very last minute. 

Though Guan was warned multiple times by Paramor to speed up his play, actually penalizing him a stroke was nearly unprecedented. The last time this happened was in 1995—way before Guan was even born. 

But, alas, Guan made the cut. And seeing as Guan was never going to win anyway, the overall effect is now minimal. Paramor gets to sleep at night knowing he didn't cost a 14-year-old his one shot at glory, Guan gets to play in the Masters and we all get to feel bad about what we were doing at his age. 

Juice boxes for everyone.

Fred Couples: Setting the Bar for 53-Year-Olds Everywhere

Couples may not need his mother to pack a lunch box for him, but he'd probably appreciate it if the gallery brought a couple bran muffins and a box of Ensure this weekend. He may need it to keep his strength while battling for the lead at Augusta. 

The 53-year-old Couples making the cut wasn't a surprise. After all, he's been in relative contention each of the past three years and has a green jacket sitting in his closet for a reason.

What's amazing is how in-his-prime brilliantly Couples is playing Augusta National. The elder statesman of the tournament will walk into the weekend just one stroke off the lead at five-under par. He has carded two red numbers in as many days, and at times looked like the most consistent player in the field thus far. 

A frustrating double-bogey on No. 7 was just about the only time on Friday Couples looked his age. He's bombing the ball off the tee at 274.1 yards per drive, which is actually four yards better than leader Jason Day.

While it's wholly possible that Couples fades in the third round and winds up finishing his Masters playing with Guan in the early morning hours on Sunday—or as most people Couples' age call it, mid-afternoon—it doesn't seem likely. Couples loves Augusta, plays it well every year and his experience on the course will only serve to buoy his chances.

If Couples is able to continue this level of play, we'll be looking at a Tom Watson at the 2009 Open Championship-level moment. And if Jack Nicklaus is watching, it may be Couples instead of Tiger Woods who breaks his records this weekend. 

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