Masters 2015 Results: Biggest Winners and Losers from Day 2
The second round of the 2015 Masters ended with the same primary storyline as the first: Jordan Spieth is playing incredible golf and is perched firmly atop the Augusta National leaderboard.
Spieth followed his opening-round 64 with an impressive 66 Friday. The 21-year-old will enter the weekend with a five-stroke lead over the field. While there were other second-round winners, the young Texan sits at the head of the class. Heck, he's teaching the class.
On the opposite side of the ledger sit the tournament’s presumptive favorite and a group of stars expected to fare much better on the plush fairways of Augusta National.
Click through for the full rundown of winners and losers from Friday’s action.
Winner: Jordan Spieth
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The big question entering the second round at Augusta National was, "How will Jordan Spieth follow up his opening-round 64?"
Spieth, who finished tied for second at the Masters last year, was brilliant once again in his second round. The 21-year-old Texan carded a bogey-free, six-under 66 to seize a commanding lead.
Spieth's 14-under, 130 total broke Raymond Floyd's scoring record for the first two days at the Masters by a stroke. He also tied for the lowest 36-hole total in the history of major championship golf and will enter the weekend with a five-stroke lead over Charley Hoffman in second place.
The young star got off to a sizzling start for the second day in a row at Augusta. He followed up a birdie at the par-five second hole with an 18-footer for birdie at the fifth and never looked back.
If he doesn't falter this weekend, it's difficult to see anyone catching the surging Mr. Spieth.
Loser: Rory McIlroy
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The 2015 Masters was supposed to be to story of Rory McIlroy marching toward the final leg of the career grand slam.
McIlroy entered the tournament as the favorite at most sportsbooks. He’ll enter the weekend without a prayer of actually winning the Masters thanks to an up-and-down second round that included a bogey at his opening hole and a double-bogey six at the ninth hole.
The tournament's second round saw the Northern Irishman battling to make the cut. He was three over par as he stood on the 10th tee, one stroke outside the cut line.
After it looked like he was heading into the abyss through Amen Corner, McIlroy finished with a flurry. The Ulsterman eagled the 13th hole and added three more birdies to card a second consecutive 71.
He'll begin Saturday 12 strokes behind Jordan Spieth. Relative to the lofty expectations the golfing world held for McIlroy entering the week, the fact that he's likely shot himself out of the tournament through two rounds has to be considered a net loss.
Winner: Charley Hoffman
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38-year-old Charley Hoffman followed his Thursday 67 with a Friday 68. He'll enter the weekend at nine under, five strokes behind the world-beating Jordan Spieth.
Hoffman, an excellent ballstriker, again took advantage of his pairing with Brian Harman and enjoyed a leisurely round of golf at Augusta National. As the group played as a twosome among threesomes, Hoffman, with his laid-back California cool, wasn't rushed.
The only blemish on Hoffman's scorecard (against five birdies) was a bogey at the 18th hole.
For what it's worth, Hoffman doesn't seem worried about being grouped with the surging Spieth entering the weekend.
“You’re watching one of the best players in the world play good golf, so obviously you can feed off home and hopefully I can try to catch him," he said of the Saturday pairing with Spieth, per Chip Towers of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution). "I’m not going to be able to catch him in two holes, so I’ve just got to keep doing what I’m doing."
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Loser: A High-Profile Trio
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Jason Day followed a five-under 67 with a two-over 74 to fall 11 strokes out of the lead entering the third round. Unless Spieth and Hoffman forget to show up for their Saturday tee times, Day won't be donning the green jacket this year.
Sergio Garcia, in traditional Sergio Garcia fashion, opened with a tidy 68. Unfortunately, also in traditional Sergio Garcia fashion, he followed it with a messy 74 to wind up tied for 19th at two under par entering the weekend.
Billy Horschel was the worst of this group. The FedEx Cup winner fired a solid two-under 70 on Thursday. After going out in a one-over 37 to start his second round, Horschel decided to put the car in reverse. He bogeyed the 10th, 14th and 15th holes and tied the whole thing up with a sloppy bow when he double-bogeyed the 18th. Horschel carded a 78 on Friday to go from in the conversation to outside the cut line.
Winner: A Few Past Champions
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In the second round, a group of past Masters champions availed themselves nicely.
58-year-old Mark O'Meara hadn't made a cut at the Masters since 2005. After firing a second-round 68, he'll be teeing up on Saturday. O'Meara enters the third round at three under par, tied for 12th.
Angel Cabrera—who alone can miss a pile of cuts in a row, show up at Augusta and play brilliantly—worked his magic again. The Argentinian carded a second-round 69. Cabrera is also tied for 12th entering the weekend.
Three-time Masters winner Phil Mickelson went largely unnoticed in the first round when he opened with a two-under 70. He vaulted up the leaderboard with a five-birdie 68 on Friday. At six-under for the first two rounds, Mickelson is eight back of the lead.
Past champions Charl Schwartzel (70) and Adam Scott (69) also moved inside the top 15 with quality second-round play.
Loser: Tom Watson
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A day after becoming the oldest golfer to card an under-par round at Augusta National, 65-year-old Tom Watson was unable to turn back the clock again.
Watson made five bogeys on his outward nine against just one birdie. It was a far cry from the two birdies and two bogeys he made in his opening round. Four for the day after nine, the damage was done. Two more bogeys at the 10th and 11th holes added an element of finality.
The two-time Masters champion hasn't made the cut at Augusta since 2010, when he finished tied for 18th. Unfortunately, with his failed bid to do so as a 65-year-old coming up short, it's likely that we've seen the last of the eight-time major champion at the Masters.
Winner: Kevin Na
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The enigmatic Kevin Na tied for 12th at the 2012 Masters, suggesting he has some aptitude for Augusta National.
He confirmed the hypothesis with a second-round 66 on Friday. Na's good day at the office moved him into a tie for eighth at four under.
The native South Korean's back nine was a vintage Na-ian showing: he eagled the par-five 13th hole, double-bogeyed the par-five 15th and bounced back with a birdie at the par-three 16th.
Loser: Tiger Woods Doubters
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If you were among the legions arguing that Tiger Woods had developed an incurable case of the chipping yips or that his health would never allow him to practice and compete at the highest level again, his first two rounds at Augusta National had to be hard to watch.
Woods fired a second-round 69 that included four birdies. While he would have liked to take advantage of the back-nine par-fives (Woods parred them both), the score was a far cry from what doomsday prophets predicted for the star.
How did Woods feel about his second round? Very proud, per Steve Politi of New Jersey Advance Media:
"(I'm) very proud of what I've done to be able to dig it out the way I have. I told you guys on Tuesday, I was at a pretty low (point) in my career, but to basically change an entire pattern like that and put it together and put it in a position where I can compete in a major championship like this is something I'm very proud of.
"
Winner: Dustin Johnson
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Dustin Johnson averages 318.8 yards off the tee and led the tour in eagles in 2013. Even given these facts, the three eagles he carded at Augusta National on Friday were impressive.
Johnson eagled the second, eighth and 15th holes en route to a second-round 67. The South Carolinian overpowered Augusta's short par-fives and will enter the weekend at seven under par and tied for third.
The new father has had little success at Augusta National relative to his play in other majors. Johnson has at least two top-10 finishes in the other three majors. At Augusta, it's been a different story, as he's never finished better than 13th.
Thanks to the eruption of eagles, Johnson seems poised to improve upon that finish.
Loser: Jimmy Walker
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According to Odds Shark, Jimmy Walker was on the short list of favorites to win the 2015 Masters entering this week.
Walker won his last time out at the Valero Texas Open, and he seemed to be firing on all cylinders entering the tournament.
Unfortunately, he really hasn't gotten out of first gear through two rounds. Walker carded a second-round 72 to go along with his opening-round one-over 73. The ho-hum performance leaves the four-time tour winner tied for 33rd entering the weekend, 15 strokes off the pace.
That's certainly not the performance the FedEx Cup points leader was hoping for so far.
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