Masters Tournament 2018: Mobile Updates for Saturday Leaderboard Scores
Patrick Reed is in control of the Masters at the midpoint of the competition, as he leads by two shots from Marc Leishman.
Finishing late in the day, Reed brought his best to Augusta on Friday afternoon, posting a brilliant six-under-par round of 66 to take his overall score to nine-under. Leishman (67) also played excellently and will be alongside the American in the final pairing on Saturday.
Henrik Stenson is also in a strong position, as he finished up on five-under following an impressive round of 70.
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Overnight leader Jordan Spieth had a tough day, as his 74 pushed him back down to four under. He's tied with another pre-tournament favourite in Rory McIlroy, who continued his solid start to the major with a 71 on Friday.
Live updates throughout Day 3 of the tournament can be found on the Bleacher Report live blog. The action can also be streamed on Watch ESPN (U.S.) and Sky Go (UK).
Leaderboard
-9: Patrick Reed
-7: Marc Leishman
-5: Henrik Stenson
-4: Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth
-3: Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas
Full leaderboard is available via the Masters website.
Reed in Charge at Midpoint
The conditions were much more testing for players on Day 2 at Augusta, so much so that even the imperious Spieth struggled from the off.
Having finished his round well on Thursday, the American took back-to-back sixes at the first two holes to slip back down to three-under.
Another error and another bogey followed at seven, and there appeared to be some danger of the round unravelling. But Spieth responded like a three-time major winner.
A brilliant putt at 13 was his first birdie of the day, before a fine finish at 16 got him back to four under overall.
McIlro, produced a solid round to ensure he'll be in contention over the weekend.
The Northern Irishman was solid throughout the day, improving on his overnight score with a round of 71. As noted by Golf Digest Ireland, McIlroy was disappointed not to take more chances down the stretch:
He and Spieth were the early clubhouse leaders, although out on course there were some strong moves being made in the later groups. Reed was setting a blistering pace in the final one.
The American Ryder Cup star appeared primed for a strong day after stringing together three birdies on the first three holes, and even a bogey at four didn't halt his momentum. Another trio up to the turn gave Reed a front nine of 31 and a three-shot lead.
As noted by ESPN Stats & Info, the 27-year-old was well on course for his best-ever performance at Augusta and the omens were positive:
After a wobble and a bogey after the turn, Reed settled back down again late in the round and started picking up shots, with an excellent approach at 14 a particular highlight.
Eventually, he notched three birdies on the back nine, as well as another bogey, to be sitting pretty on nine-under. The maturity, power and precision on show point to a man who's going to be tough to knock off top spot.
Leishman ensured he was within touching distance of Reed at the end of the day, conjuring some moments of magic during Round 2.
The Australian isn't a household name, but he caught the attention with some sparkling play in his round on Friday. His stunning hooked approach to 15 to set up an eagle is arguably the best shot of the competition so far; journalist Ryan Reynolds enjoyed it:
Stenson, despite being a major winner previously, has surprised plenty by getting up the leaderboard and in the hunt for a green jacket, too.
The Swede hasn't been in the best form this year, although his experience and composure was on show in spades on Friday, as he finished up in outright third.
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