Masters 2019: Predictions, Live Stream and TV Coverage Hub for Friday

Brooks Koepka has two U.S. Open championships and a PGA title to his credit, and he has taken the first step towards staking his claim at the Masters.

The 28-year-old fired a six-under 66 in the opening round of the Master Thursday, dominating the back nine with a score of 31.

Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau are tied for the lead going into Friday's second round, ahead of a star-studded group of challengers that includes Phil Mickelson at five-under, and Ian Poulter and Dustin Johnson at four-under.

Lurking at two-under is four-time Masters champion Tiger Woods, who played a solid opening round despite missing a couple of short putts along the way.

ESPN begins its broadcast coverage of the second round at 3 p.m. ET and will continue through 7:30 p.m. The Golf Channel will report on Day 2 from 8 a.m., and it will continue until ESPN comes on the air. Fans can also live-stream the event at Masters.com.

It's hard to believe Koepka was not one of the favorites coming into the event, considering he had won two of the last three majors.

DeChambeau is a true student of the game, and he is known for studying his shots for lengthy periods. While there is little doubting his talent, his propensity for taking a long time to hit the ball has been known to bother his fellow golfers, including Koepka.

"I just don't understand how it takes a minute and 20 seconds ... to hit a golf ball. It's not that hard," Koepka said on a Golf Monthly podcast earlier this year (h/t PGATour.com).

Neither Koepka nor DeChambeau has given any reason to think they will fade in the second round, and Johnson has the capability of going on a long run of birdies and climbing into the lead.

However, Johnson has just one major championship to his credit, and he has had a hard time sustaining success in the biggest tournaments.

Mickelson has three Masters titles to his credit, while Woods is competing for his fifth green jacket. He has not won a major championship since the U.S. Open in 2008.

Both veterans appeared to be on their game in the first round and are clearly motivated to do well. Sustaining success for four rounds may not be possible, but performing well again in the second round is a distinct possibility.

Predictions

Koepka had to share the lead in the Masters after the first round, but he is talented, determined and hungry to show the golf world just how good he is. Look for him to emerge at the halfway point of the tournament with a one-stroke lead over DeChambeau.

Johnson will move to the top of the leaderboard early in the round, but he will struggle during the back nine and lose several strokes.

Mickelson and Woods are likely to feed off each other's success, and both will remain within three strokes of the lead after 36 holes.

Woods is often at his best in the second round of the Masters, as he has shot 69 or better in the second round at Augusta seven times.

Round 2 tee times

(U.S. unless stated, all times ET)

8:30 a.m. Sandy Lyle (Scotland), Michael Kim, Patton Kizzire
8:41 a.m. Trevor Immelman (South Africa), Martin Kaymer (Germany), *Devon Bling
8:52 a.m. Larry Mize, Jimmy Walker, Stewart Cink
9:03 a.m. Jose Maria Olazabal (Spain), Kevin Na, Thorbjorn Olesen (Denmark)
9:14 a.m. Bernhard Langer (Germany), Matt Wallace (England), *Alvaro Ortiz (Mexico)
9:25 a.m. Alex Noren (Sweden), Keegan Bradley, Matthew Fitzpatrick (England)
9:36 a.m. Vijay Singh (Fiji), Billy Horschel, *Jovan Rebula (South Africa)
9:47 a.m. Kevin Kisner, Kiradech Aphibarnrat (Thailand), Shugo Imahira (Japan)
9:58 a.m. Zach Johnson, Ian Poulter (England), Matt Kuchar
10:09 a.m. Francesco Molinari (Italy), Rafael Cabrera Bello (Spain), Tyrrell Hatton (England)
10:31 a.m. Bubba Watson, Patrick Cantlay, Satoshi Kodaira (Japan)
10:42 a.m. Dustin Johnson, Bryson DeChambeau, Jason Day (Australia)
10:53 a.m. Phil Mickelson, Justin Rose (England), Justin Thomas
11:04 a.m. Jordan Spieth, Paul Casey (England), Brooks Koepka
11:15 a.m. Andrew Landry, Adam Long, Corey Conners (Canada)
11:26 a.m. Ian Woosnam (Wales), Keith Mitchell, Kevin Tway
11:37 a.m. Mike Weir (Canada), Shane Lowry (Ireland), *Kevin O'Connell
11:48 a.m. Angel Cabrera (Argentina), Aaron Wise, Justin Harding (South Africa)
11:59 a.m. Danny Willett (England), Brandt Snedeker, *Takumi Kanaya (Japan)
12:10 p.m. Fred Couples, Si Woo Kim (Korea), J. B. Holmes
12:32 p.m. Branden Grace (South Africa), Emiliano Grillo (Argentina), Lucas Bjerregaard (Denmark)
12:43 p.m. Charl Schwartzel (South Africa), Charles Howell III, Eddie Pepperell (England)
12:54 p.m. Sergio Garcia (Spain), Tony Finau, Henrik Stenson (Sweden)
1:05 p.m. Adam Scott (Australia), Hideki Matsuyama (Japan), Kyle Stanley
1:16 p.m. Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, *Viktor Hovland (Norway)
1:27 p.m. Charley Hoffman, Louis Oosthuizen (South Africa), Marc Leishman (Australia)
1:38 p.m. Tommy Fleetwood (England), Xander Schauffele, Gary Woodland
1:49 p.m. Tiger Woods, Haotong Li (China), Jon Rahm (Spain)
2:00 p.m. Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), Rickie Fowler, Cameron Smith (Australia)