Augusta Masters 2022 - Day 2 summary: Scheffler in lead, scores, leaderboard, players in second round

Well, that will conclude our live coverage of Day 2 from Augusta, Georgia. Join us tomorrow for Day 3 where we will bring you all of the news and stories from the Masters.

End of Play Day 2

Scottie Scheffler is what Day 2 was all about. His round of golf was as good as any you could hope to see and the question for the weekend is can anyone keep pace with him? Indeed, can he keep pace with his own rate of play?

He is the World Number 1 and holds the record for the fastest rise to that level. Two months ago, he hadn't won a title. Tiger Woods had been the fastest to go from his first PGA title to number 1, having done it in 252 days. Scheffler did it in only 42 days.

You may not have heard much about him before, but you will certainly hear about him now.

Keeping to the script of the day, Scheffler hits his first shot on 18 into the trees and then brings his second shot onto the green, only 13 feet from the hole, with a lovely save.

He puts out for par, completing an astonishing round of golf. He carries a five-stroke lead on the competition at -8. Anything can happen tomorrow, so he can't just rest on his laurels, but if he can continue this level of play, he could be in line for his first green jacket.

Tiger Woods "feeling it"

In the post-round interview, Tiger Woods was asked about how his body was doing after 36 holes and he replied "I'm feeling it! Definitely feeling it."

He was seen adjusting that compression sock and throughout the afternoon it was clear that he was not entirely comfortable, but he says that he feels good, that he is "in the ball game", and hoping that the winds are less of a factor tomorrow.

Scheffler's short game is on point

Struggling mightily on 17 after going into the trees and then the bunker, Scheffler pitches it to within a foot of the hole for a tap-in par. His short game has been the difference all day.

Hideki Matsuyama finishes out on 69, three under par and sits five back from the leader. He is in great shape for the weekend, and his solid play can see him climb further if the leader wobbles in the morning.

Scheffler did indeed birdie that 16th, bringing his lead to an impressive -8.

Joaquin Niemann double-bogeys the 18th and finishes up +2 for the day and -1 overall.

His playing partner, Tiger Woods had an on/off day, but considering the situation, the crowd certainly feel that he is doing wonderfully. He finishes at +1 and is still in the fight, making the cut for the weekend.

Scheffler stretches his legs

Scottie Scheffler has birdied 15 and stretched his lead to -7, giving him a 4 stroke advantage going into tomorrow. His first shot on 16 lands within five feet of the pin and there is a chance that he will stretch that lead even further.

Hideki Matsuyama claws one back with a birdie on 15, bringing him to -3 where he joins that five-way tie at second place.

Holly

Here's a look at hole 18

Schiffler's space-creating shot

Kevin Kisner has had an outstanding round of golf today, at -4 on the day, he is at -1 overall and still within striking distance of the leaders. If he can have as productive a Day 3 as he did Day 2, we could see him sitting astride the leaderboard.

Scheffler moves to six under

Scottie Scheffler has been playing some fantastic golf today and has now hit two birdies in a row, on 12 and 13, to move to -6, giving himself three strokes over the following pack.

Lowrie is steadily rising the leaderboard.

Tiger seems to be getting more comfortable as the round wears on.

Scheffler creates space

Scottie Scheffler has just birdied 12 to move to five under par, giving himself a two stroke cushion on the following field.

After his amazing birdie on 10, Shane Lowry has gone on to birdie 13 and 15 to pull to -3, just one stroke off the lead.

What a shot!

Let's just admire this shot

A hole in one!

Stewart Cink has hit the shot of the tournament, getting a hole in one on the 16th. In his 20th Masters, Cink has had a tough time and is currently below the cut at +6. He has been around and has now hit a hole in one in four different decades, but this is the one that he will remember for a long time. This makes only the 24th hole in one in Masters Tournament history.

Here is a look at Tiger's birdie

Scheffler in the lead

Scottie Schefler birdied the seventh and eighth to move into solo lead at -4

Tiger shines through

It is clear that Tiger's back and leg are not 100%, he has visibly grimaced on several shots all day, but the glimpses that we get when he catches it cleanly are of a man who is still at the top of his game.

He just hit an approach shot on ten that was incredible. 208 yards to land within three feet of the pin. Vintage Tiger!

He putts out to birdie the hole and come to +1

Kevin Na hit a lovely approach shot on 11 to set up a birdie, bringing him to -2 and one stroke off the leaders.

Scottie Scheffler moves into T1

Scottie Scheffler just birdied seven to move to three under and split the top spot three ways with Im and Schwartzel. They have finished for the day so Scheffler is the only one of the three who can improve that today, perhaps moving into a solo first place. Willett was in first but has since bogeyed two in a row to drop him into T4 at -2.

Have a look at the Lowry shot

Shane Lowry birdies 10 in spectacular fashion

Shane Lowry pitched it from 38 yards off the green, up the slope and over the sand trap for a crowd pleasing birdie that brings him to one under par.

Tiger shows us that he is still Tiger.

Talor Gooch is making his Masters debut and doing himself proud today. He is -2 through the front nine and within two strokes of the leader Willett.

Hideki Matsuyama having a great round

Hideki Matsuyama has had three birdies in the the front nine, bringing him storming to within two strokes of the leader.

Danny Willett pulls back into first

Danny Willett has pulled back into the lead at -4 with a birdie on nine after sinking a 14 foot putt.

Bubba Watson's amazing 18th

Bubba Watson has made a name for himself as a good ole boy, just decent country folk. Well, he certainly showed his grit on the 18th when he hit an awe-inspiring shot out of the trees. He wound up birdie on the hole! and finished two over.

Harold Varner III has now finished out one under on the day at 71. That leaves him tied fourth at -2 overall.

After a ragged start for Tiger Woods, bogeying three of the first four holes, we get flashes of the brilliant Tiger of old as he hits his third shot on the fifth 110 yards to within ten feet of the pin.

Sungjae Im finishes out at 74

Having had his struggles and triumphs in equal measure, Sungjae Im struggled back to -4 and then on the 18th he bogeyed out to finish at -3, tied with the great group there.

Danny Willet has just dropped a shot at the seventh to join them, creating a five-way tie for first.

Harold Varner III is having a pretty good run at the top of the table. With shots like this, he will be knocking on the door in no time.

The Top of the Leaderboard

1.   S.J. Im                     -4

1.   D. Willett                -4

T3.   C. Schwartzel    -3

T3.   H. Varner III       -3

T3.   C. Smith              -3

T3.   J. Niemann        -3

T7.   D. Johnson        -2

T7.   S. Scheffler        -2

The Lord giveth, and the Lord taketh away. Sungjae Im drops a shot on 15, then gets a birdie on 16. Back in first place at -4.

Here is a look at the 16th hole at Augusta.

Charl Schwartzel finished his round at 69, leaving him in a tied second place at -3.

Im missed his putt to save par after his dunk in the water on 15 left him bogeying the hole. That drops him to -3, leaving the lead in the sole hands of Danny Willett, who is four under.

Webb Simpson has wobbled over the course of the day, but some of his play has been effervescent. He just hit a beautiful little chip and run on 15 for a birdie to bring him to one over par.

Troubles continue in Augusta. Tiger bogeys his first to drop to even par and Sungjae Im's second shot at fifteen overshoots the green and goes into the water.

Cameron Smith opens up his round with a bogey to slip out of that three-way tie at the top.

Tiger Woods tees off his second round

The crowds have all gathered around one to see Tiger Woods tee off his second round of competitive golf since that horrific car accident.

A great roar goes up as he is announced and his first shot is a little to the right but in the fairway.

He has been paired with Joaquin Niemann today and they move down the course to get underway.

Sungjae Im has now pulled one back with a birdie on 13. Danny Willet has birdied on the second to join him in a three-way tie at the top of the board at -4.

Charl Schwartzel is a player whose game has gone from strength to strength today. Check out this incredible shot on 16!

Let's have another look at a mini-leaderboard. Here is how the top looks at the moment:

1.     C. Smith                -4

T2.   S.J. Im                   -3

T2.   C. Schwartzel     -3

T2.   D. Willett              -3

T2.   J. Niemann          -3

T2.   S. Scheffler         -3

T2.   C. Conners          -3

Im drops another bogey

On the 12th, Sungjae Im dropped another shot, to now go to -3. The leaderboard changes and he joins the scrum at T2, leaving Cameron Smith in clear first. Smith tees off in about 15 minutes so things will change again, but for the moment, he is the leader at Augusta.

If you are from the South, you know. And when you know, you know.

Morikawa back in the hunt

From one over to one under in two holes, Collin Morikawa joins the pack tied at 12. A few more decent holes could see him in the top end of the board.

Harold Varner III hit a beauty on 10 for a birdie. From 18 yards off the left side of the green, he pitched it wonderfully straight onto the pin to bring him to -2.

Leader drops a shot

Sungjae Im hits a bogey on 10 after missing a nine foot put. When the leader drops a shot, all kinds of scenarios could come into play. Suddenly, players who may have felt that it was out of reach, are now in contention again.

Charl Schwartzel has now birdied 13 to come back to -2. He had gone down to -1 after hitting a bogey on 11, but now moves back into that four-way tie at 8.

Here is that wonderful pitch-and-run by Connors.

Corey Conners continues to play solid golf today as he hit a wonderful pitch-and-run second shot to birdie the 12th. He had fallen to -2 when he bogeyed the 11th but that brings him back into the picture at -3, just two strokes off the lead.

Johnson's trouble continues on eight as he hits the trees again and his follow-up shot smacks straight into an overhanging limb. Astoundingly, he was able to save the par with a wonderful layup on his fourth shot left him an eight foot put.

After climbing to just one back, Dustin Johnson has now bogeyed the seventh after he hooked the tee shot into the pines. That sees him fall back to -3 and join that four-way tie for third place. He came to within a hair of saving the par when the ball caught the lip of the cup, but it just wouldn't fall for him.

Bubba Watson has climbed from one over to go to one under with two birdies today, the latest on the seventh where he showed some great long putting.

Another player who has had a shaky first day is Jordan Spieth. He came into the day at two over and has had two birdies and a bogey to bring him to one over. Here is his birdie on the fifth that sees him join the group tied at 29.

What a save

After the troubles that he had yesterday, Rory needs to get going today to have any chance of joining that leading group. He has perhaps started the turnaround with this almost-miraculous save on the third.

Here is a look at that wonderful shot by Woodland.

Eagle on ten

Gary Woodland, who is playing in his 10th Masters, has just hit a steamer of a second shot on ten that hit the back edge of the green and its backspin pulled it into the hole for an eagle. He is T61 at +4 overall, but that is the shot that he will remember.

Charl Schwartzel has now moved to -2 with a birdie on ten.

Time for a quick mini-leaderboard. Here is how the top looks at the moment:

1.      S.J. Im                  -5

T2.   C. Smith               -4

T2.   D. Johnson         -4

T4.   D. Willett             -3

T4.   J. Niemann         -3

T4.   S. Scheffler        -3

T4.   C. Conners         -3

Dustin Johnson pulls to within one

On the par-3 fourth, Johnson sinks a birdie after a cracking tee shot gets him to six feet from the hole.

Masters 101: The Caddie Jumpsuits

Like many things that surround the Masters Tournament, the caddie uniform has become a widely recognizable piece of iconography. There’s no standard full dress code for other weeks on the professional golf circuit – caddies can wear whatever combination of shorts and hat they prefer with a color-coordinated and sponsor-labeled bib pulled over.

Eagle on Two

Tyrrell Hatton played a spectacular second shot on the par-5 hole to get the ball on the fringe of the green, within 5 yards of the pin. He then putted it in from there for an eagle! Easily the best hole of golf played so far today.

Tom Hoge birdied the first two, bringing his score to -1 and getting him into good company. He joins Sergio Garcia and Charl Schwartzel who have also taken a stroke off their game to get into that T11 spot.

A spectacular bit of play by Sungjae Im on the third is capped off with a 24 foot putt for birdie, bringing him back clear into the lead at -5.

A look at Camellia

As the early group moves into the back nine, here is a look at the tenth hole at Augusta.

Webb Simpson has recorded a birdie on two as well, moving him to two under par.

The birdie made by Corey Connors on the second has now been offset by a bogey on four, dropping him back down to -2. His putting has been very sharp, though, and I suspect that we will see him take another stroke or two off his game today.

His playing partner, the American amateur Stewart Hagestad, one of only six amateurs in this year's Masters, is two over on the morning, having bogeyed the first and fifth. Overall Hagestad is at +9 and well out of the chase.

The first group of the morning is now finishing the front nine and the Scottish legend Sandy Lyle has just parred it. Over the front half he has shot 37, bogeying the sixth hole.

The leader Sungjae Im has now gotten started and after his spectacular play yesterday, has been perhaps surprising in his slow start this morning, with a terrible second shot that left him bogeying the first. This now drops him into joint first with Cameron Smith at -4.

Lee Westwood sinks a birdie on two as well, moving him now to -1 and into the Tied 10 spot.

Corey Connors, sitting just outside of the top scrum at the start of play, has just gone to three under with a beauty of a putt on the second for a birdie. He now joins the Tied 3 group, just two strokes off the pace.

All told, we have 39 of the best golfers in the world all sitting within six strokes of the lead at Augusta.

Shane Lowry, Bubba Watson, Rory McIlroy are in the following group sitting at one over par, after struggling on Day 1. But each of these players have won big tournaments before and have often done so in extraordinary fashion. They are no strangers to these situations and can never be discounted.

Even the ten players below that top group, from 19 to 29, are all sitting at even par. This field is so tight that everyone needs to be on their game for every stroke. Big names like Westwood and Garcia sit here, and they are more than capable of going on a run to bring that deficit down.

Day 2 promises to be exciting play, with the top eighteen players all within four strokes of the lead. A dropped shot here, a birdie there, and everything is up for grabs.

We're just minutes away from the opening tee-off in Day 2 of the Masters with twists and turns interspersed with the drama that only like a competition like the Masters can deliver. Tiger Woods is still dominating the global media attention with the American heading out later in the morning. 

'It was the worst I could have shot' – McIlroy hopes to build on encouraging first-round outing

Rory McIlroy will hope to build on an encouraging start on day two at The Masters and claimed his first-round one-over 73 was the "worst I could have shot".

The Northern Irishman headed to Augusta National searching to complete the elusive career grand slam for an eighth attempt, and sits six shots behind leader Im Sung-jae after the opening round on Thursday.

Slow starts have often been McIlroy's problems at the majors, but he felt his "negative" approach paid dividends as he opted for a more conservative route around Augusta.

Four-time major winner McIlroy was satisfied with his first outing as he looks for a first major title since the PGA Championship in 2014, and believes his one-over-par round did not do his efforts justice.

"I am encouraged with how I played. I don't really care where I am at on the leaderboard, it doesn't matter," the 32-year-old said. "I hit the ball well from tee to green in the most part, I am pleased with that [although] I want to work on my putting.

"I think I hit 12 fairways and 14 greens and just didn't really get a lot out of the round. I hit a lot of greens in the middle and made a lot of easy pars.

"I had a putt at 14 to go two-under for the round with a par five to play but I three-putted that and halted any momentum I had. I think that's the worst I could have shot, I felt I played really well.

"The course is in incredible shape for the amount of rain we have had, so I am looking forward to dry conditions over the next three days."

Images of the day from Augusta

Frustrated Matthew Wolff breaks a club at Augusta

We've seen it happen in tennis but yesterday at Augusta, American Matthew Wolff broke one of clubs by voluntarily leaning on it in frustration.

We've seen Australian Nick Kyrgios break rackets and almost hit a ball boy in Indian Wells in anger at his performance and yesterday it was the turn of Wolff to do damage to a club.

All about positive vibes for Homa

Max Homa almost shot a hole-in-one at a short Par 3 on the opening day of the Masters in his third appearance at the tournament

Hole locations for Friday confirmed

The 18 hole locations have been confirmed ahead of Friday's action.

Lyle set to start Friday's action

Veteran Sandy Lyle will tee off and will pair-up with amateur Stewart Hagestad for the second day of the 2022 Masters in Augusta. The Scot won the Masters back in 1988.

Matsuyama served up sensational Masters dinner, speech even better

Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama got a standing ovation from a room of golf legends after serving up what Jack Nicklaus described on Thursday as the best Champions Dinner ever.

High praise indeed coming from a golfer who has a record six Green Jackets in his closet and has hosted and attended many such dinners at stately Augusta National.

But while the food was "sensational", what made the evening extra-special was not the thought Matsuyama put into the menu but his speech which was short but as sweet as the Japanese strawberry shortcake served up for desert.

The first Japanese man to win a major, Matsuyama had repeatedly expressed how nervous he was to be hosting the dinner and having to make a speech, particularly since he speaks little English and does most interviews with the help of a translator.

"I thought that we probably had the best dinner that we've ever had, and not so much from the standpoint of food, but the food was sensational," gushed Nicklaus, who also holds the record for most major wins with 18.

"I think the food was probably the best we ever had.

"Then Hideki, he gave about a three-minute speech in English. Doesn't speak very much English and he did not look at a note.

For Woods, pleasure and pain after Masters first round

Tiger Woods described his first competitive round of golf in 508 days as painful and positive after pushing himself to an opening round one-under 71 at the Masters on Thursday and into the battle for a record-equalling sixth Green Jacket.

Fourteen months after a career-threatening car crash there is still a long painful road ahead for the 46-year-old if he is to match Jack Nicklaus's Masters' victories.

To do that he will need to negotiate three more punishing rounds on Augusta National's undulating layout as well as hours of ice baths and physiotherapy.

But that is the price he must pay to play on a mangled right leg that doctors had considered amputating.

"If you would have seen how my leg looked to where it's at now, the pictures -- some of the guys know," said Woods, after a round that while painful left a smile on his face and put him just four back of leader Im Sung-jae.

"They've seen the pictures and they've come over to the house and they've seen it. "To see where I've been, to get from there to here, it was no easy task. "People have no idea how hard it's been."

During a spectacular career that includes 15 major titles, Woods has made it look all too easy on the golf course.

Friday forecast for Agusta

No rainfall is expected to hamper the action with a current temperature in Augusta of 17C/63F

Hello and welcome to our live coverage from Augusta as Day 2 of the 2022 Masters gets underway