First Two Rounds of The Masters: Here’s What You Missed

There are plenty of takeaways from the first 36 holes of the Masters tournament in 2024.

Bryson DeChambeau stormed in front with a Thursday 65, 73 on Friday, leaving him in second place to – you guessed it – Scottie Scheffler.

The weekend will be well earned. #themasters pic.twitter.com/2oul3YVPiH

— The Masters (@TheMasters) April 12, 2024

Scottie was uncharacteristically out of position for about one and a half holes, then made a mockery of 10 and took off from there.

A quickfire A-Z will help bring you up to date for the rest of The Masters this weekend.

A – Aberg – Fantastic opening major debut from the big Swede. On the first page of the leader board on his first time at Augusta.

B – Butch – I think his commentary career is on the wane. Also Bryson. He lipped out three times on Friday. Playing really well, he won’t be going away.

C – Clothes! Jason Day was grabbing headlines with his Malbon attire, Garcia with some absolutely horrible choices. A lot of beige on show for the Friday rounds.

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D – Denmark – The country is watching as Nicolai Hojgaard has breezed through 36 holes in 140 strokes 67-73. A great start to the event for the young Dane and he will have a lot of European support if he is in the mix on Sunday.

E – Eric Cole – Shoutout to Cole this week. His story is awesome. Had no status from 2009 to 2019, making $4,535 during that time. Lost his status in 2020, broke onto the PGA Tour and bagged Rookie of the Year in 2022-23 and now teeing it up at The Masters, and he made the cut. Mega.

F – Faldo – Sir Nick adds value in the booth. The three-time Green Jacket winner commands respect and can relate his own memories to the current course we see on TV. He also clearly knows every nook and cranny of Augusta as he tells us things we cannot see – a good commentator.

G – Goats. Range Goats, that is. Bryson, a tenuous link but had to mention him. Fun to watch, obviously cares. Some great strategic decisions throughout the round. Has a tendency to hit his 3-D printed irons too far – flew green on 16 and 18 by a long way with short clubs. He carded 73 due to a sloppy three putt bogey on 18 on Friday. His Thursday 65 set the scene and means Bryson is around this weekend very much planning to add a Green Jacket to his US Open trophy.

H – Homa. The guy is smiling, playing with Tiger and sits two off the lead. Excited to see him finally be near the right page of the leaderboard in a Major.

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I – Inspired – Vijay Singh (61) and Jose Maria Olazabal (58) both made the cut! Ollie cards an almost flawless 73 with three birdies, Vijay a pair of 75s. Hideki made a double on 18 and moved the cut line back to+6 so the field moves back and the two-time Masters champion finds himself there on the weekend at the age of 58.

J – Jon Rahm is a mile off this week. He seems pre-emptively annoyed about the questions he’ll be asked in the presser. His raison d’etre is put into question as we know he isn’t all-in on LIV but if he doesn’t show up in Majors, he has no way of silencing the dissenters.

K – Koepka has been super quiet this week. Waiting to see some of his shots this weekend if he crawls into relevance.

L – Lamprecht – the 6’8″ South African turned some heads after hitting it 351 down 1 and 366 down 2 on Thursday. Didn’t make the cut but some serious power in the game and will be an early case study in why the ball will, or won’t be rolled back.

M – Mickelson looked rough when we saw him in his tired looking black thermals and blue shirt. He has gained some weight again, I’m thinking there are some health issues.

N – Notables. Brian Harman, Jordan Spieth, Viktor Hovland and Justin Thomas have all missed the cut. An awful tournament for these guys.

O – Oscillating – Fishing a bit here but the balls were moving on the green. Gary Woodland stood and watched the wind roll his ball 40 feet away on 16 on Friday.

P – Patrons, Pimento, the Masters is in full swing! Now the sun is out, we’re expecting a Sunday showdown just like previous years.

Q – Quick. These greens are going to be lightning. With the high winds they might have to roll them and not cut them if the balls are going to be walking themselves off the greens in high wind.

R – Rory – The work he’s done with Butch Harmon has added precisely zero to his game from what we can see so far. Rory kept bombing it on every hole then missing greens with a wedge and making bogeys. Rinse and repeat. See you on Sunday for the 66 that puts you in T4. Frustrating to watch, as his demeanour was poor all day despite saying he would prioritise body language. His putting is just really bad as well. Friday was his 3^rd career Masters round without a birdie.

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S – Scheffler. The guy deserves every superlative you have. Everyone is in awe of the way he just gravitates to the top of the leaderboard. Can’t ever imagine him making more than 6 on a hole ever again.

T – Tiger just broke his 37^th record at Augusta, making the most consecutive cuts at The Masters with 24 and counting. His short game was phenomenal on both days this week.

U – Undulations – Easy pick for this letter at Augusta. The sheer size of some of the slopes here are hard to comprehend. Amateurs would be stuck on them for hours.

V – Versatility. We’re here for some creative golf. The wind means we’re seeing more links golf shots and I’m here for it. Fun to see the guys having to think more and get caught out if they throw the ball up in the air.

W – Wind! – The sand blowing in Tiger’s eyes on 18 was a strange scene. They’ve never seen anything like it apparently. The weird weather makes it interesting, though.

X – “The X Man” as Butch calls him, Xander Schauffele is just weird to watch. Carries no authority and seems like a career each way place. 42 cuts in a row but never looked like winning any of them. Last win was the Scottish Open in 2022.

Y – Yellow Jasmine. Was struggling here but grasped the name of the par 5 8^th hole at Augusta. Every time I watch it guys seem to be up near the green in tow and it seems as straightforward a birdie as you can get provided you hit the fairway. Scheffler made birdie with a miscued second and there have been quite a few eagles on it. Whoever wins the Masters will likely have capitalized on 8 as we aren’t seeing a shedload of birdies on 15 so far, and quite a lot of big numbers.

Z – Zach Johnson was seen shouting profanities at the patrons after they cheered his triple bogey on the 12^th. A very vocal response and not in the spirit of Augusta, especially for a past champ.

Zach Johnson legitimately told the Masters patrons to fuck off after a triple on 12. You can hear it as clear as day here 😳 pic.twitter.com/vPMadfVPUt

— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) April 12, 2024

Cover Image via X