The Times - UK (2022-04-09)

Masters experience of “walking away 13

years in a row empty-handed”. He

drops it in casually, as if he can deal with

it. Maybe, really, he can’t. He has

another chance, though, to show that

he can put that right.

showed all day Thursday too. There
was plenty of Tiger-ness here.
It leaves him still in the hunt. “I still
feel I’m right there,” he said after his
round of 73 had left him two over.
He also mentioned off-hand his

the times | Saturday April 9 2022 2GS 5

Sport

JUSTIN LANE/EPA

Hole Hole

Par 72 Total 73

Rory McIlroy (N Ire)

Par Birdie

Bogey Dbl bogey or worse

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

Par Score Score

4 5 4 3 4 3 4 5 4

4 4 4 3 5 3 4 5 4

5 6 3 4 4 5 2 4 4

Par

4 4 3 5 4 5 3 4 4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Second round

MASTERING THE WIND

Dustin Johnson, Danny Willett and

Tiger Woods were past Masters

champions at the top of the

leaderboard on Thursday but it was

another, Charl Schwartzel, who

impressed in the wind yesterday. The

South African, who won the Green

Jacket in 2011, entered the tournament

on the back of six straight missed cuts,

but was one of the few players to

shoot under par. His exquisite iron

play contributed to five birdies in a

three-under-par round of 69.

Day 2 at Augusta

Gary Woodland missed

the cut after a poor two

days but hit the shot of

round two at the

par-four 10th by holing

his approach from 188

yards for eagle

Shot of the day

HOVLAND’S HORROR CHIPPING

It seemed Viktor Hovland had made a

breakthrough with his short game this

season, but the Norwegian was

plagued, yet again, by a familiar case

of chipping yips.

Two years ago, at the Puerto Rico

Open, he admitted: “I just suck at

chipping,” but claimed after winning

the Mayakoba Classic in November

that his struggles were cured.

In his second round at Augusta,

having missed the green at the par-

three 4th in his second round, the

world No 4 chipped only four yards in

front of him before making a bogey.

Supreme Schwartzel

Schwartzel gained 3.40 strokes on the

rest of the field with his approach

shots among early finishers

Strokes gained approach

Strokes gained approach rank

Birdies

Round one

Round two

Round one

Round two

41st

1st

Round one

Round two

0.20

3.40

2

5

AUGUSTA BARES ITS TEETH

Only a handful of players posted under-

par rounds, with brutal, 30mph gusts of

wind swirling around the course. An

indication of the difficulty was Collin

Morikawa, the best iron player in the

world, blasting his approach shot at the

11th ten yards into the pond.

-1.63

Among the early finishers Hovland

lost 1.63 strokes on the rest of the

field around the greens, reflecting his

chipping struggles

SPIETH IMPLODES AT 12... AGAIN

Jordan Spieth does not have the best

relationship with Golden Bell, the par-

three 12th. In the final round in 2016

he hit two balls into the water to send

Willett on his way to the Green Jacket,

and he did the same again yesterday.

Spieth’s tee shot hit the bank in

front of the green and rolled into Rae’s

Creek. His third, from 68 yards, did the

same, before he made a triple bogey.

1

5

3

1

5

3

By Angus Oliver

ACE FOR CINK

Despite the swirling

winds Stewart Cink

made the first hole in

one of the tournament at

the par-three 16th. The

2009 Open champion

initially marched after his

tee shot but then stood

still as it trickled down the

slope into the cup. What a

thing to do with your son

as your caddie on his

25th birthday.

gg

n

ent at

he

on

er his

ood

wn the

What a

r son

s