by It was a day so arduous that even the much-loved Zach Johnson shuddered.
Johnson’s stock in American golf galleries is not particularly high after he captained the country to victory in the Ryder Cup in Rome last autumn. There was an audible jeer when Johnson tapped in for a triple bogey at the 12th. “Get out!” came the Johnson speech. What would Bobby Jones and Clifford Roberts, the founders of Augusta National, make of this tawdry scene?
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Johnson later branded the applause he swore at the audience as “laughable”. He said: “If I’ve said anything, which I’m not going to deny, especially if it’s on camera, one, I apologize, and two, it was aimed entirely at myself because I can’t do anything heard behind me. . Does that make sense?” Social media is not your court, one assumes.
Johnson was one of the youngsters who had a bad day. He has missed the cut. So, too, are Jordan Spieth, Dustin Johnson, Bubba Watson and Justin Rose. Spieth took nine shots at the 15th as he finished his first round early Friday morning. Dustin Johnson’s rounds of 78 and 79 continued his slide toward oblivion.
A tailwind swept odd-hatted spectators across Augusta National. The contestants went in search of birds of prey that were very difficult to find. The stewards don’t think the 88th Masters will be plain sailing but a war of attrition. That is reflected in the glacial pace of play.
“This is as difficult as I’ve ever played it,” said Charl Schwartzel, the 2011 champion. “I thought I had an impossible 81 shots today.”
Tiger Woods really enjoyed the grind. Plus to change. The 48-year-old set a tournament record of 24 consecutive cuts made but this piece of history hardly seemed to faze him. Woods, who is one over par, immediately set his sights on winning a sixth Green Jacket. “We have a chance,” Woods said. It is perfectly correct; anyone who has survived the final 36 of this Masters can have legitimate aspirations of glory.
A birdie at the 13th moved Bryson DeChambeau to eight under. That was as good as it got for the kid to come back. DeChambeau fouled the 14th and 18th, tying Max Homa at six under. Scottie Scheffler was still plowing through the final stages of his round as DeChambeau and Homa addressed the media. Scheffler will settle for a 72 that ensures a three-way tie. On current form and past glory here, he is undoubtedly the man to beat.
Rory McIlroy, playing alongside Scheffler, was retreating as the shadows deepened. The Northern Irishman’s 77 meant he pushed into the weekend twice as the cut fell at the wildly high six over. Justin Thomas was not so lucky; he played the last four of seven plus and wanted a plane ticket home. McIlroy has to draw on memories of winning 10 times before. Jon Rahm, the defending champion, is one stroke behind McIlroy at the halfway mark. A moving day promises fireworks.
Homa’s thoughts turned to Woods, with whom he played the first 36 holes. This group was among those who returned on Friday morning to complete round one due to weather delays on Thursday. “It was great,” Homa said. “It’s really a dream to play with him here.
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“I always wanted to watch him hit iron shots around here and I was right next to him. It was really cool. His short game was so good. I don’t think I can explain how good some of the chips he hit today were. It is special.
“His iron is so good, even when he missed the green, you could tell he had so much control. And on 18, we had sandblasts for 45 seconds, I turned around five times so I wasn’t crushed in the face. He’s standing there like a statue and then he poured it right into the middle of the hole.”
Ludvig Åberg was the main translator. The prodigious Swede, playing in his first major, added a 69 to his earlier 73 to move to two under par. Åberg was only frustrated when he fired a shot at the 18th. As did DeChambeau, Åberg was within four of the clubhouse lead. What stands out about him is his ability to look perfectly at home in new surroundings; Åberg is unlikely to be enchanted by his weekend surroundings.
“Nobody deserves anything in golf,” said the 24-year-old. “All I do is hit the golf shots as well as I can and take it from there. Obviously I think I’m lucky to be able to play here. I’m just trying to really put it in.” Belie these words status Åberg.
Collin Morikawa sits quietly at minus three. Nicolai Højgaard was six under before he dropped shots on each of his final holes. “I hate shooting over par,” the Dane said after his 73. “Especially when you’re after something well and you make a few mistakes at the end. It feels pretty good in general, the game. I’m very disappointed because I made some silly mistakes on the last few holes.” He was in illustrious company.
