Ryan Fox watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round of the Masters. Photo / AP
Ryan Fox watches his tee shot on the fourth hole during the second round of the Masters. Photo / AP
Ryan Fox produced another solid round in his Masters debut before play was suspended on day two with dark clouds looming all around Augusta National.
After an initial weather delay that lasted only 21 minutes, play was suspended for a second time due to weather, with three large pine tress falling on the course due to high winds. No patrons were injured.
It wasn’t raining when the horn sounded, but the threat of lightning and stormy weather brought play to a halt.
Fox was among those who completed their second rounds, backing up his two-under opening day with a one-under 71 – including three birdies and two bogeys – to sit in a tie for 18th at three under.
The Kiwi world No 34 comfortably booked his spot in the weekend, with the projected cut line being two over.
“I’m pretty happy,” Fox said after his round. “Pretty relieved, to be honest. I woke up this morning feeling pretty awful, you know, flu-ey with a cough and achy joints and stuff like that. To not do too much damage today was nice and hopefully get a bit of time to rest now and feel a bit better tomorrow.
“The forecast looks horrific. So whether we play, whether we’re delayed, I don’t know. I’m just happy to be there.”
LIV Golf star and four-time major winner Brooks Koepka opened a big lead after a bogey-free five-under 67 in his second round.
Koepka took advantage of the early prime playing conditions to push his score to 12-under 132 at the midway point of the tournament, three shots ahead of the rest of the field.
But they will have some work to do to catch Koepka, who played particularly well on the par fives. He was five-under on those four holes and even par on the rest of the course.
Brooks Koepka waves after his putt on the 13th hole during the second round of the Masters. Photo / AP
Koepka has won the US Open and PGA Championship twice but is zeroing in on a first Masters win after finishing second in 2019.
He shot 65 on day one to tie for the first round lead and has only one bogey in 36 holes.
The biggest surprises of the day are Sam Bennett and Rory McIlroy.
Bennett is turning in one of the great performances by an amateur, posting a second straight 68 to stay within four shots of the lead.
McIlroy came in as one of the favourites and looking to complete a career Grand Slam. But it looks like he won’t even make it to the weekend, struggling to a 77 that leaves him at five-over 149 through 36 holes — three shots off the projected cut line.
Tiger Woods is also struggling just to make the cut. He’s at two-over after 10 holes in his second round.
World No 3 Jon Rahm, who was tied for the lead after the first round, is three shots behind Koepka at nine-under after he managed two straight birdies to close out his first nine on day two before play was suspended.
