Let’s get right down to business. The Second Round awaits its completion, but here are some “hot takes” from the second round of the 2020 Masters.
Play Suspended – Well, seeing that I already touched on it, let’s start there. A residual effect of yesterday’s weather delay, coupled with the month of November, and clocks going back an hour have seen the first two rounds run out of daylight. Play will get caught up once the cut line is determined upon the conclusion of round two tomorrow morning.
Abraham Ancer – Casual golf fans may not be aware of the diminutive dynamo from Mexico. Even more aware golf fans may not have been aware of him until the last Presidents Cup in 2019. Ancer, was a stud for the International Team. Quietly, he’s emerged atop the leaderboard in Augusta. Not a huge hitter compared to others in the field (he ranks 151st in Driving Distance at 296.4) he’s proving that with solid iron striking ,you don’t need to be a hulk. There’s more than one way to play this game and score at Augusta National.
The Internationals– Sticking with the International side from the 2019 Presidents Cup, how good has the showing been by members of that team? Australia’s Cam Smith is tied atop the leaderboard at -9 with Ancer. Lurking one stroke behind with holes left to play to complete his second is Hideki Matsuyama. So are Sungjae Im, C.T. Pan, and Louis Oosthuizen. 2022 at Quail Hollow could be interesting.
Stacked Leaderboard – How insane is this leaderboard? The scoring has been so low, that it’s almost hard to comprehend. In a way, it makes this edition of The Masters almost feel like a regular TOUR event. Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Jon Rahm, and Patrick Cantlay are all on the first page of the leaderboard. Brooks Koepka is ready to make a move. Not to mention, my sentimental pick (Career Slam), Rory McIlroy has turned things around. A little further down, defending champion Tiger Woods is lying in wait, waiting to ambush his prey. Past champions, 50 year-old Phil Mickelson and Patrick Reed are there. Speaking of past champions, at -3 so is Bernhard Langer.
Bernhard Langer – I joked around about the geriatrics in the field after the first round. Upon completion of the second round, it appears that the ageless wonder, Langer, is about to make the cut. Langer making the cut will make him the oldest player in the field to ever make a cut at The Masters. What a feat and a testament to the wiley veteran. Maybe Ponce de Leon discovered the faux Fountain of Youth. Maybe, Rae’s Creek and the grounds at AGNC are the true “Fountain of Youth”.
Record-setting Scoring – There has been a ton of talk about the scoring. I mentioned it in this article and in last night’s round one recap too. But, it’s a story line that’s awfully difficult to ignore. Thanks to extremely receptive greens, ANGC hasn’t really put up much of a fight. It’s sort of disappointing. Is it possible that Even or better is the cut line? It’s entirely possible. Has that ever happened? Let’s hope that the greens dry out and at least put up a little fight. Maybe, mess with the hole locations? Who knows, maybe the SubAir system will do its job. After all of that rain on Thursday, this will take some time for that system to catch up..
On the outside looking in? – Let’s just say that the cut line ends up being is Even par. Who potentially sits out the weekend and becomes a casual observer like the rest of us? Tyrrell Hatton, social media favourite Max Homa, and Kevin Kisner would be out. The same fate would happen to “big boppers” Matthew Wolff and Bryson DeChambeau. The latter has quite a few holes left to play in his second round, so don’t count him out, yet.
Let’s see who makes the cut and who makes a move on Masters Saturday.
Until The Next Tee!!
#fightandgrind #seeuonthenexttee
The Next Tee (TNT) 