Augusta, Ga. April 10-13, 2014 FedExCup Points: 600 to the winner
Augusta National Golf Club
Second-Round Notes – Friday, April 11, 2014
Weather: Mostly sunny with a high of 79 degrees. Winds SW 10-15 mph.
Second-Round Leaderboard
Bubba Watson 69-68—137 (-7)
John Senden 72-68—140 (-4)
Adam Scott 69-72—141 (-3)
Jordan Spieth 71-70—141 (-3)
Thomas Bjorn 73-68—141 (-3)
Jonas Blixt 70-71—141 (-3)
CUT: 50 professionals and one amateur at 4-over 148 from a field of 91 professionals and six amateurs made the 36-hole cut.
Cut Rule: After 36 holes, top 50 and ties and players within 10 strokes of the lead play the final two rounds
Bubba Watson heads into round three of the Masters leading by three.
Second-Round Notes
The second-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win the Masters Tournament 28 (out of 77) times. Two players have performed the feat since 2000, Mike Weir (2003) and Trevor Immelman (2008).
The last Masters champion who was not inside the top 10 on the leaderboard after 36 holes was Charl Schwartzel (T12/2011), prior to that it was Jack Nicklaus (T17) in 1986.
The last Masters champion who was not inside the top 5 on the leaderboard after 36 holes was Adam Scott (T7/2013), prior to that it was Charl Schwartzel (T12/2011) and Mark O’Meara (T9/1998).
The largest 36-hole lead at the Masters is five strokes: Herman Keiser (1946), Jack Nicklaus (1975) and Raymond Floyd (1976). All three players carried that lead on to the winner’s circle.
The largest comeback at the Masters after the second round is eight strokes (Jack Burke, 1956). Burke was eight behind Ken Venturi through two rounds but edged Venturi by one with closing rounds of 75-71.
Bubba Watson
Watson has converted one of eight second-round leads/co-leads on the PGA TOUR. Below are Watson’s second-round leads/co-leads:
Event
2007 Shell Houston Open T1 T2
2009 Wells Fargo Championship T1 T2
2010 Humana Challenge
2011 Zurich Classic of New Orleans 1 Won
2011 Deutsche Bank Championship T1 T16
2012 WGC Cadillac Championship 1 2nd
2013 Travelers Championship
2014 Waste Management Phoenix Open T1 T2
This is Watson’s first lead (R1-3) in a major championship. It is his 25th start in a major.
Watson’s five straight birdies (Nos. 12-16) is a personal-best in a major. It is his most consecutive birdies in a major since making four in a row (Nos. 13-16) in the final round at the 2012 Masters.
Watson’s fewest holes over-par after 36 holes of a major is four at the 2012 Masters. This week he had two after 36 holes.
In winning the 2012 Masters, Watson was one shot (T2) off the lead after round two. He trailed Fred Couples and Jason Dufner.
Watson’s 137 over the first two rounds is a personal-best in a major. His previous low 36-hole score in a major was 139 at the 2010 PGA Championship.
Watson at the Masters: 2008/T20; 2009/42nd; 2011/T38; 2012/Won; 2013/T50.
Watson is making his sixth start in the Masters. Below are the fewest number of attempts before a second victory in the Masters:
3, Horton Smith
6, Jimmy Demaret
6, Arnold Palmer
Watson now has five of 22 rounds in the 60s at the Masters. Watson’s best round at the Masters is a 67 (R3/2011). Watson’s only two bogeys thru the first two rounds came on No. 9 and No. 18 in the second round.
Lefthanders have won five of the last 11 Masters (Bubba Watson, Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson-3).
Watson won earlier this year at the Northern Trust Open. It was his first win since the 2012 Masters.
At the Northern Trust Open, Watson shot matching weekend rounds of 64 to win by two shots over Dustin Johnson. He came from four shots back on the final day to claim the victory. Watson was the only player in the Northern Trust Open field to go bogey-free on the weekend at Riviera Country Club.
In his last start on TOUR, Watson was a WD after a first round 83 at the Arnold Palmer Invitational due to allergies.
Watson’s 2013-14 starts-made cuts-top-10s-wins: 8-7-5-1
Watson has two runner-up finishes this year on TOUR: Waste Management Phoenix Open and WGC-Cadillac Championship. In each instance he lost by one shot.
John Senden
Senden won the Valspar Championship in March for his second career title on the PGA TOUR in his 345th start. It ended a victory drought of seven years, eight months since triumphing at the 2006 John Deere Classic.
American’s have won 17 of 21 events on TOUR this season, while players from Australia have won the other four: Jason Day (WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship); John Senden (Valspar Championship); Steven Bowditch (Valero Texas Open); and Matt Jones (Shell Houston Open).
Senden is making his 25th start in a major this week. His best finish in a major is T4 at the 2007 PGA Championship.
Senden at the Masters: MC/2008; MC/2010; MC/2012; T35/2013.
At 42 years, 10 months, 24 days, is the only player in his 40s to win (Valspar Championship) on the PGA TOUR this season.
Senden would be the third oldest winner of the Masters behind Jack Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw.
Adam Scott
Adam Scott is trying to become the fourth player to win consecutive Masters:
Jack Nicklaus 1965, 1966
Nick Faldo 1989, 1990
Tiger Woods 2001, 2002
Only 16 players have won the Masters multiple times in their career.
Scott has never held a lead after any round at the Masters.
Scott (2013) is the only Australian to win the Masters. Prior to Scott’s win last year at the Masters, Geoff Ogilvy was the last Australian to win a major (2006 U.S. Open).
Scott (10) is tied for the fifth-most wins by an Australian on TOUR, trailing only Greg Norman (20), Jim Ferrier (18), Bruce Crampton (14), Joe Kirkwood, Sr. (13), Steve Elkington (10) and Stuart Appleby (10).
Scott has made 10 cuts in 12 career starts at the Masters. He has four top 10s, including three consecutive (2013/1st, 2012/T8, 2011/T2 and 2002/T9). Scott’s only two missed cuts at the Masters came in 2004 and 2009.
Scott has finished in the top 15 in eight of his last nine starts in majors.
In 2013-14, Scott has three top-10 finishes in five PGA TOUR starts, including a third-place finish in his last outing at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard, where he held the lead after each of the first three rounds before finishing with a 4-over-par 76.
