Masters Leaderboard: Fred Couples, Jason Dufner Lead After Second Round

Tiger Woods still has two and a half holes to play, but we already have enough material to put together a spectacular B-roll of his shortcomings on Friday at The Masters. Things are about as bad as can be for Woods, who still can’t seem to figure out his golf swing. And at this point, it’s got to be as much mental as it is physical.

Woods is angry, and has been for quite a few holes. He’s been yelling up a storm, cursing himself and just generally hating his life. By the time he got to 16, after making a mess of the par-5 15th, Woods was ready to explode.

This just isn’t fun to watch anymore. Tiger Woods’ day started off so well and has gone completely off the rails. Everything is going wrong for Tiger at this point -- his tee shots, approaches, short game and putting. It’s all bad, and he isn’t happy.

On No. 15, a par-5 Tiger usually is able to dominate, it all went sideways again. Tiger’s drive was great -- long and in the middle of the fairway. His approach, however, wasn’t so great: He hit a spectator and his ball came to rest in the gallery.

Tom Watson gave it a good run at the 2012 Masters, but came up just short down the stretch. Watson wasn’t in contention, however -- he spent Friday battling against the cut line, hoping to make it to the weekend. And for much of the day, he was in a good spot, just on the right side of the projected cut, safe but not out of the woods. That is, until the 17th hole.

The cut will be no lower than 5-over, that much we know. It could move to 4-over if Miguel Angel Jimenez makes a run to end his round, taking sole possession of the lead in the process. But anyone in the clubhouse at 6-over or worse will be headed home.

Tiger Woods managed to maintain his position at two-over through 14 - solidly in position to make the cut, but quickly falling out of relevance in terms of actual contention, seven back of the lead held by Fred Couples and Jason Dufner. Meanwhile, his partner for the day, Miguel Angel Jimenez, is threatening for the lead with a four-under.

On the 13th, Woods’ problem was getting to the green, on the 14th, his trend of poor putting continued and left him at par.

The Masters projected cut line remains at 5-over, with the leaders -- Fred Couples and Jason Dufner -- still at 5-under for the tournament. With the final groups on No. 14, though, the cut line could move, perhaps to 4-over, depending on how some of the players close to the top of the leaderboard finish. As of right now, it appears Miguel Angel Jimenez has the best chance to move the cut line.

Angel Jimenez is at 4-under for the tournament after birdieing No. 13, and could take sole possession of the lead if he finishes strong. If Angel Jimenez is able to get to 6-under, one better than the leaders, the cut line would move to 4-over, eliminating another wave of golfers.

Phil Mickelson didn’t let a triple-bogey at No. 10 faze him on Thursday, and he battled back to a respectable position by the end of his second round. Mickelson began the day at 2-over for the tournament, closer to the cut line than the lead. He quickly made up strokes, getting to even par by the fourth hole, before struggling once again.

By the turn, Mickelson was back to 1-over, and with a bogey on 11 he was back where he started -- at 2-over for the tournament and going the wrong way. But over the next six holes, he closed strong, carding birdies and pars while eliminating bogeys.

Tiger Woods has fallen back to even-par Friday at the 2012 Masters, hitting bogey on No. 6 to negate what had been a solid start. He teed off past the hole into the crowd, and went 1-over as he worked his way back to the green. He is now tied with the likes of Ian Poulter and Zach Johnson in 24th at even overall and five shots off the leaders.

Woods has now bogeyed both par-3s he has faced today. He hit even on all four of Augusta’s par-3s on Thursday. He made par on the par-4 No. 7 hole to follow up his bogey and now faces a par 5 on No. 8.

Fred Couples and Jason Dufner are still tied atop The Masters leaderboard, in the clubhouse at 5-under for the tournament. But they aren’t too far ahead of the pack, and a group of stars is giving chase as The Masters inches closer to the weekend.

Rory McIlroy, Bubba Watson, Sergio Garcia and Lee Westwood, among others, are just one shot back, all in the clubhouse at 4-under. McIlroy just finished up his round, cleaning up his par on 18 to head into the clubhouse at 4-under. Sergio Garcia wasn’t so lucky, falling out of the lead with a bogey on 18 to finish the day at 4-under for the tournament. Westwood double-bogeyed 18 and also fell out of the lead.

On today’s particularly golfy episode of The Floor, SB Nation’s Matt Ufford and Dan Rubenstein talk about day one and the weekend ahead at the Masters, the most interesting story lines moving forward, women and Augusta, and the touching story about a fan using tickets ingested and subsequently regurgitated by his dog to attend the tradition… unlike any other.

↵

Phil Mickelson is off to a much better start on Day 2 than he was during the opening round of the 2012 Masters. Through nine holes he is shooting 1-under, after going 1-over midway through the course Thursday. He began the day at 2-over overall, and has since moved up 22 spots on the leaderboard into a tie for 33rd.

Lefty got off to a good start Friday. He made par off the first tee after hitting bogey Thursday. From there, he birdied on holes No. 3 and No. 4 to shoot 2-under before stepping onto the fifth tee. He hit bogey there, however, then proceeded to par four straight holes.

Lee Westwood and Peter Hanson still lead at the 2012 Masters, but three golfers sit one shot back nipping at their heals. Ben Crane and Sergio Garcia have joined Rory McIlroy at 4-under for the tournament with birdies on No. 13 and No. 8, respectively.

Crane is now at 1-under on the day, offsetting bogey on No. 11. Garcia, meanwhile, is off to a very hot start, hitting four birdies in his first eight holes to score 4-under so far. He has already jumped 26 spots on the leaderboard today.

Friday’s action continues to heat up in Augusta as more and more players continue to get underway in the second round of the 2012 Masters. Lee Westwood has shot an even par through his first five holes and retains his 5-under to remain atop the leaderboard, but there are threats on all sides.

Westwood’s most present threat is from Ben Crane and Jason Dufner, who are both at 4-under and tied for second place. Dufner would have overtaken the lead by this time, had he not double-bogeyed on the third hole. He has three birdies through his first six holes. Crane, meanwhile, has just one birdie through eight, but is staying consistent with no bogeys.

As the second round begins to heat up at the 2012 Masters in Augusta, a healthy number of players are beginning to make an early push toward Lee Westwood’s leading score of 5-under par. The field is clearly hungry for a chance at the green jacket, and the competition will be fierce throughout the weekend.

Through five holes, Jonathan Byrd is making tremendous strides. He finished even in his first round on Thursday, but in his second round has hit birdies on holes two, three and four to put himself into a tie for fourth place at 3-under, just two strokes off Westwood’s lead.

The hunt is on for the green jacket as the 2012 Masters enters its second day on Friday. The field is wide open as the second round in Augusta opens with Lee Westwood atop the leaderboard. Before Westwood even tees off, however, he has plenty of golfers gunning for his spot.

Ben Crane entered the day in a tie for third place, but has already climbed into a tie for second with Peter Hanson. Crane hit a birdie on the second hole to bring his score to 4-under, just one stroke behind Westwood’s 5-under. Crane has only finished his first two holes of play in the second round, but he’s setting himself up nicely for a potentially big day.