Masters 2014 cut: Phil Mickelson will need a late rally to make the weekend

UPDATE: A few notable names are headed home early as Phil Mickelson and Sergio Garcia fail to make the cut at The Masters.

Following an opening round 76, Phil Mickelson needed a strong second round if he was going to play his way into contention. That hasn’t happened and now Mickelson is in danger of missing the cut at the Masters for the first time since 1997.

Mickelson opened the round with seven straight pars. He moved to 3-over for the tournament with a birdie at No. 8 and was in good shape to make the cut. A bogey at No. 9 dropped him back to 4-over. While Mickelson was making the turn, Bubba Watson was on a birdie string, leaving many players more than 10 strokes off the lead and in danger of missing the cut. Mickelson’s chances to play the weekend took a major blow on the difficult par-3 12th. His tee shot found a greenside bunker and that was only the start of the problems. Mickelson’s short game is rarely an issue, but he caught too much of his bunker shot, flying the ball through the green and into another bunker. The problems continued on the green, leading to a triple-bogey 6.

The triple bogey was Mickelson’s second in two rounds after short game issues led to a triple on No. 7 on Thursday. Mickelson is now 7-over for the tournament. That puts him in a tie for 75th place and 15 strokes off the lead. Mickelson has five holes to play, but will likely need to birdie four of them if he’s going to have a shot at making the cut.

He isn’t the only notable name likely to miss the Masters cut. Zach Johnson, Keegan Bradley, Jason Dufner and Dustin Johnson are also in danger. The cut is currently projected at 3-over. Here’s a snapshot of the players on the wrong side of the cut line at the moment. The top 50 players, including ties, will make the cut.