While many players struggled to tally five birdies through 36 holes at Augusta National, Bubba Watson had no problem racking up red numbers on Friday, including a streak of five straight birdies. The back-nine surge helped him build a three-stroke lead on the field.
Masters leaderboard 2014: Bubba Watson leads at 7-under, Phil Mickelson on the cut line
Five straight birdies helped Bubba Watson open a three-stroke lead at the Masters. Phil Mickelson rallied late, but is still in danger of missing the weekend.
Watson made the turn at even-par and was a stroke off the lead heading into No. 12. A brilliant tee shot set up a birdie at the difficult par-3. That was just the start of things. He nearly came away with an eagle on No. 13, tapping in for birdie instead. The streak continued at Nos. 14, 15 and 16, with Watson moving to 8-under for the tournament. He hit some exceptional shots during the stretch, but was also a little fortunate, including on this huge breaking birdie at No. 14.
Watson’s only blemish on the back nine came on No. 18 where he missed a par putt and dropped a shot with a bogey. His 4-under 68 was still the best round of the day and gave him a comfortable clubhouse lead.
While Watson is in great position heading into the weekend, Phil Mickelson might not even be around for the final two rounds. Mickelson carded a 1-over 73 and at 5-over for the tournament and is right on the edge of the cut line. He’ll now be forced to wait to see how the afternoon groups finish to know if he’ll miss the cut at the Masters for the first time since 1997.
Mickelson ran into major problems at No. 12 when he caught a pair of bunker shots thin. He ended up making a six at the par-3, dropping to 7-over. He rallied back with three birdies in his final five holes, but a bogey at No. 16 could prove to be costly. Mickelson is currently tied for 56th place. The top 50 plus ties will make the weekend, so he’ll need a few players still on the course to struggle coming in.
The second round has not gotten off to a good start for defending Masters champion Adam Scott. He began the round at 3-under, but three early bogeys dropped him to even and seven strokes off the lead. Players have had more success on the back nine in the second round, so Scott will have an opportunity to make up some ground.
Here is a current look at the leaderboard as the final groups approach the turn.
Place | Player | Score | Through |
1 | Bubba Watson | -7 | F |
2 | Bill Haas | -4 | 8 |
T3 | Thomas Bjorn | -3 | F |
T3 | Jonas Blixt | -3 | 16 |
T3 | John Senden | -3 | 14 |
T3 | Fred Couples | -3 | 11 |
T7 | Mike Weir | -2 | 12 |
T7 | Jimmy Walker | -2 | 10 |
T9 | Kevin Streelman | -1 | F |
T9 | Stephen Gallacher | -1 | F |
T9 | Kevin Stadler | -1 | 17 |
T9 | Jamie Donaldson | -1 | 8 |
T10 | Russell Henley | -1 | F |
T13 | Jordan Spieth | E | 6 |
T14 | Lucas Glover | E | F |
T14 | Louis Oosthuizen | E | F |
T14 | Matt Kuchar | E | F |
T14 | Gonzalo Fdez-Castano | E | F |
T14 | Lee Westwood | E | F |
T14 | Rickie Fowler | E | 10 |
T14 | K.J. Choi | E | 9 |
T14 | Miguel Jimenez | E | 8 |
T14 | Brandt Snedeker | E | 8 |
T14 | Jim Furyk | E | 7 |
T14 | Adam Scott | E | 7 |
T14 | Rory McIlroy | E | 6 |
T27 | Henrik Stenson | 1 | F |
T27 | Stewart Cink | 1 | F |
T27 | Steven Bowditch | 1 | 15 |
T27 | Gary Woodland | 1 | 12 |
T30 | Thorbjorn Olesen | 2 | 7 |
T31 | Larry Mize | 2 | F |
T31 | Vijay Singh | 2 | F |
T31 | Bernhard Langer | 2 | F |
T31 | Hunter Mahan | 2 | F |
T31 | Justin Rose | 2 | F |
T31 | Steve Stricker | 2 | 9 |
T38 | Nick Watney | 3 | F |
T38 | Thongchai Jaidee | 3 | F |
T38 | Oliver Goss | 3 | F |
T38 | Francesco Molinari | 3 | F |
T38 | Chris Kirk | 3 | F |
T38 | Martin Kaymer | 3 | 14 |
T38 | Billy Horschel | 3 | 13 |
T38 | Ian Poulter | 3 | 12 |
T38 | Matteo Manassero | 3 | 8 |
T38 | Charl Schwartzel | 3 | 7 |
T48 | Sandy Lyle | 4 | F |
T48 | Jose Maria Olazabal | 4 | F |
T48 | Darren Clarke | 4 | F |
T48 | Jason Day | 4 | F |
T48 | Joost Luiten | 4 | F |
T48 | Brendon de Jonge | 4 | 13 |
T48 | Webb Simpson | 4 | 11 |
T48 | Graeme McDowell | 4 | 10 |
T48 | Patrick Reed | 4 | 6 |
Projected Cut: +4 | |||
T57 | Ryan Moore | 5 | F |
T57 | Sang-Moon Bae | 5 | F |
T57 | Sergio Garcia | 5 | F |
T57 | Luke Donald | 5 | F |
T57 | Marc Leishman | 5 | F |
T57 | Victor Dubuisson | 5 | F |
T57 | Phil Mickelson | 5 | F |
T57 | Ernie Els | 5 | F |
T57 | Ian Woosnam | 5 | 17 |
T65 | Harris English | 6 | F |
T65 | John Huh | 6 | 16 |
T65 | Matthew Fitzpatrick | 6 | 7 |
T66 | D.A. Points | 6 | F |
T66 | Scott Stallings | 6 | 14 |
T66 | Angel Cabrera | 6 | 12 |
T66 | Zach Johnson | 6 | 9 |
T73 | Ken Duke | 7 | F |
T73 | Dustin Johnson | 7 | F |
T73 | Mark O'Meara | 7 | 15 |
T76 | Matt Jones | 8 | F |
T76 | Graham Delaet | 8 | F |
T76 | Derek Ernst | 8 | F |
T76 | Roberto Castro | 8 | 12 |
T76 | Chang-woo Lee | 8 | 10 |
T81 | Keegan Bradley | 9 | F |
T81 | Hideki Matsuyama | 9 | 7 |
T82 | Branden Grace | 9 | F |
T82 | Trevor Immelman | 9 | F |
T82 | David Lynn | 9 | 14 |
T86 | Y.E. Yang | 10 | 16 |
T86 | Boo Weekley | 10 | 14 |
T86 | Tom Watson | 10 | 13 |
T89 | Tim Clark | 11 | 17 |
T89 | Jordan Niebrugge | 11 | 14 |
T89 | Matt Every | 11 | 12 |
T89 | Jason Dufner | 11 | 7 |
93 | Garrick Porteous | 12 | F |
T94 | Peter Hanson | 15 | F |
T94 | Craig Stadler | 15 | 14 |
96 | Michael McCoy | 17 | F |
97 | Ben Crenshaw | 22 | 16 |
See More:
