Despite being one of the oldest players in the field, Fred Couples continues to churn out solid rounds at Augusta National. He followed an opening round of 71 with another round of 1-under on Friday and is now tied for sixth place.
Masters 2014 leaderboard: Fred Couples in at 2-under, Rory McIlroy struggling
Fred Couples is once again hovering around the top of the Masters leaderboard, while Rory McIlroy is headed in the wrong direction.
Friday success at Augusta is nothing new for Couples. He’s now carded an under-par second round in each of the last four years. A quick start helped ensure he made it four-straight this year with two birdies on his first three holes. He made the turn at 2-under on the round and remained there before dropping a shot at the 17th. Couples nearly got the stroke back on No. 18, but just missed a birdie putt after a great approach.
Early overall success is also nothing new for Couples at the Masters. He’s the only player to be in the top 10 heading to the weekend in each of the last five years, according to Justin Ray of ESPN. Carrying that success into the weekend will be the next challenge.
We know Couples will be around for the weekend, but Rory McIlroy’s weekend status is still a bit uncertain. He’s struggled on Friday, playing the first 14 holes at 5-over. He’s now 4-over for the tournament, just on the inside of the cut line. Another dropped shot in the final four holes could leave him at home for the weekend. While McIlroy hasn’t played great in the second round, he’s also been a bit unlucky. His second shot into the par-5 13th hole is a prime example. His approach landed on the edge of the green, but hit a sprinkler and bounced up into the azalea bushes. He was forced to punch out and ended up making bogey. If he hadn’t hit the sprinkler, he would have had a very good shot at birdie.
McIlroy will need to avoid any other issues or unfortunate luck coming in. Here is a snapshot of the current state of the leaderboard.
Place | Player | Score | Through |
1 | Bubba Watson | -7 | F |
2 | John Senden | -4 | F |
T3 | Thomas Bjorn | -3 | F |
T3 | Jonas Blixt | -3 | F |
T3 | Adam Scott | -3 | 15 |
T6 | Fred Couples | -2 | F |
T6 | Jimmy Walker | -2 | F |
T6 | Jamie Donaldson | -2 | 16 |
T6 | Jim Furyk | -2 | 16 |
T10 | Kevin Streelman | -1 | F |
T10 | Stephen Gallacher | -1 | F |
T10 | Russell Henley | -1 | F |
T10 | Kevin Stadler | -1 | F |
T10 | Jordan Spieth | -1 | 14 |
T15 | Lucas Glover | E | F |
T15 | Matt Kuchar | E | F |
T15 | Louis Oosthuizen | E | F |
T15 | Gonzalo Fdez-Castano | E | F |
T15 | Lee Westwood | E | F |
T20 | Henrik Stenson | 1 | F |
T20 | Stewart Cink | 1 | F |
T20 | Mike Weir | 1 | F |
T20 | Steve Stricker | 1 | F |
T20 | K.J. Choi | 1 | 17 |
T20 | Bill Haas | 1 | 17 |
T20 | Brandt Snedeker | 1 | 16 |
T27 | Larry Mize | 2 | F |
T27 | Vijay Singh | 2 | F |
T27 | Bernhard Langer | 2 | F |
T27 | Hunter Mahan | 2 | F |
T27 | Justin Rose | 2 | F |
T27 | Steven Bowditch | 2 | F |
T27 | Brendon de Jonge | 2 | F |
T27 | Ian Poulter | 2 | F |
T27 | Rickie Fowler | 2 | F |
T36 | Nick Watney | 3 | F |
T36 | Thongchai Jaidee | 3 | F |
T36 | Oliver Goss | 3 | F |
T36 | Francesco Molinari | 3 | F |
T36 | Chris Kirk | 3 | F |
T36 | Martin Kaymer | 3 | F |
T36 | Billy Horschel | 3 | F |
T36 | Gary Woodland | 3 | F |
T36 | Miguel Jimenez | 3 | 17 |
T36 | Thorbjorn Olesen | 3 | 16 |
T46 | Sandy Lyle | 4 | F |
T46 | Jose Maria Olazabal | 4 | F |
T46 | Darren Clarke | 4 | F |
T46 | Jason Day | 4 | F |
T46 | Joost Luiten | 4 | F |
T46 | Rory McIlroy | 4 | 14 |
Projected Cut: +4 | |||
T52 | Ryan Moore | 5 | F |
T52 | Sang-Moon Bae | 5 | F |
T52 | Sergio Garcia | 5 | F |
T52 | Luke Donald | 5 | F |
T52 | Marc Leishman | 5 | F |
T52 | Victor Dubuisson | 5 | F |
T52 | Phil Mickelson | 5 | F |
T52 | Ernie Els | 5 | F |
T52 | Webb Simpson | 5 | F |
T52 | Charl Schwartzel | 5 | 16 |
T52 | Matthew Fitzpatrick | 5 | 15 |
T63 | D.A. Points | 6 | F |
T63 | Harris English | 6 | F |
T63 | Ian Woosnam | 6 | F |
T63 | Graeme McDowell | 6 | F |
T63 | Zach Johnson | 6 | F |
T63 | Hideki Matsuyama | 6 | 16 |
T63 | Patrick Reed | 6 | 14 |
T70 | Ken Duke | 7 | F |
T70 | Dustin Johnson | 7 | F |
T70 | John Huh | 7 | F |
T73 | Matt Jones | 8 | F |
T73 | Graham Delaet | 8 | F |
T73 | Derek Ernst | 8 | F |
T73 | Mark O'Meara | 8 | F |
T73 | David Lynn | 8 | F |
T73 | Angel Cabrera | 8 | F |
T73 | Matteo Manassero | 8 | 17 |
T73 | Jason Dufner | 8 | 15 |
T81 | Branden Grace | 9 | F |
T81 | Trevor Immelman | 9 | F |
T81 | Keegan Bradley | 9 | F |
T81 | Roberto Castro | 9 | F |
T81 | Chang-woo Lee | 9 | F |
86 | Y.E. Yang | 10 | F |
T87 | Jordan Niebrugge | 11 | F |
T87 | Scott Stallings | 11 | F |
T87 | Matt Every | 11 | F |
T90 | Garrick Porteous | 12 | F |
T90 | Boo Weekley | 12 | F |
92 | Tim Clark | 13 | F |
T93 | Peter Hanson | 15 | F |
T93 | Craig Stadler | 15 | F |
T93 | Tom Watson | 15 | F |
96 | Michael McCoy | 17 | F |
97 | Ben Crenshaw | 24 | F |
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