Plus, who knows what we’ll see from Bryson DeChambeau? Every hole has been an adventure for the U.S. Open champion, and two big numbers, the triple-bogey 7 at the third hole Friday and the double-bogey 7 at the par-5 13th hole Thursday have summed up Bryson’s week thus far. But he can still make the cut—so he can continue to captivate us.
Here’s a look at the action from Day 3 at Augusta National.
8:42 a.m.: Jon Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau and Louis Oosthuizen all hit great tee shots at 18 as they complete their second rounds. Rahm hits his approach from the right side to about 18 feet above the hole, giving him one last chance to grab the outright lead. Bryson sails the green, leaving himself a tough up and down to remain at 1-under after the dropped shot at 17. He needs that up and down to hang around for the weekend.
8:36 a.m.: Patrick Reed’s charge is getting realer and realer. He buries the five-footer for birdie at the par-3 16th hole to get within one of the lead.
Ah, Tiger lays up at the par-5 15th. He had 248 yards in after his great tee shot, but just like Jon Rahm did behind him, Tiger lays up to a comfortable wedge distance. Tiger’s third shot hits perfectly hole high but spins back to the front, about 20-25 feet away for his birdie.
8:34 a.m.: Jon Rahm complained about having a mud ball at the 17th hole, as his approach from 152 yards just rolls off the front right. But the Spaniard hits a nice touch to about 4 feet to save his par.
8:30 a.m.: Tiger Woods smokes his driver down the middle at the par-5 15th hole—he should have a chance to go at the par 5 in two. He’s 5 back still at 4-under.
Just before, Patrick Reed hit a phenomenal tee shot at the par-3 16th hole—he’ll have about 5 feet for another birdie to move within one of the lead. Paul Casey, tied with Reed at 7-under, will also have a birdie look but from about 25 feet.
8:23 a.m.: Jon Rahm hits another towering tee shot, this one a tight draw into the middle of the fairway at the par-4 17th hole for a chance to get a birdie and the outright lead.
Tiger’s approach at 14 hit right next to the hole, but it spun back down the slope and off the green. The short-game wizard recovers nicely hitting a deft chip to within 3 feet, a nice par save to stay at 4-under. It’s been all pars on his back nine—he’d like to get at least one more shot closer over his final four holes.
8:20 a.m.: Patrick Reed hits a great chip shot left of the 15th green, after he posed on his fairway wood from the fairway, but it just missed his spot. Regardless, he makes the birdie putt to move within two of the lead. The 2018 Masters champion hasn’t been talked about much—overshadowed perhaps in the same group as the 18-hole leader Paul Casey. But Reed is firmly in the mix.
8:17 a.m.: Jon Rahm hits a great putt from 49 feet away at the 16th hole in his latest attempt to grab the outright lead. It’s a good par from where he was—Verne Lundqvist and Nick Faldo were scoffing at Rahm a bit for yelling at the wind after hitting his tee shot at the 16th, noting how still the flagstick looked at the par 3. Rahm will take the par as he heads to 17, looking for one more birdie to take the outright lead before the second round’s completed.
8:12 a.m.: Hideki Matsuyama missed the green with his approach but just played a magnificient pitch shot from the left side of the green—it looked like it had a chance to go in. It just slides by in the final two feet, as Matsuyama will settle for a par to remain at 8-under, just one back of the lead. Matsuyama is quietly in the mix as he pursues his first major.
8:10 a.m.: Tiger’s great look at birdie at the par-5 13th hole misses on the high side. That never really looked like it had a chance—it started on that line and never moved. Dottie Pepper on the broadcast says Tiger called his caddie Joe LaCava in for a read again—like he did at 11—which is a bit unusual for Tiger, who knows these greens as well as anybody. But so does LaCava, of course. Regardless, it’s a missed opportunity for Tiger, who remains five back at 4-under.
8:07 a.m.: WOW, what a save for Rahm! Looking like the potential for a dropped shot on the par 5, Rahm chips in from the fringe to avoid the disaster and stay at 9-under and in a share of the lead. That’s a big momentum-saver for the Spaniard in his bid for his first major championship.
Bryson DeChambeau just misses his birdie putt at the 15th hole, so he remains at 1-under, right on the cut line as he hopes to stick around for the weekend. He can’t have any more blemishes coming in—and the par at 15 snaps Bryson’s streak of three straight birdies after red numbers at 12, 13 and 14.
8:03 a.m.: Oh my, Jon Rahm is making a mess now at the par-5 15th after his layup. His wedge from just under 115 yards out flew the green and went all the way down the large slope behind the green. With his fourth shot, Rahm is still off the green, but it just stays up in the collar.
7:59 a.m.: Tiger Woods’ tee shot at the par-5 13th hole just caught the second cut with his fairway wood off the tee. He chooses to lay up from about 220 yards out all the way out right, leaving himself a little wedge in. Tiger plays it perfectly—as his ball hits just next to the hole and rolls about 10 feet below the cup for a great look at birdie.
7:53 a.m.: We have a disgusted Bryson DeChambeau once again at the 2020 Masters. His tee shot at the par-5 15h hole went high and right … another miss off the tee for the U.S. Open champion. Jon Rahm hit a great tee shot but with 244 yards left, he elected to lay up for his third shot into the par 5.
7:50 a.m.: Paul Casey and Patrick Reed hit phenomenal approaches to the par-5 13th hole—Casey has a chance to make up the dropped shot he had at 10 late Friday. The 18-hole leader has about 18 feet for eagle at 13, but his downhiller slides by. He settles for a par to get back to 7-under, currently two back. Reed’s eagle putt also slid by—after the sloppy bogey at the 12th hole he gets one back, moving the 2018 Masters champion to 6-under.
7:49 a.m.: Tiger Woods justttttt misses a birdie putt at the 12th hole from 16 feet that would’ve moved him within 4 of the lead. Tiger hit a great putt, it just graced the edge on the left side. He remains at 4-under after two pars to start his day.
7:48 a.m.: Jon Rahm missed a 10-footer for birdie at the 14th hole that would’ve given him the outright lead—he settles for an easy par heading to the par-5 15th hole. Who knows if the Spaniard would’ve made that—he would’ve had the opportunity to get on a real run to end his back nine and be maybe two or three up on the leaders. He’ll still have a good chance to take the outright lead, but that was a missed opportunity at 14.
7:43 a.m.: Off the birdie make at the par-5 13th, Jon Rahm now has a chance to take the outright lead at the par-4 14th hole, hitting a great approach after a phenomenal drive, leaving him just 126 yards in at the 14th. Bryson’s drive sailed right but got some tree help to find a little corner of the fairway, and Bryson’s approach hit the slope on the undulating 14th green and rolled close to the hole for a chance at a second birdie in a row.
Louis Oosthuizen, in the same group at 14, came up short with his approach . . . and he comes up short with his putt, too. Oosthuizen’s approach putt just barely came up short of carrying the large ridge in front of the green, but that putt comes all the way back off the green. That putt traveled a long ways, but he might be further from the hole than his third shot. Oosthuizen was 7-under and just two back before that putt.
7:40 a.m.: Tiger Woods played a little low chip from just in front of the 11th green and left himself a good 4 1/2 feet above the hole for his par putt. But Tiger slides the downhill slider in perfectly. That’s a great par to start his morning here at Augusta as Tiger looks to get within striking distance of the lead.
7:34 a.m.: C.T. Pan birdies the par-5 eighth hole to get within one of the lead. As Jim Nantz points out—when Tiger Woods won the Masters last year, Pan won the following week at the RBC Heritage. Just a little nugget . . . when Pan’s ball-striking is on, like it was at Harbour Town that week, his game looks elite. And that’s what’s happening thus far this week.
7:30 a.m.: Play resumed in the second round with a couple of crucial moments on the golf course. Jon Rahm makes his 5-footer above the hole for birdie at the par-5 13th hole to tie the lead of Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Abraham Ancer and Cameron Smith.
Tiger Woods had a lie in the rough on the 11th hole, playing his second shot. He hit a solid shot just in front of the green.
Webb Simpson waited overnight to hit an eagle putt from about 6 feet at the par-5 15th hole, and he made the putt on these smoother greens in the morning. Webb had been struggling on Friday but he’s now 5-under for the tournnament, just four back of the lead.
MORE MASTERS 2020 CONTENT FROM GOLF DIGEST: