AUGUST (USA): World number one Dustin Johnson and third-ranked Justin Thomas shared the second-round lead on Friday at the Masters.
Joining them on the leaderboard were unheralded Australian Cameron Smith and Mexico’s Abraham Ancer.
Thomas closed with back-to-back birdies to shoot a three-under 69 and US compatriot Johnson birdied his final hole to shoot 70 and join the lead pack on nine-under-par 135.
“I like my position going into the weekend,” Johnson said. “Conditions are going to stay relatively the same. You are going to have to stay aggressive. You have to keep shooting well.”
Smith closed with an eagle and three birdies to shoot 68 while Ancer, trying to become the first debut Masters winner in 41 years, birdied two of his last four holes to fire 67.
“It was a very up and down round, a little bit scrappy,” Smith said. “But hung in there and at the end, it was brilliant.”
Im Sung-jae, a 22-year-old South Korean also making his Masters debut, fired a 70 to share fifth with American Patrick Cantlay on 136.
“I really feel like I’m prepared this week,” Im said. “I did feel like this course suited my style. I just approached the tournament with confidence.”
Three Englishmen were another stroke adrift — reigning Olympic champion Justin Rose, 16th-ranked Tommy Fleetwood and 2016 Masters champion Danny Willett.
“With it being softer this year, some flags are a hell of a lot easier,” Willett said. “Some are a lot trickier. But all in all you’ll see scoring better when the greens are softer.”
