Justin Rose stays in Masters lead with some all-star company

Thomson Reuters

· Posted: Apr 11, 2025 5:20 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Justin Rose kept his sanction atop the leaderboard Friday successful the Masters, and helium doesn't person to look acold to spot an All-Star postulation of contenders lining up down him.

U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau is disconnected to his champion commencement successful the Masters. Rory McIlroy made possibly his top betterment astatine Augusta National.

Still lurking connected the people was defending champion Scottie Scheffler.

Rose, who took a three-shot pb into the 2nd round, made abbreviated birdie putts astatine some par 3s connected the backmost 9 that allowed him to atone for a fewer mistakes connected his mode to a 1-under 71. He was 1 changeable up of DeChambeau (68), 2 wide of McIlroy (66).

Canadian Corey Conners presently sits 2 shots backmost of Rose. 

"That's the institution that I expect to keep, and that's wherever I person tried to beryllium my full career," said Rose, whose lone large was the 2013 U.S. Open astatine Merion. "I've been a top-10 subordinate successful the satellite for a decennary oregon more. So yeah, this is bully to beryllium backmost successful that mix."

He acceptable the people astatine 8-under 136 for Scheffler and the remainder of the players successful the afternoon, arsenic the upwind began to drawback flags and origin uncertainty, a astir uncomfortable feeling astatine Augusta.

This was the 5th clip Rose had astatine slightest a stock of the 18-hole pb astatine the Masters, and helium has ne'er done amended than 71 successful trying to travel that up.

Pivotal for McIlroy

Everyone other had to bash a small much to enactment successful range, and it was peculiarly pivotal for McIlroy successful his bid for the vocation Grand Slam. He had 2 treble bogeys successful his past 4 holes that ruined an different bully commencement connected Thursday, leaving him person to the chopped than the lead.

And helium played the beforehand 9 with 1 birdie and 8 pars connected Friday. But helium came to beingness quickly, stuffing a three-quarter 8-iron to a ft connected No. 10 and a akin play with a 9-iron to astir 4 feet connected No. 11. Best of each was hitting 4-iron disconnected the conifer straw connected the par-5 13th that narrowly cleared the tributary of Rae's Creek and acceptable up a 10-foot eagle.

"I had to punctual myself I was playing well," McIlroy said. "I couldn't fto 2 atrocious holes dictate the communicative of the 16 bully ones. I besides had to punctual myself this greeting not to propulsion excessively hard excessively early."

That was a mistake helium made successful 2023, the twelvemonth helium faced a 10-shot shortage erstwhile helium began his 2nd round, tried to drawback up arsenic rapidly arsenic helium could and coiled up missing the cut.

This time, helium had a dependable commencement and "things benignant of clicked into cogwheel connected the backmost nine."

DeChambeau got wrong 1 changeable connected a mates of occasions until his lone bogey connected the 16th. He responded with a birdie to again chopped the shortage to 1 erstwhile helium finished his round.

Matt McCarty was 3 implicit for his circular aft 2 holes, lone to decorativeness the beforehand 9 with 4 consecutive birdies and enactment his mode backmost into the premix successful his Masters debut with a 68. He was 3 shots behind, on with Shane Lowry (68).

Scheffler looks for repeat

Scheffler, trying to go lone the 4th subordinate to triumph backmost to backmost astatine the Masters, was lone 2 shots down erstwhile helium made the turn.

Also successful play Friday was the 36-hole chopped of apical 50 and ties. Jon Rahm gave himself his champion accidental by making a 10-foot par putt connected the 18th spread for a 71 — 1 birdie, 17 pars — that enactment him astatine 2-over 146. That's wherever the chopped enactment figured to hover the remainder of the day.

Bernhard Langer, 67, and Fred Couples, 65, were bidding to acceptable the Masters grounds for oldest players to marque the cut. Couples acceptable the grounds 2 years erstwhile helium was 63.

One subordinate apt to beryllium headed location was five-time large champion Brooks Koepka.

He was astatine adjacent par for the tourney until a bogey connected the 17th. On the last hole, helium hooked his thrust into the trees astatine the commencement and three-putted from astir 12 feet astatine the extremity for a quadruple-bogey 8 and a 75.

Rose had a accidental to beryllium atop the leaderboard for the 10th circular if it holds. It wasn't arsenic cleanable a circular arsenic it was connected Thursday, but it was capable for him to deliberation that a greenish overgarment was inactive imaginable astatine property 44. Only 1 different idiosyncratic — Jack Nicklaus — was older (46) erstwhile helium won a greenish jacket.

"Sometimes it's hard to travel a debased circular with different one. Just the quality of it sometimes," Rose said. "But I consciousness similar if you're playing bully golf, you're playing bully golf. And I consciousness similar I wasn't pinned to yesterday's circular and I wasn't pinned to the leaderboard and I wasn't pinned to starring this play tournament. I was beauteous focused connected the occupation astatine hand."