Masters Golf Tournament 2022: Winds of Change and Surprising Results
Mother Nature stirred up chaos at the 88th Masters Golf Tournament, culminating in a challenging second round with surprising outcomes. American stars battled fierce winds and shifting conditions, resulting in a leaderboard deadlock. From Scottie Scheffler’s remarkable short game to Tiger Woods’ record-breaking performance, explore the gripping twists of this prestigious golf event.
Though the name won’t be found on any leaderboard, Mother Nature unleashed her version of a flag-peppering 64 on Friday at Augusta National Golf Club. Intense winds whisked bunker contents airborne throughout the day, moved the occasional golf ball off its mark, and caused countless player step-offs and shot reassessments. When the dust settled, literally in this case, three American stars sat tied for first with 36 holes to play.
The 88th Masters saw an elite field average 75.08, the highest second-round score at the event since 2007. The increase of 1.65 strokes over the opening round was the biggest jump from Round 1 to 2 at the Masters since 1976. Players hit 7% fewer greens in regulation on their approach shots, with average proximity to the hole jumping up more than 4 feet.
Reigning Open champion Brian Harman shot a second-nine 47, the highest such score by a player under age 50 since 2009. Dustin Johnson became the first man in Masters history to reach 20 under par four years ago, but on Friday, he made back-to-back double bogeys for the first time in his Masters career. Jordan Spieth made his second career nine on the 15th hole, the only player to do that multiple times in the past two decades.
Scottie Scheffler managed a second-round score of 72 to tie for the lead entering the weekend. Scheffler hit just 10 greens in regulation, his fewest in 18 career rounds at the Masters, but his short game was outstanding. Scheffler has been in the top 10 following play in 30 major championship rounds since 2021, seven more than anyone else in that span.
Bryson DeChambeau, who shot a Masters career-low 65 the previous day, scrapped his way to a second-round 73. He hit four fewer greens in regulation and was nearly field-neutral in strokes gained putting. Max Homa continued his best major performance to date, hitting a field-best 15 greens in Round 2 and sharing the 36-hole lead.
Tiger Woods made the cut at the Masters for the 24th consecutive time as a professional, breaking a tie with Gary Player and Fred Couples for the most made cuts in a row. Woods beat the field scoring average in each of the first two rounds, giving him 80 such performances in his storied Masters career.
The cut line of 6 over is the highest at the Masters since 2017, with multiple major champions such as Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas missing the cut. However, 61-year-old Vijay Singh and 58-year-old José María Olazábal made the cut and will play the weekend, marking the third time since 2000 that two players age 58 or older have done so at the Masters.
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