Swirling winds, strong gusts and tough course conditions Friday at the 2022 Masters led to few rounds in the red — 13, to be exact — but boy is the Augusta National leaderboard starting to look good as we head to the weekend. Buckle up because the big names are showing their big games just as this tournament is starting to heat up (with the weather cooling down).
At the top of the leaderboard stands world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who is appropriately alone in his own world at 8 under following an unreal 5-under 67 in Round 2 to wrest control of the tournament away from the rest of the field. Scheffler’s remarkable Friday tear puts him five strokes clear of the next names on the leaderboard — a foursome tied at 3 under — with 36 holes left to play this weekend.
The next bunch of contenders is a crowded group filled with big names headlined by reigning champion Hideki Matsuyama, Round 1 leader Sungjae Im and former champion Charl Schwartzel — all at 3 under. The next group just off the pace includes Dustin Johnson (-2), Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas (-1) and Tiger Woods (+1).
Yes, you read that right: Woods will be playing into the weekend. He’s well off the lead heading into Moving Day, but Woods overcame a four-bogeys-in-five-holes start to Round 2 to finish 2 over on the round, making him a perfect 22 for 22 in his career in making the Masters cut as a professional.
Let’s take a look at the clogged leaderboard and the contenders as we prepare for what figures to be a fascinating Moving Day in Augusta.
Watch the 2022 Masters streaming live Saturday with Masters Live as we follow the best golfers in the world throughout Augusta National with Featured Groups, check in at the famed Amen Corner and see leaders round the turn on holes 15 & 16. Watch live on CBSSports.com, the CBS Sports App and Paramount+.
2022 Masters leaderboard breakdown, Round 2
1. Scottie Scheffler (-8): Scheffler followed up his Thursday 69 with a Friday 67, tying for lowest round of the week thus far. He started his second trek at Augusta on choppy ground with bogeys at Nos. 1 and 3 but played the final 15 holes bogey-free at 6 under. As Justin Ray noted, it ties the largest 36-hole lead in the history of the Masters, and four of the previous five who had a five-stroke lead at this juncture went on to win the green jacket. No surprise, then, that Scheffler has Even odds to win the Masters, according to Caesars Sportsbook, which the five closest competitors at 12-1 on the oddsboard.
T2. Charl Schwartzel, Sungjae Im, Shane Lowry and Hideki Matsuyama (-3): After entering the week having missed six consecutive cuts on the PGA Tour, Schwartzel, the 2011 Masters champion, sits T2 after a second-round 69. Go figure, right? No one played the course perfectly on Friday, but he was sure close as he carded five birdies and played the par 5s at 2 under for the day. He and reigning champion Matsuyama both finished with 3-under 69s. Meanwhile, Lowry had the low round of this group with a 4-under 68 rebound from a 1-over 73 on Thursday. Finally, Round 1 leader Im was the only of the top five golfers on the leaderboard to finish above par, carding a 2-over 74 on Friday.
T6. Dustin Johnson and three others (-2): Following up a 3-under 69 to open the week on Thursday, D.J. may have played even better in Round 2, though his score (73) obviously does not indicate as much. He played a bogey-free (and birdie-free) second nine and mowed through a challenging course that played much tougher than it did Thursday. The 2020 Masters winner will have a good look at winning his second career green jacket and third career major championship this weekend. He’ll just have to hope Scheffler slips up.
T10. Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and four others (-1): Thomas tied for low-round of the week Friday with an out-of-nowhere 67. Huge rally for him to not only make the cut, which seemed like a real threat after a Round 1 score of 76, but to inject himself back squarely into contention. Same for 25-year-old superstar Collin Morikawa, who had a 2-under first nine and came home at even-par. Thomas led the field in strokes gained tee to green in Round 2.
T19. Tiger Woods and three others (+1): Bad swings, gusty winds and even a ball rolling into a divot were among the several reasons Woods listed post-round as to why he started Round 2 at 4 over through five holes. But he finished in a flurry, playing the final 13 holes at 2 under and hanging tight. He said after the round that his body is not feeling great, which makes what he did Friday improving as the round went on all the more impressive.
Check out a detailed leaderboard and our complete Masters TV schedule / coverage guide for how to watch the Masters all weekend long.
