Scottie Scheffler Leads Masters By 3 Strokes After Stellar Second Round
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler seized control of the Masters Tournament on Friday, firing a bogey-free 66 to take a three-shot lead into the weekend at Augusta National. The 29-year-old Texan capitalized on ideal scoring conditions, carding six birdies to reach 10-under par through 36 holes.
Scheffler's dominant performance comes amid heightened scrutiny following his breakthrough 2022 Masters victory. The defending champion has now held the outright lead after six of his last eight rounds at Augusta, cementing his status as the tournament favorite.
Second-round leaderboard challengers include Norway's Viktor Hovland (7-under) and Australia's Cameron Smith (6-under), both major winners chasing their first green jackets. Tiger Woods made the cut at 1-over par, extending his record streak to 24 consecutive Masters cuts.
Golf fans and analysts are buzzing about Scheffler's historic pace. According to ESPN Stats & Info, he's just the fourth player since 2000 to reach double-digits under par through two rounds at Augusta. The last two players to do so - Jordan Spieth (2015) and Dustin Johnson (2020) - both went on to win.
Saturday's third round begins at 10:20 AM ET with Scheffler teeing off in the final pairing at 2:50 PM. CBS will broadcast live coverage starting at 3 PM, with streaming available via Masters.com and ESPN+. Weather forecasts call for partly cloudy skies and light winds, setting up ideal scoring conditions.
The tournament has drawn record merchandise sales and ticket demand, with secondary market prices for Saturday badges exceeding $1,200. Augusta National officials reported over 40,000 spectators on-site Friday, the largest single-day crowd since pre-pandemic 2019.
Scheffler's commanding lead comes as no surprise to his peers. "He's playing a different game right now," said playing competitor Xander Schauffele after their round. "When Scottie gets rolling like this, he makes it look effortless." The Dallas native has already won twice this season, including last month's prestigious Players Championship.
Should Scheffler maintain his lead, he would join an elite group of back-to-back Masters champions including Tiger Woods, Nick Faldo and Jack Nicklaus. The last player to successfully defend at Augusta was Woods in 2002.
