Molinari Opens Up Second Round Lead At The Masters
Bryson DeChambeau's hopes of Masters glory were dented by a dismal four-hole stretch, as Francesco Molinari took over as the leader.
Francesco Molinari opened up a two-shot lead as he neared the end of his second round at the Masters, after Bryson DeChambeau stumbled badly around the turn.
DeChambeau, who had topped the leaderboard along with Brooks Koepka at the end of day one, started solidly on Friday and held sole possession of first place after playing his first eight holes in one under.
However, he then bogeyed the ninth, double-bogeyed the 10th and dropped a further shot at the short 12th.
As DeChambeau slipped back to three under, Molinari continued to move his score in the right direction, following up a three-under front nine with further birdies at the 12th and 15th.
That left the 2018 Open champion two clear of the field at seven under, with Koepka one of six players sharing second along with Phil Mickelson, Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Ian Poulter and Jon Rahm as the high-profile morning starters approached the closing holes.
Rahm had only played three holes, the Spaniard finding birdies on two of them.
The likes of Adam Scott (-3) and Tiger Woods (-2) were still in the early stages of their second rounds, while Matt Fitzpatrick shot 67 to improve on his first-day score by 11 strokes.
Jordan Spieth was back at level par for the tournament through 13 holes on Friday, having shot 75 on day one.