Rose sees lead shrink to 1 going into weekend at the Masters
The four-shot lead Justin Rose held going into Round 2 at Augusta National shrank to one after he shot an even-par 72 on Friday.
Rose made four bogeys and a birdie on his opening nine but rallied with a 3-under second nine to get back to where he started the day. The Englishman holds the narrow edge over Brian Harman and PGA TOUR rookie Will Zalatoris.
"I think it was just a classic day at Augusta National when you're just slightly off," Rose said afterward. "You can be a foot or two out on certain occasions, and you end up struggling."
Rose was the only player inside the top 20 to not shoot under par on Friday - a day where Augusta was a lot more scorable compared to Round 1. The second-round scoring average was over two shots easier than Thursday.
Marc Leishman and Jordan Spieth were among those who took advantage of the getable course. The duo shares fourth after posting rounds of 67 and 68, respectively.
Tony Finau and Austria's Bernd Weisberger both fired 66 for the lowest rounds of the day.
Here's how the top of the leaderboard looks at the midway point:
| Place | Player | To Par | R2 Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justin Rose | -7 | 72 |
| T2 | Will Zalatoris | -6 | 68 |
| T2 | Brian Harman | -6 | 69 |
| T4 | Marc Leishman | -5 | 67 |
| T4 | Jordan Spieth | -5 | 68 |
| T6 | Bernd Wiesberger | -4 | 66 |
| T6 | Tony Finau | -4 | 66 |
| T6 | Justin Thomas | -4 | 67 |
| T6 | Si Woo Kim | -4 | 69 |
| T6 | Cameron Champ | -6 | 68 |
| T6 | Hideki Matsuyama | -6 | 71 |
Defending champion Dustin Johnson went 74-75 to miss his first cut at a major since the 2018 Open Championship.
Brooks Koepka also snapped a made-cut streak at majors dating back to the 2013 Open.
Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay are among the other notables heading home early.