Masters 2025 Round 2: Bryson DeChambeau surges, Justin Rose holds strong and more

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Two thoroughly entertaining days of golf are in the books at Augusta National, where a windy afternoon made scoring conditions tougher as the day progressed.

These are the top numbers and notes from round two of the 89th Masters.

1. One day after a brilliant 65, Justin Rose assembled a more workman-like round of 71 to take a one-shot lead into the weekend at the Masters. Rose employed a conservative approach to his tee shots in Round 2, hitting driver off the tee just five times — half as many as he did in Round 1. Analytically speaking, it paid off, as Rose gained about two more strokes today off the tee than in his opening round.

The club most responsible for Rose’s position is his putter. From 2019 through 2024, Rose was one of three qualified players to average a full stroke gained or more on the greens per round at the Masters. He’s thrown that trend into overdrive this week, gaining more than seven strokes putting through 36 holes. That’s not just the best in the field, it’s nearly double what any other player has accrued.

2. This is the tenth Masters round Rose has led or co-led, twice as many as any other player without a victory in history. At 44 years old, Rose is the oldest player to lead the Masters outright after the second round since Raymond Floyd led by a stroke in 1990.

It’s the third time Rose has held the outright lead after Round 1 and Round 2 in a Masters (2004, 2021). Since 1980, there have been eight other instances of a player leading outright following each of the first two rounds. Only one of those players — Jordan Spieth in 2015 — went on to win. Since 2000, there have been 28 other instances of a player leading a men’s major by one stroke with two rounds to play. Only six (21 percent) have gone on to win that week.

Should he win, Rose would set Masters records for oldest first-time winner and most starts (20) before earning a first green jacket. He would also win his second major 12 years after his first (2013 U.S. Open), the longest gap in modern men’s golf history.

3. Alone in second place is Bryson DeChambeau, who made just one bogey in his second round of 68. DeChambeau’s day was highlighted by back-to-back birdies at four and five, reversing a trend that has plagued him early in his Masters career. From 2016 through 2024, Bryson was a combined 22-over-par on holes three, four and five at Augusta National — the second-worst of any player in that span when you exclude past champions.

Though he leads the tournament in driving distance through two days, DeChambeau’s deft touch is owed the lion’s share of credit. He ranks first in the field this week in strokes gained around the green, with more than three strokes coming in Friday’s round.

This is the fourth time DeChambeau started a major championship with back-to-back rounds in the 60s. In the other three majors — the 2020 U.S. Open, 2024 PGA and 2024 U.S. Open — he finished first, second and first.

4. Twenty-four hours after it looked like Rory McIlroy’s dreams of completing the grand slam in 2025 were wiped out, a Friday 66 vaulted him into contention entering the weekend. It’s the sixth time in McIlroy’s career he’s shot 66 or lower at Augusta National, tied for second-most such rounds in Tournament history. The others with six or more are Tiger Woods (eight), Jack Nicklaus (six) and Spieth (six). That trio has combined to win a dozen green jackets.

Across all majors, it’s McIlroy’s 21st career round of 66 or better. Since the first Masters in 1934, only Woods (28) has more such rounds. McIlroy’s six bogey-free rounds at the Masters are the most of any player since his debut in 2009.

The first four holes of McIlroy’s second nine turned a promising comeback into a full-fury charge up the leaderboard. Rory carded scores of 3-3-3-3 on the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th holes Friday. It’s just the second time in the last forty years that a player has made four consecutive threes on those holes in a Masters round — Hideki Matsuyama also did it ten years ago in the final round.

Rory’s iron play was terrific on Friday. He hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation and gained nearly three-and-a-half strokes with his approach play, his most in a single Masters round in ten years.

5. With the wind picking up in the afternoon, the early half of the draw had a distinct advantage on Friday. None of the eight players to shoot 68 or better on Friday came from the latter half of tee times. Across two days, players who went out early-late had an average 36-hole total score of 146.7, about a stroke higher than their fellow competitors on the other side of the draw.

One notable part of Friday’s later wave was defending champion Scottie Scheffler, who tied a Masters career-high with five bogeys. Scheffler was not nearly as sharp on the greens in Round 2 as he was in the first round, losing about a stroke to the field putting. Despite that — and the fact that Scheffler is ranked outside the top-30 through two rounds in both strokes gained off the tee and approach — the world No. 1 is firmly in contention to win a third green jacket.

Before the winds picked up, Scheffler was unflappable. He played the first 23 holes without a bogey, a personal best at a tournament he’s mostly dominated since his debut. His presence as a storyline this week feels inevitable: His weekend scoring average of 70.7 at the Masters is tied for best all-time among players with five or more made cuts.

6. Corey Conners is tied for third, his best 36-hole position in a major since sharing the lead after two rounds at the 2023 PGA at Oak Hill. Conners showed off his exceptional iron play on Friday, picking up more than two strokes on the field with his approach shots. He hit 16 greens in regulation, a career-high in any Masters round and tied for most in the field in Round 2.

Shane Lowry has started this Masters with back-to-back rounds under par, a first in his accomplished career. Lowry was one of just six players in the field Friday with two or more strokes gained approach and at least a full stroke gained on the greens. This is the second time Lowry has been in the top five through 36 holes at Augusta National. In 2022, he was tied for second, five shots behind Scheffler, before ultimately finishing in a tie for third place.

7. Among the trio sitting four off the lead is Jason Day, who made his lone bogey this week on the 18th hole Friday. Day nearly became the second player in Masters history to play the first two rounds bogey-free. In 1979, Ed Sneed went without a blemish on his scorecard for the first two days. Sneed would lose a three-shot lead with three holes to play, opening the door for Fuzzy Zoeller’s playoff victory.

Despite closing with back-to-back bogeys, Viktor Hovland is also among the group at four-under. Hovland was brilliant with his iron play Friday, gaining more than three strokes with his approach shots. Only three players in the field have made more birdies than Hovland (11) through two rounds this week.

8. On Thursday, Nick Dunlap became the first player outside of the senior division (ages 50+) to card a score of 90 or worse at the Masters in nearly 70 years. His brutal first day, however, opened up an opportunity to take on an obscure turnaround record at Augusta National. The biggest improvement from round one to round two in Masters history belongs to Craig Wood, who in 1936 started the week with scores of 88-67.

Dunlap didn’t quite beat the record but shot a 71 on Friday — remarkable in the shadow of his experience in the opening round. The 19-stroke improvement is the largest from Round 1 to Round 2 in any men’s major since the 1966 Open Championship at Muirfield, when Robin Davenport went 94-72. Since the first Masters in 1934, it’s just the fifth time a player has shot 19 or more shots better in Round 2 than he did in Round 1.

9. Bernhard Langer, who has long since announced that this would be his final Masters as a competitor, nearly broke the record for oldest player to make the cut. Langer, 67, missed an 11-foot par putt at 18 that would have kept him inside the line to play the weekend.

A two-time Masters champion, Langer led all players in both strokes gained total per round and cumulative score to par at Augusta National from 1986 to 1993. Only eight players in tournament history have more official strokes all-time than Langer, who was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame more than two decades ago.

Fred Couples, 65, shot a second-round 77, missing the cut by two strokes. On Thursday, Couples became the second-oldest player to break par in a Masters round.

10. Thirty-one of the last 34 Masters winners have been within four shots of the lead entering the third round. Since Nicklaus’ magic 1986 win (he was tied for 17th), all but one Masters champion has been in the top ten through 36 holes (Charl Schwartzel, T-12 in 2011).

The largest 36-hole deficit overcome to win the Masters is eight strokes by Jack Burke Jr. in 1956.

(Photo of Bryson DeChambeau: Harry How / Getty Images)

This news was originally published on this post .

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