Lewis Hamilton said he is not panicking about qualifying sixth for the Turkish Grand Prix, as he felt like it was the best he could have done in the conditions in Istanbul.
Jon Rahm had two meaningful shots at the par 5s on the back nine Saturday morning, one for birdie and the other for par, that allowed him to cap off a 6-under 66 and join a five-way share of the lead after 36 holes at the Masters. Tiger Woods remains in the mix with one birdie and seven pars to complete a 71, leaving him four shots behind. Ten players were separated by one shot going into the weekend, and 27 players were separated by five shots, a list that includes everyone from Woods and Phil Mickelson to Masters newcomers Abraham Ancer and C.T. Pan.
Bryson DeChambeau, whose COVID-19 test came back negative after he was feeling “dizzy,” is at even par after 36 holes to make the Masters cut on the number.
A tradition like any other has been a golf tournament unlike any other. “Somebody could be digging into a bag of chips 150 yards away, and sometimes you can hear it.”
AUGUSTA, Ga. - After getting off to a bad start, Rory McIlroy's bid for the Masters and the career Grand Slam isn't completely dead. But he may need a miracle Sunday, plus help from frontrunner Dustin Johnson. Clawing his way back after an opening-round 75, McIlroy shot a third-round 67 that was marred only by his continued frustrations at the par-5 13th hole. He three-putted from nine feet to bogey perhaps the easiest hole on the course for the second time this week. RELATED: Leaderboard | Nine things to know: Augusta National Golf Club McIlroy reached 8 under (75-66-67) and was just outside the top 10 on the leaderboard. "Yeah, 11 under for the last two days, I think that sort of speaks for itself," he said. "The good golf was in there, I just didn’t allow myself to play that way on the first 18 holes. This course can do that. This course can make you a little bit careful and a little bit tentative at times. I’ve always said I play my best golf when I’m trusting and freer, and I’ve been a lot freer over the last 36 holes." The two-time FedExCup champion hit 10 of 14 fairways, and 11 greens in regulation. He birdied the ninth and 10th holes, two of the tougher par-4s on the course, and holed out for birdie from the sand on 12. It was the unlucky 13th, though, that got him again. In the first round "Azalea" bit back when he got caught up in the trees left of the fairway and Rae's Creek, and made bogey. This time his 321-yard drive found the thick right rough. He had an opening, but after a long discussion with caddie Harry Diamond, chose to lay up. The sensible play, it nonetheless didn't pay off. Although his 62-yard third shot stopped just nine feet behind the pin, he missed the birdie and his ball slid four feet past the hole. His par effort power-lipped out. "It was where I left my (birdie) putt," he said, explaining his mistake. "The first two feet of it was uphill, and then it went over the crest and started going down, so you had to give it enough speed to at least get it up and over there, and then it just got away from me a little bit. But the greens are getting quicker. Yeah, you’ve got to think about where you’re leaving it." At the par-5 15th hole he was too aggressive, going for the green in two even though he was too far left off the tee. His second shot found the water, and he did well to get up and down for par. At least he managed to birdie both par-5s on the front. McIlroy, 31, would seem to have plenty of time to win here, and the game to do it. But as he's said, the example of Greg Norman shows there are no guarantees. He looked headed for the green jacket until a final-round 80 in 2011, and his best finish remains a 4th in 2015 Although he hasn't played well since the PGA TOUR resumed in June, McIlroy began to show positive signs in his last start at the ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP @ SHERWOOD, when he led the field with 29 birdies. He's been showing more of the same the last two rounds, but he's likely too far back, with Johnson reaching 15 under par even before he'd played his final par 5. "I just need to go out and shoot a good one tomorrow and see where it puts me," McIlroy said, "but I have zero thoughts about winning this golf tournament right now."
AUGUSTA, Ga. - Bryson DeChambeau will make the cut at the Masters, but just barely. And he'll move on to the final two rounds despite not feeling 100 percent. "Not good, to say the least," he said of his play. "I was feeling something a little weird last - two nights ago, and I came out yesterday and was fine for the most part. As I kept going through the round, I started getting a little dizzy. I don’t know what was going on, a little something weird. "So I got checked for COVID last night, and I was fine, nothing," he added. "But I had to do the right thing and make sure there was nothing more serious than that. I don’t know what it is or what happened, but these past couple days, I’ve felt really, really odd and just not a hundred percent. Some of that’s played into it. I just feel kind of dull and numb out there, just not fully aware of everything, and making some silly, silly mistakes for sure." After he had bogeyed his last two holes for a 2-over 74 to sit at even par, DeChambeau needed help from Jordan Spieth at the 18th hole and Rafa Cabrera Bello at the ninth. Had either made birdie it would have moved the cut to 1 under par, knocking out everyone at even par. Spieth lost his drive in the trees and had to fight just to make the cut himself, the 2015 Masters champion rolling in a 15-foot par putt to keep his tournament alive. "You know, sometimes it’s more nerve racking trying to make the cut than it is trying to win the tournament," Spieth said. Cabrera Bello missed the ninth green but got up and down for par, also making the cut. Augusta National announced on Monday that the Masters cut would no longer use the 10-shot rule and would be changed to only the low 50 and ties. DeChambeau was part of an 11-way tie for 50th, as was Collin Morikawa, the winner of the PGA Championship. The winners of the last two majors survived by the skin of their teeth, as did Tony Finau (69-75) and past champions Zach Johnson (73-71) and Charl Schwartzel (73-71) and Spieth (74-70). Notables to miss the cut included: Matthew Wolff – Runner-up to DeChambeau at the U.S. Open and Rocket Mortgage Classic, Wolff got off to a hot start in his first Masters but scores of 70-77 weren't good enough. Tyrrell Hatton - Winner of the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard never clicked at Augusta National, shooting 73-74 to finish 3 over and miss by three. Francesco Molinari - Was in control of the Masters last year until double-bogeys on 12 and 15 sent him down to a T5 finish, two behind Tiger Woods. Shot 72-78 this time to miss cut by six. Jason Day - Trendy pre-tournament pick had four top-10 finishes at the Masters, including a T2 in 2011, but blew up with a 78 in the second round to bow out early at 4 over. DeChambeau fought a right miss in Round 2, and for the second straight round hit just 11 greens in regulation. He double-bogeyed the 13th hole in the first round, and triple-bogeyed the par-4 third hole in the second. The third and 13th holes are two of the shortest on the course. Where exactly his tee shot wound up at the third hole - he had to take a lost ball and return to the tee to hit three - is unknown. It's assumed to have plugged in the wet grass. "It just seems like there’s a lot of things going not in the right way," DeChambeau said. "I’ve certainly played worst golf than this and won golf tournaments. So, you know, it’s one of those things where it’s golf. You can’t control everything as much as you try. He had an eagle putt when he returned to the 13th hole at 7:30 a.m. Saturday to complete his second round, but missed it and settled for a birdie to get to even par. A birdie at 14, where his drive missed way right but kicked off a tree back into the fairway, got him into red numbers. More driving problems, though, left him in the right trees at the par-5 15th, where he had to settle for par. A birdie at the par-3 16th seemed to give him breathing room, but he closed with bogeys at 17 (again missed right with his drive) and 18 (airmailed green from 150 yards in fairway). As for his health, he said he started feeling dizzy Thursday night. "Yeah, every time I’d bend over and come back up, I’d like lose my stance a little bit," he said. "So I don’t know what’s going on. I’ve got to go and do some blood work and get checked out and figure out what’s going on for this off‑season."
Tiger Woods looks to defend his title at the Masters after staying contention for the victory through the first two rounds.
Lance Stroll’s pole position for Sunday’s Turkish Grand Prix could be under threat after he was called to the stewards on Saturday night for an alleged breach of yellow flag regulations in qualifying.
Some of Bryson DeChambeau's struggles at Augusta have come from bad luck, some are self-inflicted … and some might be the result of something more.
Here's our big board looking at different scenarios for the Knicks' No. 8 pick.
