Leaderboard: Round 2 of Shriners Open

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Mackenzie Hughes arrived at the TPC Sawgrass with no scar tissue and played his first round at THE PLAYERS Championship with no bogeys. Pretty simple, eh? The Canadian rookie shook his head and laughed. Even after going bogey-free in his debut Thursday for a 5-under 67 to share the lead with William McGirt, Hughes saw enough of THE PLAYERS Stadium Course to realize that surprises lurk around every corner. “There’s just not really a moment where you can let up,” Hughes said. No need explaining that to Adam Scott, who won THE PLAYERS in 2004 and was off to a strong start on a steamy afternoon when he was 6 under and heading to the infamous par-3 17th with its island green. First, he watched Masters Tournament champion Sergio Garcia hit a gap wedge that took one big hop, land just behind the cup and disappear for a hole-in-one. Scott followed by spinning a shot off the bank and into the water for a double bogey, and he compounded that with another double bogey. “I played some good golf out there and unfortunately not on the last two,” Scott said after settling for a 70. “It happens.” At least he had company. Dustin Johnson’s first wedge of the way hit the pin, caromed off the green and led to bogey. On a day when nothing seemed to go his way, the world’s No. 1 player opened with a 71. Rory McIlroy went to tap in from 2 feet and missed it, and then had to make one twice that long for his double bogey on the 10th hole. He shot 73. Through it all, Hughes was rock solid. Only twice did he have par putts longer than 3 feet, and he made them both. The last piece of stress came on the final hole when trees block his way to the green. To chip out sideways would risk chipping into the water. He found a 4-foot wide window in which he had to keep it under on branch and go over two more. It was a large enough gap and the perfect shot for a 6-iron. “I was close enough to the trees. It paid off,” said Hughes, who already has won (Sea Island) in his rookie season on the PGA TOUR. McGirt played in morning and made a pair of eagles on the back nine to atone in his round of 67. Among those at 68 was Jon Rahm, another first-timer at this lucrative event who had one of four bogey-free rounds on the steamy day in north Florida. Even with a mild wind in the afternoon, just over a third of the field broke par. Fast starts and bad finishes were the norm, and not just for Scott. Defending champion Jason Day ran off two straight birdies after making the turn and was in the lead at 5 under, which for the former world No. 1 was a peculiar position. He hasn’t won since THE PLAYERS last year. Day, however, made three bogeys over his last four holes and had to settle for a 70. He was playing in the same group as Rickie Fowler, the 2015 champion who also got off to a fast start until one bad shot — a really bad shot — on his 15th hole at the par-4 seventh. From the middle of the fairway, Fowler blocked it so badly to the right that it hit a cart path and went deep into the pines. It took him two shots to get out and he made double bogey. Fowler also shot 70. Fowler managed to see the big picture. “No one’s going crazy low or anything like that,” he said. Garcia’s round was different. He made three bogeys and a double bogey in his opening six holes and went out in 40, the first nine holes of competition he has played since winning the Masters a month ago. He felt nerves on the first tee when he was introduced as the Masters champion. “The feeling was great,” he said. “I think I wasn’t quite in the tournament because of everything that’s been going on after the Masters win and media and people congratulating you left, right and center. I felt like I was a little bit up in the clouds, and when I woke up, I was 4 over after six.” Johnson still has only two rounds in the 60s out of 27 attempts at the Stadium Course. He could accept this 71 just because of all that went wrong — the wedge that hit the pin on No. 1, birdie putts that spun around the holes at Nos. 2 and 12. Johnson rallied late with a 25-foot eagle putt on the 16th hole. “It could have been really good today, but ended up just being OK,” Johnson said. McGirt was among 13 players from the morning draw who shot in the 60s, but he was the only player to get as low as 6 under until he missed a short par putt on the final hole. Told that no one had made eagle on both par 5s on the back nine in the opening round, McGirt didn’t have an answer. “Good numbers at a good time, made a good swing at a good time,” McGirt said. “You just kind of see the shot and hit the shot and see the putt and hit the putt.” He made it sound simple, even though THE PLAYERS Stadium Course can be anything but that.

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AUGUSTA, Ga. – They say the key to Augusta National is to get at the par-5s. Patrick Reed listened. The American is 8 under on the four par-5s through two rounds, making birdies on them all in each of the opening rounds. “You’re not going to shoot a low score if you don’t,â€� he said post-round. It has helped him to a 69-66 start and a two-shot lead over Marc Leishman. He’s four clear of Henrik Stenson in third. The next-best player on the par-5s is Jordan Spieth at 6 under – he’s 4 under for the tournament. “To be able to go out and capitalize on those par-5s and to make a lot of birdies there, it kind of allows you to be really aggressive when you feel like you’re really comfortable with a shot,â€� Reed added. “Or at the same time, even though you might have a short iron, because of what you’re doing on the par-5s, you might play a little bit on the cautious side.â€� Prior to this year, Reed had never shot a round in the 60s at Augusta National through 12 tries. He has opened 69-66 this year. But no player has ever carded four rounds in the 60s at the Masters. “My game plan has gotten me to this point, and I have 36 more holes to stick to my game plan,â€� he deadpanned. “I believe that if I play the golf that I know how to play, that I can win majors. I have to not get ahead of myself and go into tomorrow and just take it shot-by-shot, hole‑by‑hole, like I’ve been doing. “There’s a lot of holes left, and I just need to go out and play some solid golf and just go out and continue shooting in the 60s and see if it gets the job done.â€� NO LAY UP IN LEISHMAN Australian Marc Leishman came to the par-5 15th hole on Thursday in the lead and promptly double bogeyed the hole. When he returned Friday with another hot round going, he faced a predicament having been blocked out from the left pin by the trees. He could lay up and face a difficult wedge shot – or he could sling hook a 5-iron from 223 yards and go for glory. Glory it was. The three-time PGA TOUR winner produced a stunning shot that carved around, found the putting surface, and rolled out to 6 feet. He then buried the eagle putt and finished the round alone in second place. “With the way I hooded the club over to hook it that much, it turned it into like a 3‑ or 4‑iron,â€� he explained. “I hooded the club a lot and just swung into‑out, and the ball comes out like that. I don’t really think about it too much. I just see a shot and swing.â€� What makes his gung-ho attitude even more impressive is it was on the 15th hole where he lost his chance at a Green Jacket five years ago. Playing with eventual champion Adam Scott, his approach found a watery grave and sent him towards a T4 finish instead. But the silver lining for Leishman was seeing firsthand what it took to win – and guts was part of it. “You have to grab the bull by the horns … it’s not going to come to you,â€� he said of winning the tournament. “You have to go out and win it. That’s how I’ve always played. I try and win tournaments. “Like that shot on 15 today, I’m not one to lay up if there’s a chance I can get there. I saw it firsthand, know what it takes. I feel like I learned a lot that day and hopefully it will put me in good stead for this week and can be sitting here Sunday night.â€� QUOTABLES “Even though I’m a lot behind, if I play a special weekend, shoot two rounds in the mid 60s, you never know.â€� – Tiger Woods will start 13 shots back Saturday. “I’ve always felt comfortable being up around the lead. It’s a place that I’m thankfully quite familiar with and know how to deal with.â€� – Rory McIlroy “The greens are very tough. They’re a fine line. Not very often do you get a gimme after having anything outside of 20 feet.â€� – Rickie Fowler “This experience is invaluable. Just can’t wait to get back every year after this.â€� India’s Shubhankar Sharma who missed the cut in his first Masters “I think it’s going to be pretty bunched up over the weekend and it should be very entertaining.â€� Louis Oosthuizen sits seven back and T8. NOTABLES Tiger Woods: A scratchy 75 leaves Woods at 4 over and in need of a miracle weekend starting 14 back. Jordan Spieth: The overnight leader dropped to T4 with a scratchy 74 but he’s still within reach of a second Green Jacket. Read about his travails here. Rory McIlroy: 69-71 for McIlroy has the career Grand Slam well and truly within reach. He starts Saturday T4, five shots back. Read about the big names lurking here. Dustin Johnson: The World No. 1 is T6, just six back. Justin Thomas: The FedExCup leader is also T6, just six shots back. Rickie Fowler: 70-72 for Fowler and a T8 slot means the major drought could yet be broken. Phil Mickelson: A dismal 79 on Friday, equaling his worst at Augusta, dropped Phil out of the race at 5 over. Sergio Garcia: Became just the 10th player in Masters history to miss the cut in their title defense, shooting 81-78 to be 15 over. See other notables to miss the weekend here. SUPERLATIVES Driving distance: Dustin Johnson 323.4 yards Fairways hit: Webb Simpson 13/14 Greens in regulation: Bubba Watson 15/18 Proximity to the hole: Chez Reavie 30 feet, 2 inches Scrambling: Louis Oosthuizen 6/6 Strokes Gained: Putting: Patrick Reed 3.569 Strokes Gained: Tee to Green: Marc Leishman 5.380

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